ERRA – CURE (Album Review)

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‘Idle Wild’ is just that, the eye lock before the predator attacks its prey. Idling by the clean delays are interrupted by erupting chugs and whaling screams, ramping it up a notch with palm-muted accents every 8 bars to a heavy kick-based, faster-paced chorus, leaving small gaps to let the tune breathe well. Directing with a much lower rhythm ‘Idle Wild’ has that nice chill surrounding it, saving all the build up for a vocally filled, dramatic outro. Taking it down a gear we glide softly into ERRA’s lighter catalogue, ‘Blue Reverie’ gives us more fleshed-out cleaner tones for guitar & bass, alongside alluring, dreary singing to set the scene for an emotionally powerful, lyrically raw story. Jammed to the bone with riffs that will make your heart beat with its rhythm, from the lightest sounding note picking to the ending semi-auto djenty BWOWS to trickle away with wandering delayed taps.

Bringing a small reminder of the intro from ‘Snowblood’, ‘Slow Sour Bleed’ has that same synthy-trap component, but far more explored. Keeping the electronic aspect alive consistently, with programmed snare & kicks, blaring keys and additional FX entwined in verses, pre-choruses etc. Biding a lot more aggression within this track ready to break loose, JT fires mids like a carpet bomb with his most ferocious vocal on the album so far. Dance and trap beats are utilised well to hype the breakdown and blends perfectly between to two styles of music and still retains that gritty sound flawlessly.

‘Wish’, the classic mid-album jam, a transitional portal to the next half of CURE’s realm. Carrying the suspense well, simple sounding and flowing with clean, moody picking and a subtle hi hat-snare combo, foreshadowing the calm before the storm. A ‘Glimpse’ of this storm is unfortunately the most chaotic part, ‘Wish’ served its purpose as sacrifice to accentuate a huge booming intro covered in low-scaled techy riffs and so many fret mutes you’ll think your PC has a Windows error. Entrancing chorus harmonies are cathedral-esk and give the sensation of floating through the infinite void barrelling towards a never approaching sun. The strained yells after the chorus are definitely something to be noted, keeping it fresh with a different ingredient for every song. Taking a break to recover and turn things down a bit ‘Past Life Persona’ is the most melodic alt-rock track on CURE and possibly my favourite. As a huge fan of Jesse Cash’s other project GHOST ATLAS you really appreciate the punky rhythms, familiar reverbed tones and cheeky guitar licks along this track. Easy on the ears, mild grooves put you in a comfortable cloudy doze resonating the pain and sadness instilled in the song.

Fourth and final single before CURE drops, ‘Crawl Backwards Out Of Heaven’ was short, sweet and straight to the point, no shit taken. Taking the reins for full vocal authority JT smears his presence with a constant vocal chain, blasting ferocious belts over low opens to maximize damage. A Northlane (Alien) resembling chorus brings smooth low register singing gliding over the ominous backing synths and heavily reverbed, simplistic lead. Shining bright like a hot summer’s day ‘End To Excess’ delights playful luminescent leads, cathedral guitar tones and brisk drums. A lyrically gleaming chorus and limit-pushing vocals really make this one of the sweetest hooks on the album, as well as having a great 50/50 balance between more complex writing and heavier metal influences. Released all the way back in the middle of 2023 premiere single ‘Pale Iris’ came dripping with many of ERRA’s signature, unique moves. Rapid beats on a bolting snare, mixed clean/scream harmonies, a catchy chorus, a lil djent for safety and riffs scalier than a snake. Giving their fans just a small taste of what was to come.

All good things must come to an end, unless you hit the repeat button! Concluding a truly beautifully written album ‘Wave’ gives us the honour of a fitting send off. Like a spiritual guide walking you through the cogs of their musical formula, you’re met by every aspect that helped build each previous track on CURE. ‘Wave’ has a lot of musical versatility, like each song before it added something to make it the perfect album summary. Cascading screams, bountiful cleans, guitars slay from tech, to adrenaline-inducing tapping, while chill melodies come and go with welcome arms seamlessly.

Once again ERRA has produced another incredible volume of tunes showing their songwriting is a force to be reckoned with. As immaculate as CURE is, there are some minor downfalls, the oversaturation of opens can become fatiguing on the listener, but makes up for it well with a refined variation of ranged elements throughout the other tracks. The screams don’t possess much of a dynamic, with many repetitive vocal patterns and settling at a safe and simple mid-range a majority of the time, leaving the feeling of something lacking.

CURE takes a stand and showcases why ERRA are an unparalleled staple in the progressive metal genre, continuously amping up their game with explorative curiosity and sheer talent. This is not the end, but the dawn of a new ERRA.

ERRA – CURE tracklisting

1. Cure
2. Rumor of Light
3. Idle Wild
4. Blue Reverie
5. Slow Sour Bleed
6. Wish
7. Glimpse
8. Past Life Persona
9. Crawl Backwards Out of Heaven
10. End to Excess
11.  Pale Iris
12. Wave

Rating: 8/10
Cure due out April 5. Get it here
Reviewed by Ed Atlas @YourFavouriteMerchGuy