Cyhra's 'The Vertigo Trigger' - Album Review

Whilst melodic metal has always been popular, it feels like, over the past decade or so, a brand of metal more strongly fused with bona fide pop elements has become big business. Poppy metal is enjoyed by die-hard metalheads seeking some respite from more extreme sounds and newcomers to the genre looking to get their feet wet alike - and one of the bands which has been doing something a bit more interesting overall with pop metal is Sweden's Cyhra. Cyhra debuted back in 2017 with Letters to Myself (which I reviewed here) - and the album was essentially a collaboration between frontman Jake E and guitarist Jesper Strömblad. Letters to Myself essentially fused E's love of pop hooks as a former member of Amaranthe with Strömblad's riffing and harmony guitar leads which made In Flames famous during his tenure with the melodic death metal forerunners. It leant more in the direction of Amaranthe than In Flames, but nevertheless the album was a good mix of light and shade - with a good balance of pop choruses and metal riffing. E and Strömblad, alongside guitarist Euge Valovirta, who performed on Letters to Myself as a session player and came on board formally after the album came out, followed up their well-received debut album in 2019 with No Halos in Hell (which I also reviewed here) - which saw Cyhra starting to forge more of their own identity. Letters to Myself was definitely an album made up of its constituent parts, but No Halos in Hell felt more like a band who had found their sound - despite strong similarities between the two releases. Valovirta's increased influence certainly moved the album away from the harmony guitar leads which characterised the debut - but the mix of metal riffing and pop hooks was still present, even if the focus shifted further towards the light. I was interested to see where Cyhra would go after No Halos in Hell - particularly when Strömblad was announced as a member of the In Flames spin-off group The Halo Effect. In truth, Strömblad's involvement in Cyhra has long been declining. He seems to be a musician who struggles to keep interest in one thing for an extended period, and he has not appeared live with either Cyhra or The Halo Effect for quite a while. I assumed that he had quietly left Cyhra at some point over the past couple of years, but the release of The Vertigo Trigger earlier this month reveals that not to be the case. Despite this, though, from reading the album's booklet it would appear that his contributions to The Vertigo Trigger were extremely minimal - or possibly non-existent. He is now credited as the band's bass player, as Cyhra have not had one since the departure of Peter Iwers early in their history, but the booklet also suggests that Valovirta played all of the bass on the album. He is not credited with co-writing any of the songs either, so I would suggest that Strömblad is now associated with Cyhra in name only. In his place, though, is Marcus Sunesson (Crown of Thorns; The Crown; Engel) who was recently brought into the band formally after filling in for Strömblad live since the relative early days. He has immediately made his presence felt, co-writing a few of the songs here, and has formed a strong guitar duo with Valovirta thanks to the years spent on the road together.

Rounding out the band is original drummer Alex Landenburg, meaning the four who largely make up The Vertigo Trigger represent the Cyhra live band of the past few years. E handles much of the keyboards and programming here, although contributions on that front are also made by Elias Holmlid (Dragonland), Vikram Shankar (Gravity; Meridian; Threads of Fate; Silent Skies; Redemption), and Jonah Weingarten (Pyramaze; Echoterra; We Are Sentinels; Catalyst Crime). As for where Cyhra would go following their previous album four years ago, the answer is that The Vertigo Trigger very much treads the same line as No Halos in Hell - although perhaps with a little more guitar heft thanks to Sunesson's involvement. The album kicks off with lead single Ready to Rumble, which I heard for the first time a year or so ago at Bloodstock Open Air. Ready to Rumble is an upbeat and catchy track which certainly does its job as a lead single. Pulsing synths open things up, before Landenburg's drum barrage gives way to a hooky guitar melody - which instantly sees Valovirta and Sunesson working well together. These opening guitar leads add some punch, resurfacing during the song's anthemic chorus, but the verses are more stripped back to allow E's voice to shine. The riffing throughout the verses is more crunchy, but the synths are generally mixed into the background to allow the song to have a good amount of crunch - whilst the chorus feels a bit more atmospheric thanks to the guitar leads and increased synth presence. E is the star of the show, though, and his vocal hooks are as catchy as ever. The verses feel built to showcase his melodic voice, with some wordless vocal hooks thrown in for good measure, before the chorus features some fists-in-the-air hooks and subtle gang vocals to create a big sound. A surprisingly shreddy guitar solo introduces some metal virtuosity, but at large the song is one that focuses on huge hooks - and it gets the album off to a fine start. Lets Have My Story Told is more synth-heavy, but it does open with some grinding, groovy guitar riffs - which soon give way to a more synth-laden passage with a faster overall pace. The song is very typical of Cyhra's sound up to this point, with a more metallic chorus sitting alongside poppy verses. The guitars here are generally less interesting, but they grind away beneath the keyboards nicely, whilst the synths provide the main hooks. E indulges his love of pop during the verses, which generally see the band step back to allow him to sing against a pulsing synth backing - before Landenburg crashes back in and the faster chorus adds some urgency without compromising on hooks. A melodic guitar solo later builds on some of the chorus hooks - and the poppy track is one of the album's strongest on a melody front. Live a Little is much more pop-focused. There is little riffing throughout this track and, whilst some of the hooks are strong, I do feel that this song crosses a line which is generally well-trodden. The chorus is pretty weighty, but the rest of the song is pure pop - with some programmed beats which even feel like hip hop. E does not rap here, but the rhythm of his verse deliveries are not far off - and, for me, the song lacks the band's trademark balance of pop and metal. It is easily the weakest thing here.

