If it wasn’t for bands like ERRA, Metalcore would have lost relevance a long time ago, dragging by the coattails of As I Lay Dying and Parkway Drive nostalgia that millennials still eat up today. Fortunately, the Progressive Metalcore quintet has the drive and vision to keep the genre not only alive, but thriving. The group’s sixth album, Cure (UNFD), is a true testament to that vision.

What makes bands like ERRA stand out in the seemingly bottomless pit of modern Metalcore is that they make every riff count – not in a flashy over-the-top way, but in the way that serves each song just right. Whether a beefy bouncing guitar line or a light ethereal melody is needed to bring a song to its full potential, guitarist/vocalist Jesse Cash and guitarist Clint Tustin always nail it. 

CURE is a compelling example of how creative and well-executed rhythms can make for such a captivating listen. Songs like “Idle Wild” and “Wave” use innovative combinations of accented and palm-muted notes that powerfully highlight the vocals, while the prevailing grooves of “Crawl Backwards Out Of Heaven” reign as the foundation for its heaviness.

Interlude track “Wish” gives the album some room to breathe just before entering its second half. At just the right length of a minute and a half, it doesn’t overstay its welcome, but provides a tranquil yet imminent instrumental of clean guitar grooves and palm-muted echoes over an ambient soundscape. It suddenly pauses for a fulfilling drop into the massive melodic heaviness of “Glimpse”. This song djents as low as the ground one minute, then soars and glimmers through the sky with heavenly harmonies and shimmering reverb the next. It is moments like these that prove ERRA have become true masters of the full Metalcore spectrum. 

Songs like “Past Life Persona” dive headfirst into the band’s melodic side, with vocal hooks that could easily be mistaken for a pop rock song if isolated – yet the unmistakable ERRA instrumentals, rhythmic motifs, and subtle ambience make it work out remarkably well for them. 

From the colossal riffing and inventive breakdowns to the lush backdrops and overall stellar ambition, ERRA continues to discover the best recipes for transcendent Metalcore. With Cure, they not only expand the style’s boundaries, but shine a light to trailblazing sounds and tricks that were always within its perimeter.

Buy the album here:
https://erra.lnk.to/CURE

9 / 10
COLLEEN KANOWSKY