Discog Diaries #1: ERRA
And so it begins...
Welcome one, welcome all to the inaugural installment of Discog Diaries, a monthly series where I dive into the discography of a particular band, in release order, and give my immediate impressions of each release, along with a rating for each! For this first episode, we’re going to be diving into the discography of Birmingham, Alabama’s ERRA, a progressive metalcore band who have become renowned for their intricate guitar riffs, as well as lead singer Jesse Cash’s high register vocals, and lyrics that sound like they were ripped straight from a pulp sci-fi novel.
Looking ahead to their upcoming album, silence outlives the earth, I realized that, despite my love for their newest albums, I had never fully checked out ERRA’s extensive discography, a mistake that I aim to rectify right here and right now. No wasting your time, let’s dive straight in!
ERRA’s Discography:
ERRA (EP, 2009)
Andromeda (EP, 2010)
Impulse (2011)
Augment (2013)
Moments of Clarity (EP, 2014)
Drift (2016)
Neon (2018)
Eye of God (2019)
ERRA (2021/2022 [deluxe edition])
Pull from the Ghost (single, 2022)
Cure (2024)
I’ll go through each release, give my thoughts, as well as my ranking and my favorite song from each (excluding the singles, of course). At the end of the discog run, all releases will be ranked worst to best (again, excluding singles, because it’s tough to compare a single to an EP or LP), and I’ll take an average of all of the ratings (including the singles this time). Simple, right? So let’s go!
ERRA (EP, 2009)
Canadian power trio Rush is my favorite band of all time. I love all of their albums wholeheartedly… except for one. Rush’s self-titled debut is, in my mind, the worst album in their discography simply because it sounds more like a Led Zeppelin cover band than a Rush album. I feel sort of similar about ERRA’s self-titled debut EP. There is undeniable talent here, and you can absolutely hear Jesse Cash’s signature winding guitar leads, even if said leads lack some of the complexity that they would become known for in albums to come. However, everything comes together in a package that reminds me more of Misery Signals rather than ERRA. This is not inherently a bad thing, it’s common for bands to wear their influences on their sleeve in the early days as they attempt to carve their own path for themselves. However, as a pleb introduced to the band through their landmark self-titled album, it’s a bit jarring to hear something that is comparatively so straightforward. It’s also worth noting that Jesse Cash’s cleans are used far more sparingly here. While it’s awesome to hear Garrison Lee take center stage, part of ERRA’s charm, to me, has always been its pitch perfect interplay between harsh and clean vocals, a style that they tend to do just a bit better than the rest of the pack. The lack of such vocals here does hurt the EP in the long run. Not a bad collection of songs, “Separate and Coalesce” in particular is an absolute jam, but not an EP I’d find myself returning to frequently knowing what’s ahead.
7/10
Favorite song: “Separate and Coalesce”
Andromeda (EP, 2010)
The cleans are stronger and far more frequent, Jesse’s lyrics are falling more in line with the science fiction-y poetry that we would see in future albums, and moments like the brief ambient intro to “Of Rare Reform” or the long winding solo in “Isolation Blue” show ERRA beginning to take steps towards their full identity. Aside from that, Andromeda treads a lot of the same ground that the self-titled EP did, feeling more like a Misery Signals tribute act at points. It’s not helped by this EP being 10 minutes longer than the previous EP, which unfortunately highlights that ERRA doing Misery Signals is just not as memorable as the progressive metalcore juggernaut albums that would follow. Don’t get me wrong, this is still a jam and a half, but knowing what would come afterwards, I feel the need to be a slightly harsher critic when it comes to ERRA’s earlier stuff. That being said, I need to give special mention to the title track, a 6-and-a-half minute monster of a track that unintentionally serves as a perfect bridge between the Misery Signals-inspired riffage of the debut EPs, and the winding progressive soundscapes that would come afterwards. A solid EP, even if it doesn’t blow me away.