1.000.000 Fahrenheit gets the album back on track, though, and, following some big synths, the song gets underway proper - with a pretty melodic guitar lead mixing well with some synths and crunchy rhythms to create a punchy and hooky mid-paced track. The guitars here generally feel more present, which is good, and there is a bit more of the interplay between Valovirta and Sunesson which made the opening track work so well. There are some genuine metal sections here which feature interlocking guitar riffs and leads - whilst the verses feel a bit poppier, despite Landenburg's weighty drumming. Following the weaker previous song, this track strikes the band's trademark balance much better, and there is quite a lot of interesting riffing throughout - from some great groove-based sections to other parts which hark back to the first album. Everything is tied together by a massive chorus which is one of the album's hookiest overall - and the mix of pop and metal is sure to make the song shine live if the band choose to play it on their upcoming tours. Buried Alive is similar, and the track opens with a pretty weighty riff with a subtle keyboard backing. As is generally the case throughout the album, the heaviness does not last throughout - but there is enough weight here to give the song plenty of crunch. There is also quite a lot of interesting keyboard work throughout. The song is not as synth-heavy as others, with a few more organic keyboard textures utilised - including piano during the chorus which helps to bulk out the melancholic, yet somewhat upbeat, section. The different keyboard tones, as well as more of a focus on the guitar to add depth during some of the quieter moments, leads the song to be one of the album's most atmospheric cuts - but there is still plenty of riffing to keep the energy levels up throughout. The Voice You Need to Hear then slows things right down, and the ballad provides a nice mid-album change of pace. There is very little metal at all to be heard here, but it works given the song's slower overall feel - and the piano work throughout is strong. There are synths and programmed beats, but they are used sparingly to create depth - and generally the track focuses on E's voice the piano behind him. The song really showcases E's voice, then, and he actually sings a bit differently from the norm - utilising a higher part of his register more consistently, which makes the chorus here really stand out. Following the slower pace of The Voice You Need to Hear, the album returns to something more metallic with Life Is a Hurricane - a pretty powerful mid-paced track which is another that perfectly encapsulates Cyhra's core sound. The chorus does pick up the pace somewhat, but overall the track is pretty mid-paced - and it opens with a pretty groovy riff that roars through the speakers. The riff is allowed to make its mark, and the synths throughout are generally a little more restrained whilst the riffing is taking place - but they become more prominent during the quieter verses to back E's vocals. The slightly faster chorus is another of the album's biggest hooks, and it contains a few twists and turns to keep it interesting - whilst a screaming guitar solo is surprisingly intense given the album's general relative lightness overall. It is unsurprising that Life Is a Hurricane was also released as a single prior to the album's release - and it is a great representation of what Cyhra are all about.

If I feels heavier overall. It harks back to the old In Flames sound a little at times, although it is soon tempered by some synths. The riff does not contain any harmony guitar leads, so the synths act as the harmonic counterpart to good effect, and the song in general has more urgency throughout. The chorus is faster overall, and one that steams past in a flurry of energy, whilst even the verses here are a bit weightier - with ringing piano melodies set against a crunchy backing. There is a pretty lengthy guitar solo included, too, which is full of shredded melodies - before the tone is briefly changes to allow for a delicate acoustic-led section, which soon explodes into a final reprise of the chorus. As if the band wanted to channel that old In Flames sound further, the closing section adds some harmony guitar leads - and this is a track that feels like a hark back to Cyhra's early days. Fear of Missing Out feels like something of a minor drop following the excellent previous two songs, but there is still a lot to like. The main issue that I have with the song is that its chorus is lacking compared to many of the others here - so the song does not do enough to really jump out of the speakers. Music like this really needs big hooks to shine, but they are not as strong as elsewhere. That being said, there is a decent amount of crunch throughout, meaning that the song does not feel too lightweight, and there are a couple of guitar-based sections which are welcome - including some harmony guitar moments. The penultimate song ups the quality overall again, though, as Ashlight does something a bit different. It feels like another ballad, but there is a bit more to the song than that - and the track feels pretty atmospheric and emotional overall. Unsurprisingly, E is focused on throughout - and his vocal performance is excellent. He is a pretty expressive singer, and the slow-paced verses are all about his emotional performance - whilst the chorus feels bigger overall thanks to Landenburg's double bass drums. Later verses are more than the vocal/synth combo found early on, but they still feel relatively stripped back despite a strong groove throughout - but it is the chorus that really makes the song shine for me. The hooks are massive, and the chorus is another of the album's best thanks to E's excellent delivery. A crunchy, riff-led bridge section and a melodic guitar solo add something different - but the spotlight is not off E for long, as a final reprise of the chorus shows. He even unleashes a bona fide 1980s metal scream at the end of the chorus, which is not something he is generally known for. Closing things out here is the riffier Too Old for Fairy Tales. The song is very typical of the album's core sound, mixing a riffy intro and chorus with more synth-driven verses. Despite this, though, the song feels a bit weightier throughout than some of the tracks here. Whilst the verses do not feel as crunchy as the other parts of the song, there is still more of a guitar presence - and they are pretty present throughout, with the synths taking more of a backseat. There are a few moments which hark back to the debut album, too, with a few harmony guitar leads, but in general the track is just another strong, up-tempo groovy track with prominent pop hooks. As such the album somewhat ends as it began, with more of a focus on tougher riffing than is sometimes found elsewhere. Overall, then, despite a few weaker moments, there is a lot to recommend about The Vertigo Trigger. It follows on nicely from the previous two albums, and the mix of riffing and synths throughout is generally well-balanced. It is the hooks that really do the job here, though, and the strong choruses here should turn the heads of many.

The album was released on 18th August 2023 via Nuclear Blast Records. Below is the band's promotional video for Ready to Rumble.