It has been a couple of years since I checked out ERRA live for the first time as they supported Northlane on their UK tour so the band have had ample opportunity to grow in the time I have followed them. That being said, grow they absolutely have.
Just one track into their record, the experience is already a brutally immersive world developed throughout Snowblood. From the very off, doomy rhythm guitars and split, gritty bass underpins fast, glossy leads to fill out a dense landscape. The vocals shift between narrow and wide to lay additional brutality and depth, with the soaring chorus melodies exploding through the tight-knit instrumental.
Particularly poignant are the lyrical themes throughout, with a standout piece being Divisionary (below). Focusing intently on the isolationism of technology and how it has forced us apart for many years, creating our own idealised images based on man's own creations. Drawing parallels between religion and something as influential as technology may seem blasphemous, but delivering the message carefully with such heavy riffs gives it real gravity and authenticity that spans the album as a whole.
Grammy-nominated Carson Slovak and Grant McFarland were at the helm for the record, and it is clear to hear their vast experience shimmering across the record. Navigating the low tuning to pull together bass and guitar while keeping the grit is a task for any heavy record, but the clarity of the bass shining despite the expansive soundscape and technical riffs creates sensational punch behind the band's lyrical message to the listener.
The self-titled album will bring ERRA to the forefront of festival bookers' minds and rightly so; the sound is so tight and the songs are so well crafted that it produces a wall of sound that will completely fill entire fields come the freedom of summer.