ARTIST DESCRIPTION

FOR FANS OF: AT THE GATES, MORBID ANGEL, EMPEROR, BLEEDING THROUGH, END THIS DAY

Nehemiah - "Lenore" MCD

The power and majesty of Gothenburg, Sweden's new-wave-of-Swedish-death-metal, Florida's seminal, guttural bands and the Scandinavian black metal scene have found another heir in the form of America's Nehemiah.

Formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota with the intent of bringing apocalyptic metal destruction to the Twin Cities hardcore scene after the demise of such bands as Harvest and Disembodied, Nehemiah immediately drew attention with their dual vocal assault, explosive breakdowns and cryptic overtones. With Brady Wise and Evan Nagan sharing vocal duties, Logan Kelly and Josh Lutterman on guitar, Chad Fjerstad on bass, and Steve Klingler on drums, the band recorded a 5 song demo and began playing shows throughout the region with bands such as Martyr A.D., Throwdown, Bleeding Through, End this Day, 7 Angels 7 Plagues, Taken, Dead to Fall, and Everytime I Die.

After months of playing countless shows, refining their sound, and making quite a name for themselves in Minneapolis and throughout the Midwest, the band decided to record a new two song demo in order to capture the crushing power and hyperbolic chaos which up until then had only been truly experienced by their live audience.

This new demo immediately garnered label interest. The day it reached Sean Muttaqi, owner of Uprising Records, he knew he had something special in his hands. In fact, it was only within hours of hearing it that the call was made to make them an offer.

Within weeks, a deal was set and Uprising sent the band in to record their full length with Brian Bart (producer of Martyr AD, Disembodied) at Logic Studios. Once completed, it was obvious something extraordinary had been achieved – that the band had matured from its embryonic hardcore/metal stage into a full-grown metallic beast of epic proportions.

This is Uprising's first major metal genre signing since the successful 7 Angels 7 Plagues release, and like them, we know you'll be hearing a lot more from this band in the years to come. Turn out the lights, close the curtains, put in The Process of Asphyxiation and unleash the forces of Armageddon...

EDITORIAL REVIEWS

Let's get this out of the way: Nehemiah is a brutal band. Everything about them is brutal - there isn't any sugarcoated stuff in here. Their bio does a good job at describing their sound, so I'll do with that: "Possessed with frenetic aggression, technical precision, and raw power, this quintet infuse the power of Gothenburg death metal, Scandinavian black metal, and hardcore into their American POV." Death metal fans will find much to enjoy in Lenore, but so will fans of metalcore and other more accessible forms of metal. This is a little more flamboyant than the metal I normally listen to, but its overall appeal is undeniable. Vocalists Evan Nagan and Brady Wise have a good range, going from high pitched screams to very deep growls not too dissimilar from that of Tommy Rogers of Between the Buried and Me fame. Aaron Nelson and Nolan Morice show no restraint with their dual guitar theatrics, beating and punishing their instruments with unbridled fury. With a couple of the songs going over the 6-minute mark, Lenore can be hard at times to digest, but those with a more patient attitude should find many rewards in this sensory assault. For fans of At the Gates and Opeth, this is a must.

- www.punk-it.net - 05.17.2005

Sweet Moses in the morning! This is some seriously devastating and destructive stuff here! Nehemiah comes off, at first, as really chunky and dark death metal, but there are also aspects of math metal, and a hint of black metal. I believe that the kids are calling this stuff “metalcore,” but let’s not mince words: this is death metal of the highest degree. Fans of The Haunted, At The Gates, The Crown, and Opeth will enjoy this with a contented smile.

I’m sure that there are a lot of you out there who are tired of hipsters with dyed black, short women’s haircuts playing metal, but from what I can tell, these guys are the real deal. I happened upon their site at “Myspace.com” and they appear to not take themselves too seriously, which makes the five songs by them that I have here all the more incredible. Much like The Locust don’t take themselves too seriously, they too, are quite talented. The guitarists come up with some pretty simple, yet creative metal riffs, which appear at the surface to be somewhat derivative of early Sepultura (but not so much so that it seems to be a rip off). Their guitar tone is basically perfect; it’s gnarled, buzzing, and warm, without a hit of overprocessing. The vocalist[s], too, [are] a standout. [They have] a really guttural growl/ bark that brings home the bacon.

...these guys are brutal and totally rocked my pants off!

Rating: 4/5
Author: Daniel Martin

- www.thepunksite.com - 05.12.2005

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