They've pretty much been doing that for 4 years or so now. Continuing to insist Jesper is involved, despite never touring with them, never taking any photos with them, barely mentioning them and with no real trace of his identity on NHIH.
I'm glad they released Letters to Myself, but I get the feeling that was their peak. Euge is a talented guy in a lot of respects, but his style doesn't really do it for me. Jake was by his own account the creative force behind NHIH and that album was bland as fuck. It's hard to see how Cyhra 3 will be much good in all honesty, but who knows. If Bjorn and Hipster can create something decent in SOAPF it's not beyond the likes of Jake and Euge to put something decent out there too.
I don't think it'll happen - it'll probably be another NHIH type album - but hey, might as well have a little hope.
I'm glad they released Letters to Myself, but I get the feeling that was their peak. Euge is a talented guy in a lot of respects, but his style doesn't really do it for me. Jake was by his own account the creative force behind NHIH and that album was bland as fuck. It's hard to see how Cyhra 3 will be much good in all honesty, but who knows. If Bjorn and Hipster can create something decent in SOAPF it's not beyond the likes of Jake and Euge to put something decent out there too.
I don't think it'll happen - it'll probably be another NHIH type album - but hey, might as well have a little hope.
Xpyro125
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I get the feeling that Jesper's out of Cyhra in the same way that Niclas was out of In Flames- With a non-announcement that'll end up being leaked by the Halo Effect documentary. I remember hearing the main melody to "Lies" from NHIH on Jesper's socials, but that was it. If he didn't contribute more than patching up a few sections on most of the songs he was credited for, I wouldn't be surprised. Makes sense why "Lies" is one of the only songs I'll actually listen to from the album these days.
I'll die on the hill that Letters To Myself is phenomenal though. Then again, Jesper composed most of that, Euge (Not credited because he was still contractually obligated by Shining at the time) did a lot of the solo parts, and Jake's lyrics weren't dogshit. I like them as a humble unit and not rockstars like they became after NHIH was hyped by the label and every goddamn reviewer out there. Of course they're not going to see it as a failure: It boosted their popularity massively, that's what matters.
Basically it's just about image. It's better to not announce that Jesper's gone because that'll immediately drive his fans away, but if they say that he's still a core member of the band for a fact, then it'll garner a ton of backlash for them. And Jesper's most likely not saying that he's out of the band due to contractual obligations. That's my guess, anyways.
I'll die on the hill that Letters To Myself is phenomenal though. Then again, Jesper composed most of that, Euge (Not credited because he was still contractually obligated by Shining at the time) did a lot of the solo parts, and Jake's lyrics weren't dogshit. I like them as a humble unit and not rockstars like they became after NHIH was hyped by the label and every goddamn reviewer out there. Of course they're not going to see it as a failure: It boosted their popularity massively, that's what matters.
Basically it's just about image. It's better to not announce that Jesper's gone because that'll immediately drive his fans away, but if they say that he's still a core member of the band for a fact, then it'll garner a ton of backlash for them. And Jesper's most likely not saying that he's out of the band due to contractual obligations. That's my guess, anyways.
Yeah, I think Jesper and Jake are genuinely good friends as well, so Jesper is probably OK with keeping some kind of link to Cyhra even if he isn't contributing much at all these days.
LtM is a good album for sure. Very unique and feels genuine and fresh, irrespective of whether every song hits the mark. The likes of Black Wings and Closure are absolutely outstanding. NHIH was just painfully average in every respect. The only song on there I came back to with any regularly is Man of Eternal Rain, which I think is of similar quality to the LtM stuff. The rest... nope. Lyrics weren't great on album 1 but somehow got even worse on album 2. Cliched to the extreme.
Not really sure what to expect from the third album but my expectations are very, very low. Jesper was basically the reason I had any interest in this band to begin with, and if he's not really involved anymore I doubt anything they put out is going to interest me. Based on NHIH Jake and Euge just don't write stuff that appeals to my tastes.
LtM is a good album for sure. Very unique and feels genuine and fresh, irrespective of whether every song hits the mark. The likes of Black Wings and Closure are absolutely outstanding. NHIH was just painfully average in every respect. The only song on there I came back to with any regularly is Man of Eternal Rain, which I think is of similar quality to the LtM stuff. The rest... nope. Lyrics weren't great on album 1 but somehow got even worse on album 2. Cliched to the extreme.
Not really sure what to expect from the third album but my expectations are very, very low. Jesper was basically the reason I had any interest in this band to begin with, and if he's not really involved anymore I doubt anything they put out is going to interest me. Based on NHIH Jake and Euge just don't write stuff that appeals to my tastes.
Xpyro125
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"Closure" is fucking outstanding, easily the best song on the album, especially after realizing that it's about how Jesper and Jake were both pushed out of the bands they not only founded, but had the core vision for. The only songs I'd say are lacking lyrically are "Dark Clarity" and "Dead To Me", but I still quite like those songs.
But this...
