Thursday, January 26, 2012

"Impulse" Review

Yes, I know this album has been out for a while, but it still deserves a review, dammit!

Erra is a progressive metalcore band from Birmingham, Alabama, and "Impulse" is their first full length release, following the 7 song EP Andromeda, which was my introduction to the band.  When I first heard Erra, I was immediately struck by how they combined wonderful, melodic riffs with brutal technicality.  Most progressive bands in the genre have to sacrifice one for the other, but not these guys, and I was immediately drawn to them because of this, and purchased Andromeda immediately.

So, after liking their EP, how does the full length hold up?  To put it simply, "Impulse" blows their previous work out of the water.  Not only is the production stepped up, the songwriting is as well, as is apparent from the fade in and slow build of the opener "White Noise", and persists all the way throughout the album.

A big problem I have with bands of the "core" genre is that after a while, all the songs begin to blend together, and it takes something really creative or different to help seperate them.  While Erra doesn't break any new ground in this release, they certainly do their best to seperate themselves from so many other bands out there.  Rather than having the usual chugging of guitars, Erra utilizes both of their guitarists to create some very pleasing melodies.  But make no mistake, "br00t4l" breakdowns are still littered throughout this album, but are kept relatively short and creative with the strumming patterns.  On top of all this, guitarist Jesse Cash provides some clean vocals to take a break from all that "brutality".  These segments would not feel out of place on a Blink 182 release, and they help to keep the album feeling fresh.

"Impulse" consists of 10 tracks, all of which exemplify top-notch writing and musicianship.  My personal favorites would have to be "Seven", "Efflorescent", and the closing track, "Render the Void".  The lyrical content, on these three tracks especially, is absolutely fantastic ("Staring into the glass, a glare wears on the eyes, seeing into my pane is an omen and a disguise.").  I especially love the guitar riff that starts at 0:27 of "Efflorescent", and the track really picks up when Garrison Lee begins growling a mad dog over it later on.

The only real problem I have with this release is that some of the tracks take a little bit to pick up steam.  Take the track "Vaalbara", for instance.  Definitely not one of my favorites, but still very solid.  For bout the first minute, however, the sound is very generic, and wouldn't sound out of place on a Bring Me The Horizon release (which is NOT a good thing).  This is a bit of a dissapointment, especially after seeing the technicality and musicianship that these guys are capable of, but it is a minor flaw, and hardly distracts from the overall package, which is very solid.

So what is my overall verdict?  If you can't tell by now, I liked "Impulse" a LOT.  It is melodic, heavy, and just damn good metal.  Do yourself a favor; if you haven't heard these guys, check this album out, it is definitely worth your time.

A-

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