7/10
Favorite song: “Andromeda”
Impulse (2011)
Alright, now we’re fuckin’ talking! While Impulse still contains a lot of Mis Sig DNA, it’s evident right from the jump that ERRA have their sights set beyond pure tribute. Ambient elements welcome listeners in as “White Noise” gets started, and the album never really lets up from there. Part of what makes this album such an incredible step up from the debut EPs is its further strengthened focus on shifting dynamics, both in the vocals and in the music. Jesse’s cleans trade with Garrison’s harshes far more frequently, and the band is unafraid to divert their djent riffing for brief interludes, most notably a rapid arpeggiated piano section in “Obscure Words”. It’s this willingness to change things up in the midst of a song that prevents Impulse from becoming stale, which it easily could have been otherwise. It’s worth noting that, as someone who found ERRA from their 2021 self-titled, I’m struck by how much heavier ERRA’s early works are by comparison. If I had to put a finger on why, I’d say it’s the riffing style, that gritty guitar tone that pummels you relentlessly with downtuned djent riffs. The mix lacks the polished space sheen of the band’s JT Cavey-era works, but it serves Impulse particularly well regardless. It all wraps up in a neat bow with the thunderous closer “Render the Void”, easily the best glimpse of what’s to come in the future. As a debut album, you really couldn’t ask for a better one.
9/10
Favorite song: “Render the Void”
Augment (2013)
“Augment” means to make something greater by adding to it (thanks Oxford). And I cannot think of a more fitting title for ERRA’s sophomore album. Fuck a sophomore slump, ERRA had a sophomore surge with Augment. Right off the bat, “Alpha Seed” proves that ERRA are ready to completely move beyond Misery Signals worship, as the riffs begin to become more fleshed out and intricate. Much like the previous releases, Augment doesn’t like to slow down for anything approaching ballads, instead settling for ambient interludes or intros before djent riffs descend once more to bash your head in. The formula introduced on Impulse has been perfected to an absolute mirror shine here, not a single song misses. And it’s no shock that Augment boasts some of ERRA’s most enduring hits. The absolute crowner of this album is undoubtedly “Hybrid Earth”, which opens with one of ERRA’s trickiest riffs, and provides what is easily ERRA’s best solo. If you had to ask me to pick one song that defines this era of ERRA (wordplay for the win), I would turn on “Hybrid Earth” and crank the speakers to max volume. However, what seals the deal as this being a top two ERRA album for me is just the way the album flows. With multiple tracks that segue right into each other, Augment’s 53-minute runtime feels less like a chore and more like a smooth experience from beginning to end, best exemplified in the absolutely heavenly transition from “Augment” into mammoth closer “Dementia”, both in sound and in length. If it wasn’t for the band’s newfound popularity that they unlocked in 2021, this is absolutely where I would recommend people start with this band. And, hell, I might recommend this album first anyways. It’s prog metalcore done to absolute perfection, and easily a new favorite of mine.
10/10
Favorite song: “Hybrid Earth”
Moments of Clarity (EP, 2014)
Moments of Clarity was ERRA’s first release with Sumerian Records, and their first and only record with harsh vocalist Ian Eubanks, who replaced Garrison Lee. In ERRA’s grand history, this EP often gets left out of the discussion as a footnote. Ian is barely mentioned compared to Garrison and JT, and is barely played live anymore (the last song performed off this EP was “Dreamcatcher” back in 2019). And it’s honestly a shame, because it’s musically a very solid follow-up to Augment, almost like the tasty dessert after a perfect main course. Ian Eubanks has arguably the heaviest screams of the three harsh vocalists in ERRA’s repertoire, with similar tone to Garrison, but far more guttural and borderline savage-sounding, which serves the band well on tracks like “Dreamcatcher” and “Warrior”. However, despite that, I can’t help but feel like there’s something missing from the overall package. Compared to the expansive, winding riffs of Augment, Moments of Clarity is far more straightforward with its riffs, which actually causes the EP to wear out its welcome a bit quicker than it should. Also, the caveat to Ian being a good successor to Garrison is that he lacks the range that Garrison would often demonstrate, and his delivery tends to be a bit more straightforward (there’s that word again). In a lot of ways, this feels like a collection of Augment B-sides: solid in their own right, but standing in the shadow of their older brother. Don’t let it fool you though, gripes aside, Moments of Clarity is a blast of an EP through and through, and a nice palate cleanser before ERRA enters their next incarnation.
