Review CYHRA ‘The Vertigo Trigger’

Four years after having released with ‘No Halos in Hell’ their sophomore album, Swedish modern metal force Cyhra launch their third longplayer.

Cyhra is the brainchild of Jake E. and Jesper Strömblad, also known from his days with In Flames. Although being founded not earlier than 2016 the five-puece band comes with a lot of experience. Alex Landenburg (d), Euge Valovitra and Marcus Sunesson, they all have a longer track record in various bands and now unload their passion for modern rock and metal.

‘The Vertigo Trigger’ is the title of the new Cyhra album and eleven songs let the heart of melodic metal fans beat faster. It’s not that Cyhra reinvent the business or shine with unexpected musical innovation. What reaches your ears is pretty much following a standard formula of this kind of genre. Still, it is tough to resist when it comes to these catchy melodies.

Already from the beginning of this record the scene is set for a melodic journey. Although ‘Ready to Rumble’ contains a certain punch it’s the hooks that crawl into your unconscious. And while Strömblad’s leap over to a heavier version of modern metal, the keyboards and the melodic vocals lines dominate, creating an easy approachable sound collage.

Good songs on the album are the thundering ‘Life is a Hurricane’ and darker ‘Too Old for Fairy Tails’. Also ‘If I’ belongs to the better songs of the album since it shows some heaviness throughout, as most of the songs start with a heavy riffing, before getting dominated by keyboards and melodic ear-pleasing.

That this kind of music also demands a ballad is obvious and Cyhra deliver with a song called ‘The Voice You Need to Hear’. What I mentioned in the beginning is also applicable at this soulful moment. The song itself isn’t rocket science, but there is the chorus that sticks and is sweet as sugar.

‘The Vertigo Trigger’ doesn’t deliver a lot of new aha-moments. Instead the songs on this album are a well-crafted implementation of a standard toolkit with melodies being the addictive element.