Neaera

Guitarist Tobias Buck launched Neaera in 2003 as a temporary diversion from his primary death metal outfit, Münster, Germany's Malzan. Benny Hilleke on vocals and Sebastian Heldt on drums joined at the outset, after which former Malzan guitarist Benjamin Donath was brought in to handle bass duties. The emerging hybrid of death metal and power metal began taking shape as the group performed multiple shows under the name the Ninth Gate, prompting the later decision to add a second guitarist and adopt a new moniker. With Malzan having dissolved in the interim, Buck enlisted that band's Stefan Keller to fill the second guitar slot in the Ninth Gate, shifting him away from the bass position he had held previously. Metal Blade approached the musicians in 2004 and urged a name change, leading the members to settle on Neaera. Their debut album, The Rising Tide of Oblivion, arrived in 2005, followed a year later by Let the Tempest Come and then Armamentarium in 2007.