8.5/10
Favorite song: “Warrior”
Drift (2016)
And we have arrived at the album that introduced us to the current incarnation of ERRA, with JT Cavey assuming the role of harsh vocalist, and Conor Hesse taking on the bass. And wow, the band had some growing pains to get through. Positives out of the way first, unlike the first EPs where the band was aping Misery Signals, Drift pretty much shows that ERRA were already in the mindset to write songs like what we would get in albums to come. JT has a hell of a scream, and he shows it off quite well in many of the songs. His screaming style on this album is consistent, if not a bit more one-note compared to Garrison Lee’s range, and the rest of the band actually write around that new style as opposed to trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. So why didn’t this album hit as hard as it should’ve for me? The songwriting is just as solid as ever, and the lyrics might be some of ERRA’s best so far. Hell, songs like “Continuum” and “Skyline” are up there with some of the best material off Augment and Impulse. Well, I hate to say it, but I think the weak link here is actually Jesse’s vocals. Jesse’s always sung in a high register, but he really pushes himself to the limit on Drift, and it’s painfully obvious in some songs that he’s straining his voice to try and hit those high notes (I noticed this as early as “Irreversible”). It sucks because, other than that, the production is great, the songwriting is great, and there are some insane solos that left my jaw on the floor. But the vocal growing pains are too tough to look past, and it seriously harms the album in the long run.
7.5/10
Favorite song: “Continuum”
Neon (2018)
Oh boy… in the lead up to this discog run, this album was the one I had easily heard the worst things about, what people almost singlehandedly pointed out as the nadir of ERRA’s career. And after listening to it? It’s decent. That might sound anti-climatic, but even the worst ERRA projects hold up as decent in comparison to what another band’s worst might be (as evidenced by the EPs and Drift still having 7s at the lowest). Jesse has thankfully reigned his vocals in after pushing them far beyond what was comfortable in Drift, and manages to go into higher registers without sounding like he’s going to blow his voice out. This better compliments JT’s screams this time around, making the vocal performance far less jarring for the album’s 42 minute runtime. Unfortunately, this is where the problems begin to set in. Neon is the first ERRA album that I can say sounds “formulaic”, with several songs feel like they’re throwing ERRA tropes into the songs just because that’s what’s expected of them at this point. “Monolith” and “Disarray” would be wonderfully decent songs if they didn’t come after some of the most powerful and spirited performances on the album, completely grinding the momentum to a halt. In fact, in general, the album is probably the worst flowing of ERRA’s releases, even if the individual songs are decent. And, of course, you cannot talk about this album without talking about the god-awful production that kneecaps any and all of the positives that do show up. The whole damn album sounds plastic, the bass is buried, Jesse’s consistently excellent guitar work is buried, the vocals bowl over everything, and the panning… dear sweet god, the panning on the cymbals is atrocious. Listening to this on speakers is probably not as bad an experience, but I listened to all of these albums with decent-quality headphones, and it was egregious. It really is a shame because, otherwise, songs like “Breach”, the one-two punch of “Hyperreality” and “Ghost of Nothing” and “Unify” could’ve been all-timers in ERRA’s career. As it stands, this is still an enjoyable album, but when the albums surrounding it are so incredible, its flaws become all the more apparent.
