Erra have long been the unsung heroes of metalcore. The Alabama quintet have steadily assembled their solid and multi-dimensional progressive sound, introducing a new facet of with each album: proggy technicality on 2013’s Augment, lush and kaleidoscopic soundscapes on 2016’s Drift, and vibrant melodicism on 2018’s Neon.
Their 2021 self-titled album was a career best that deserved more attention than it got, but it did get them booked onto tours with Bad Omens and Northlane, bringing together inventive guitarwork and gripping choruses – and sixth album Cure feels very much like a natural continuation.
The album’s eponymous opener sets the tone, recalling Northlane at their best, with spiralling riffs and a bright, bounding chorus. The band collaborated with an external producer, Dan Braunstein, on a full album for the first time, and he’s brought the band’s arena-sized ambitions to life.
It’s a space they feel comfortable in throughout the record. Rumor Of Light rumbles to life on a thick and gluey groove that nods to Architects’ Doomsday, while vocalists Jesse Cash and J.T. Cavey trade cleans and growls on the atmospheric chorus of Blue Reverie.
While this feels very much like a culmination of years of consistent sonic exploration, subtle touches of experimentation litter these songs: see the industrial electronic crunch of Slow Sour Bleed, and the crushing Gojira-esque twists and turns of highlight Crawl Backwards Out Of Heaven, as the band continue to nudge their sound forward.
Things come to a close with Wave, and as a tar-thick groove pushes the album to its climax beneath subtle, gossamer-light synths, it’s clear this is the work of a band on the form of their career so far. If there’s any justice in the world, Cure should be the album that catapults them in front of a much larger audience.
Cure is out today via UNFD. Erra play Download Festival in June.
