Erra “Cure”
American progressive metallers Erra return with their new album Cure, a new band member and a new sense of purpose.
Anyone who has heard the new tracks already dropped understands this. Title track Cure is instantly fire. The static riff and that chorus which eerily sounds like Deftones could’ve done it, a stunner appetiser.
Or the solemn , atmospheric and heartfelt longing song Blue Reverie. What about Crawl Backwards Out Of Heaven which is jam full of energy it ignites itself in riffs at the turn of a disco beat?
The album seems to be set into two parts, the intersection being the instrumental ‘Wish’.
The first part showcases the bands bread and butter, the dark metal riffs, the intricate drum patterns and content that leads to the juxtaposition of light in the shadows.
The second part seems to be the band reaching into other parts of themselves to bring style, softness, hooks, and dark to where it is light. That opposite vibe to both parts of the album makes for a rather pleasant and enjoyable journey.
It’s the second part that catches my ears totally off guard.
Past Life Persona is arguably the heaviest pop song you’ll hear this year, a track about finding your own way, your own voice after a breakup. To be frank, on first listen to the album, it was the one that stood out to the point it got played often since.
But End To Excess has this brutal sick slow groove underneath, a breakdown that rattles your teeth and then the most insanely catchy chorus as singers Jesse Cash and J.T. Cavey accept their fate in life.
Pale Iris opens at million miles per hour before offensively going into a dance beat that works the dynamics between Cash and Cavey vocals absolutely perfectly before Wave finishes the album as the big show stopper it should. Epic, ethereal, crushing and set to burn down a few stages on its way.
The album starts brilliantly with Cure and then jostles with you for position like a boxer, hitting all the right notes before the second half lands unseen knockout blow after blow, leaving you punch drunk by the end. Cure? More like the cause of my sore neck and ringing ears.
Album Review By Iain McCallum
