Review Summary: Erra prove they are perhaps the most genuinely inspired band in all of metalcore.
Augment: Verb. /ôgˈment/ To make (something) greater by adding to it; increase. By this definition, metalcore upstarts Erra have certainly augmented their discography with the release of their new LP. Following the release of their debut full-length
Impulse Erra firmly established themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the metalcore scene, leaving fans a veritable maelstrom of anticipation for their future releases.
Suffice it to say
Augment lives up to the hype. Where
Impulse had its glimpses of transcendent brilliance, instrumentally and lyrically, its successor fully harnesses Erra's potential, infusing the record with song after song of rich, layered soundscapes. Although Augment may not quite reaching the heights of primal wrath that songs like “Seven” encapusulated, it may only be tastefully sacrificed in the name of greater cohesion.
Do not be misled; serene, their sound is not. Yet often throughout the album, one finds moments of serenity, perhaps only made more poignant by their predominantly metallic style.
Augment finds Erra reveling in perfect harmony with itself. Like it or not, this is the sound of a band who knows exactly who they are. Erra's trademark dynamism and complex-yet-fluid guitarwork seems to reach new heights on Augment, giving the album a vitality all its own that was absent in their previous work. It is this frenetic interplay between soaring, melodic cleans and crushingly wrathful screams that many have come to recognize and love Erra for. These elements Augment delivers in spades. Songs like “Pulse” and “Hybrid Earth” seem to channel a passionate energy too often omitted in metalcore today. In this sense, Erra has the distinct advantage of being more genuinely inspired than many of their peers.
Thematically,
Augment harnesses and sonically reenacts topics that permeate the human experience; feelings of identity crisis, misanthropy, sorrow, love, and anxiety that resonate all too well with the current generation. In these common, perhaps almost cliched ideas, however, their songs imbue with an exalting hope that truly makes
Augment not merely an album, but an experience, a set of ideas and outlooks that Erra shares with its fans. Take, for instance, “Rebirth,” a song that was leaked well in advance of the proper release. Breathing life into the otherwise inanimate, albeit well-composed music is Erra's passionate, almost religious belief in living genuinely: “Follow your heart, and leap from the cliffs. Close your divine eyes to reason. Let inertia move you. Cling and be clung to. Speak and be spoken to.” These few lines, perhaps encompass Erra's approach to music, and indeed, to life. Authentic and unafraid,
Augment carries an imperfect beauty all its own.