7/10
Favorite song: “Ghost of Nothing”
Eye of God (Single, 2019)
And we are back, ladies and gentlemen! After Neon’s disappointment, ERRA decided that, rather sit on their laurels and wait for the next album cycle to roll around, they would swing back as soon as they possibly could. Less than a year after Neon dropped, ERRA released the standalone single “Eye of God”, and proved that they still had plenty of gas left in the tank. Off the bat, the production on this track is immediately leaps and bounds better than the disaster present on the previous album. The bass is actually audible, the drums are properly panned, and the vocals sit far better in the mix. Speaking of the vocals, Jesse sounds more comfortable than he had in the previous two albums combined, and JT gets to show off plenty more of his vocal range, including hitting a nasty high scream right before the final chorus begins. In general, “Eye of God” also brings back the dynamic structures that were sorely missed on Neon, a rollercoaster ride of a track that manages to slide between loud chaos and quiet interludes without feeling jarring or sudden. If anything, those softer moments like the first pre-chorus only serve to make the balls-to-the-wall heavy sections hit all the harder. I implore you to listen to this with headphones, as every dynamic moment and layered riff is perfectly audible. ERRA needed to make a statement to prove that they still had it in them, and holy fuck did they ever make a statement. This song is legitimately perfect from beginning to end, and stands as a personal top 5 ERRA song. The future was bright for the Birmingham band… but none of us had any idea what was actually in store.
10/10
ERRA (2021/2022 [deluxe edition])
If “Eye of God” assured listeners that ERRA still had plenty of gas in the tank, their 2021 self-titled release basically told us that it wasn’t the gas tank for a car, but the fuel for a god damn rocket ship. What that clumsy analogy is meant to say is that this album was a landmark release for ERRA, easily the best thing they had done since Augment almost a decade prior. And the fans and metalcore community realized it too. This album exploded into the mainstream core world, rocketing ERRA to heights of popularity heretofore unseen. Everyone knew about this album. And all these years later, it still holds up borderline perfectly. In listening to these albums so closely back-to-back, it’s hard to see this album as anything other than an answer to Neon, a lot of the similar sonic ethos, but with almost every quibble ironed out and perfected. The production is perfect, a sci-fi futuristic sheen of technicality layering over each ambient section, but never losing any of the grit for the album’s riffier segments. The lyrics are the best of Drift and Neon, with the added bonus of JT and Jesse being at their most harmonious and locked-in yet. JT in particular gets to show off more of his range that he had already displayed on “Eye of God”, and, in fact, gets his ERRA-defining moment (pun entirely intended) on the crushing Meshuggah-inspired “Scorpion Hymn”. Neon had no identity? Well here’s the self-titled with the clearest identity the band have had in the last few years. All of this, and I’ve barely even had the time to discuss the individual songs themselves. ERRA contains what might be the most abundant number of standout individual tracks across its hour-and-a-half runtime (if you’re going by the deluxe edition). From the catapulting opener “Snowblood” (which contains easily my favorite breakdown in the entire album) to the Tool-esque “House of Glass” to the expansive “Lunar Halo”, this album hits you with highlight after highlight, and never lets up. And then there’s the deluxe edition. I could bitch about how the deluxe edition tracks upset the momentum of the otherwise perfect closer “Memory Fiction” (and don’t get me wrong, they absolutely do), but I can’t bring myself to care when said tracks are unironically among the best that ERRA have written, especially the absolutely heavenly harmonies in “Nigh to Silence”. It’s hard to identify a true weak spot here, and the only truly negative thing I can say about this album is that it set the bar entirely too high for what was about to follow.
10/10
Favorite song: “Snowblood”
Pull from the Ghost (Single, 2022)
So, you know how “Eye of God” was basically a “we’ve still got it” single? It was the ultimate statement to restore faith in ERRA after a lackluster album. Well, “Pull from the Ghost” is basically the exact opposite situation. Following up their landmark self-titled album, ERRA released this single around the same time as their 2022 North America tour… and if I’m being honest, this track is a bit underwhelming in comparison to the utter behemoth that was the self-titled. It’s not bad, far from it, in fact, but all I can say is that it’s serviceable. I hesitate to call it “ERRA on autopilot” because I feel like that better describes the songwriting of Neon more than anything, and “Pull from the Ghost” is still leaps and bounds beyond that album, but I find myself struggling to write anything of note about it, other than it’s a very solid single that follows up a damn-near-perfect album, which is kind of why I have so little to say. Most of the compliments I could extend “Pull”’s way could be easily applied to most other songs off the self-titled. That being said, this is still an ERRA song we’re talking about, so the guitar tone and riffs are still nasty, JT and Jesse bounce off each other super well, and the lyrics are actually super intriguing, almost serving as a sort of opposite parallel to their cover of “Stockholm Syndrome”. It’s a fine single, a great single even, but it’s tough to fully accept when it sounds like the self-titled album on cruise control.
