Cyhra is a melodic metal band from Sweden formed in 2016 by vocalist/keyboardist Jake E and guitarist/bass player Jesper Stromblad – the band was completed by drummer Alex Landenburg, and guitarists Euge Valovirta and Marcus Sunesson. The band’s debut album ‘Letters To Myself’ was released in 2017, with sophomore album ‘No Halos In Hell’ a 2019 release. And now – four years later, Cyhra are all set to release their third album ‘The Vertigo Trigger’…
…eleven songs and forty minutes of melodic metal to get the pulse racing of everyone everywhere! The band are firing on all cylinders, pounding the ground hard as the album storms into life with the raucous ‘Ready To Rumble’ – and a thundering rhythm strong enough to shake walls and raze buildings to the ground! Cyhra is back! And doing what they do best – delivering melodic and highly infectious metal that’s just so gorgeous. But then the band are from Sweden, a country renowned all over the world for producing superb metal and rock bands – the album picking up the pace planting one foot firmly on the monitor for ‘Let’s Have My Story Told’, a galloping furore of old school traditional flavoured metal to please old and new fans alike. The opening two songs have been different in so many ways, yet the infectious energy oozing from them both has just been incredible.
Moving toward the hard rock genre, ‘The Vertigo Trigger’ launches ‘Live A Little’ with a bombastic barrage of belting grandeur! ‘Live A Little’ has pomp, swagger, and an infinite level of attraction – Cyhra catering equally to the fans of both metal and rock. And as the album strides on, the bombastic nature just gets bigger and bigger, ‘1,000,000 Fahrenheit’ hotter than the title would suggest! The band literally, are on fire – the swashbuckling display of metal on show addictive and head bang-able! Not too much though, it’s not a thrash metal album – nor is it heavy like legendary bands Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. the album perching itself between the metal and rock genres, standing tall, shouting “listen to me”. And listen you will, for ‘The Vertigo Trigger’ is turning into a “can’t stop listening” kind of listen! ‘Buried Alive’ cruises into sight and majestically marches on, hips swaying, arms flailing, head bobbing! Yes, bobbing! For head banging would be too boisterous for an album this melodic – gentle nodding and foot tapping are the most energetic motions that every listener, fan and follower can do to accompany such great music.
Sounding like we’re heading for balladry, ‘The Voice You Need To Hear’ is more mellow and serene than anything heard so far, building a crescendo of soft rock that’s full of reined in energy and power. By all means, raise your lighters high in the air – mine is gonna remain firmly in my pocket, ‘The Voice You Need To Hear’ for me, just a little too heavy to be classed as a ballad. And hitting harder than any other song so far, ‘Life Is A Hurricane’ is a bombastic barrage of heavy, almost groove metal style riffs! The band are walking tall here, heads held very high, as an air of elegant majesty descends upon the album. Ever since the album began, Cyhra has imposed a highly addictive intensity level, a level that hasn’t dropped one little bit! I defy anyone to not be caught in the moment by the incredible music on offer – the band pressing the pedal firmly to the metal, accelerating to top speed for the blistering headbanger ‘If I’. And did I say earlier that head banging would be too much for an album such as this? Well, sometimes I do get it wrong – ‘If I’ actually slowing down like a progressive metaller after the red hot scorching opening. The pace changing aura of ‘If I’ is mesmerising, the band expanding horizons to dip their toes in new waters!
And with nine of the eleven songs on offer clocking in at under four minutes in length, ‘The Vertigo Trigger’ is a fast moving album with no chance of a breather! And to be honest, who’d want to take a breather when the metal on show is this fucking good – ‘Fear Of Missing Out’ maintaining the previous song’s progressive metal feel. Four years ago Cyhra amazed me by their relentless and unforgiving approach to delivering energetic and melodious metal – the band replicating, and improving on what was a memorable masterpiece. Kudos Cyhra, kudos! With a feel of impending balladry floating through the air like the morning mist, ‘Ashlight’ builds and builds to become a mid tempo no where near balladry barrage of heavy hitting punches – the band showing their prowess at weaving various styles of metal rock together. And consistently too – every song on offer delivering something for every rocker and metalhead to enjoy! And quite unbelievably, the final song is here – where has the last forty minutes gone? Into the “long lasting memory” part of the brain that’s where – ’cause ‘The Vertigo Trigger’ is gonna remain at the forefront of the mind for a very long time to come. ‘Too Old For Fairy Tales’ ends the album as it began – in a blaze of sweeping melodic swagger, the infectious level higher than ever, the attraction of Cyhra‘s third album stronger than the pull of Earth’s gravity!
Overall, a highly melodious album of metal come rock, ‘The Vertigo Trigger’ is one hell of a pleasurable listening experience.
TRACKLIST
Ready To Rumble
Let’s Have My Story Told
Live A Little
1,000,000 Fahrenheit
Buried Alive
The Voice You Need To Hear
Life Is A Hurricane
If I
Fear Of Missing Out
Ashlight
Too Old For Fairy Tales
Cyhra: Facebook
Release Year: 2023
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Category: Album
Country: Sweden
Reviewed by Iron Mathew for Frenzy Fire and Metal-Roos.
