Review: ERRA 'ERRA'
ERRA 'ERRA' Album Artwork
When it comes to a band and the concept of self-titled albums, this can go one of two ways. A band can use the self-titled album to introduce themselves to the scene or a well-seasoned band may use it to show that something has changed within their sound. Regardless, one sort-of never knows what to expect, as the self-titled album is always a mixed bag.
In the case of a band that has been around for quite some time, you wonder what the self-titled album means moving forward. Amazingly, ERRA has taken this preconceived notion of what this means and has flipped the script entirely. The band is certainly no stranger to producing top-tier albums, with this being their 5th full-length as a successful progressive-metalcore act. ERRA has put a heavy stamp on this album, showing they are not here to prove much else except that they have come back on top once again in the metalcore genre. Flawlessly merging progressive metal, djent, and metalcore over the years, they have proven more times over why they are one of the top names in the scene.
There is nothing from start to finish that really deters you from wanting to finish this record once you start listening. ERRA's self-titled album is a work that is brimming with pure, unblemished, raw creativity flowing throughout each track. It culminates everything we have come to love and expect from the band for the past few albums. It marks an evolution of years curating a sound that has finally molded into what we hear today. Mixed and produced by none other than Carson Slovak and Grant Macfarland, who has worked with industry giants such as August Burns Red, it should be no surprise that ERRA would create something this massive and lyrically satisfying.
While the first track and single "Shadowblood" has long since prepared us for the type of record this would be, It doesn't at any point set us up for the amount of instrumental and lyrical fortitude that will follow on this lush experience.
"Divisonary" is a treasure of outer-worldly atmospheric and instrumental ingenuity at its finest. With unexampled rhythmic guitar sections that beautifully ascend and descend in perfect succession, coupled with mesmerizing chants in the background, it delivers a level of depth to the lyrics that only ERRA can give to a track.
Another beautiful juncture within this album is a planetary masterpiece, "Lunar Halo", bringing us back to a much earlier melodic-hardcore sound with the band with 2018's Neon. It not only one of the longest tracks on the record but at no point are you bored or feeling the experience should end. It also contains one of the most compelling solos on the album.
We then jump into the melodically gorgeous track "Eidolon." "Eidolon" not only serves as a slight change of pace from all the heavier gems we get to experience before but also shows just how creatively brave and assertive this band is.
ERRA is one of those bands that with time, just get better with age. The band has thirteen years' worth of experience to back up labeling this as their self-titled album. ERRA's self-titled does more than delivering a fantastic listening experience, constantly shifting and changing, making the experience that much more enjoyable. Ultimately, this solidifies their place on the top as one of the best bands in the genre, and it doesn't look as if they will be letting go of those reigns anytime soon. This is just the beginning of something more beautiful, showing only a tiny piece of the next step of that journey.