8/10
Cure (2024)
This album represents what is perhaps the greatest left-turn in ERRA’s entire discography. I imagine that ERRA realized that attempting to do the same style as their self-titled would lead to comparisons and a far harsher outlook on the new album, especially in the wake of the rampant praise that album got over the course of its initial and deluxe release. So, instead of trying to make lightning strike twice, the band pivoted almost entirely. Cure is effectively what would happen if the Meshuggah-esque grooves in “Scorpion Hymn” got a whole album to shine, mixed with a healthy blend of industrial, NIN-styled soundscapes for good measure. The response was… still a bit harsh on release. Let’s be real, any album ERRA released after their 2021 masterpiece would be standing in that album’s shadow, but Cure’s decision to shift ERRA’s signature technical guitar playing to the left hand with syncopated grooves as opposed to Jesse’s usual fretboard fuckery (the proper term) was a bit of a tough pill to swallow for devoted and new fans alike. And, here’s the thing, with all of that discourse surrounding it… this album still rocks! Yes, the lack of winding fretboard riffs hurts the album slightly, and the production is slightly weaker vocally, but the songwriting is just as strong as ever, with some gorgeous choruses, and some songs that are honestly just disgustingly heavy (“Slow Sour Bleed” and especially “Crawl Backwards out of Heaven”). Where this album truly shines, however, is its experiments into the softer side of ERRA’s sound. “Blue Reverie”, in this regard, is the unambiguous star of the album, a thematic and sonic sequel to “Memory Fiction” off the self-titled, while still managing to weave in some JT harshes without having it sound forced. Similar compliments can be extended to the wonderful “Past Life Persona”. Beyond that, a lot of the complaints just come from someone who enjoys ERRA’s unique style of technicality.
8.5/10
Favorite song: “Blue Reverie”
Final Thoughts:
One of the most immediately evident facts about ERRA while scanning my ratings is that this band may just be one of the most consistently solid bands operating in the scene right now. Not a single work dipped below a 7, and even the worst albums and singles had a ton of positives that I could point out. This band came out swinging, and never really slowed down, always refining their technical approach to progressive metalcore, and putting out some of the best cleans and song structures I’ve ever heard in a scene that is otherwise prone to repetitive albums and sounds. As of this writing, we are approaching the release of ERRA’s 7th album, silence outlives the earth, and it’s shaping up to be another solid release, surprise surprise. Initial singles “Gore of Being” and “Echo Sonata” showed that, rather than leaving Cure behind in its entirety, ERRA have taken that album’s grooves and merged it with their signature fretboard tomfoolery, resulting in songs that sound like a perfect blend of the old and new. We’ll see how it stacks up when it drops in full this Friday, but considering this band’s track record, I have little reason to worry.
Discography ranking (excluding standalone singles):
9. Neon
8. Andromeda
7. ERRA (EP)
6. Drift
5. Moments of Clarity
4. Cure
3. Impulse
2. Augment
1. ERRA (album)
Average discography rating (including singles): 8.4/10
Favorite ERRA song: “Snowblood”
And so ends the first installment of Discog Diaries! Next month… who knows? But there’s a good chance that it won’t be as consistent as ERRA… maybe, we’ll see! Thanks for reading everyone!
Absolutely love it! Great to see all the yapping condensed into this behemoth. The top 3 is absolutely the top 3, no complaints.
Shoutout to fellow Gatekeeper! Tyler for yapping with me as I ran through this discography. This was an absolute blast to do, and I can’t wait to tackle whatever band I decide to do next!