I had your back
But who had mine
I broke the core and ran that line
I’d keep you safe
And hold you tight
How can we know our memories align
Dear lord, it's generic as shit. One of the things I love about the lyrics of Letters is that it's pretty much supposed to be from Jesper's perspective, so that friendship that he and Jake have/had just fucking oozes from the tracks (Along with half the cheesiness you'd expect from anything Amaranthe-related). No Halos is just full of cliches that try to fit with a basic 1/2/1/2/3/4/3/4 or 1/2/2/3/4/4 rhyme scheme at the expense of any sort of coherence or quality, and I fucking hate most of the lyrics. "Battle From Within", "Hit Me", and "Man of Eternal Rain" were alright, but they really don't hold a candle to anything from Letters in my eyes.
Jesper's easily my favorite guitarist ever, and I was a pretty big Amaranthe fan at the time (Until I looked into the band politics, and then until I listened to the music again), so hearing that he and Jake were working together was fucking awesome. I actually quite like Euge's solo album and his contributions to Shining, but NHIH was so painful that I actively stopped talking about Cyhra. Didn't exactly have anything kind to say, so I left it out. Kinda sucks too because I did, in very brief portions, get some interaction with each of the band members aside from Jake. Jesper even told me that he hoped the new album (No Halos) wouldn't disappoint. I really wish I could tell him that it didn't.
But this...
I had your back
But who had mine
I broke the core and ran that line
I’d keep you safe
And hold you tight
How can we know our memories align
Dear lord, it's generic as shit. One of the things I love about the lyrics of Letters is that it's pretty much supposed to be from Jesper's perspective, so that friendship that he and Jake have/had just fucking oozes from the tracks (Along with half the cheesiness you'd expect from anything Amaranthe-related). No Halos is just full of cliches that try to fit with a basic 1/2/1/2/3/4/3/4 or 1/2/2/3/4/4 rhyme scheme at the expense of any sort of coherence or quality, and I fucking hate most of the lyrics. "Battle From Within", "Hit Me", and "Man of Eternal Rain" were alright, but they really don't hold a candle to anything from Letters in my eyes.
Jesper's easily my favorite guitarist ever, and I was a pretty big Amaranthe fan at the time (Until I looked into the band politics, and then until I listened to the music again), so hearing that he and Jake were working together was fucking awesome. I actually quite like Euge's solo album and his contributions to Shining, but NHIH was so painful that I actively stopped talking about Cyhra. Didn't exactly have anything kind to say, so I left it out. Kinda sucks too because I did, in very brief portions, get some interaction with each of the band members aside from Jake. Jesper even told me that he hoped the new album (No Halos) wouldn't disappoint. I really wish I could tell him that it didn't.
Dark Clarity and Dead To Me are actually the two weakest songs on the album in general for me. Both are decent but have some problems that knock points off. I don't think the narration in Dead To Me works very well, for example. Dark Clarity doesn't seem to have the same creativity and energy of the other tracks. Both still absolutely OK to listen to though.
Biggest problem with NHIH is undoubtedly how utterly generic it is. Absolutely nothing that really stands out or makes you want to listen again. It's an album that is on autopilot from beginning to end. A huge shame as I was really looking forward to how Cyhra would evolve and develop the LtM sound. Instead they distilled that sound down to its most basic elements and just used those repeatedly from the start to the finish.
Amaranthe - first two albums very good (Nexus is legit up there with my absolute favourite albums), after that got stale kinda fast for me. I still enjoy some of their newer stuff, but I don't think they'll ever come close to the quality of the first couple of albums. I actually think it was Cyhra that made me check out Amaranthe in the first place, rather than the other way around.
There were a handful of us on here who were really excited for NHIH, since we generally ranked LtM around the 7 or 8/10 range. You can see in the album thread how we go from excited, to concerned, to perplexed and then just disappointed. I think we all kind of gave up on Cyhra after NHIH. I'll still listen to their new album but there's a lot they need to fix.
Biggest problem with NHIH is undoubtedly how utterly generic it is. Absolutely nothing that really stands out or makes you want to listen again. It's an album that is on autopilot from beginning to end. A huge shame as I was really looking forward to how Cyhra would evolve and develop the LtM sound. Instead they distilled that sound down to its most basic elements and just used those repeatedly from the start to the finish.
Amaranthe - first two albums very good (Nexus is legit up there with my absolute favourite albums), after that got stale kinda fast for me. I still enjoy some of their newer stuff, but I don't think they'll ever come close to the quality of the first couple of albums. I actually think it was Cyhra that made me check out Amaranthe in the first place, rather than the other way around.
There were a handful of us on here who were really excited for NHIH, since we generally ranked LtM around the 7 or 8/10 range. You can see in the album thread how we go from excited, to concerned, to perplexed and then just disappointed. I think we all kind of gave up on Cyhra after NHIH. I'll still listen to their new album but there's a lot they need to fix.
Xpyro125
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The narration in "Dead To Me" is far too hammed up, I gotta agree. It could've worked really well, but forced and edgy are not a good combination whatsoever. "Dark Clarity" is energetic and bouncy, but unlike "Rescue Ride" and "Black Wings", it feels a bit restrained and insubstantial lyrically. I agree though, they're enjoyable listens, but I can only really do so when I'm listening to the album from beginning to end.
Yeah, I completely agree. When "Bye Bye Forever" is one of your highlights, there's something seriously wrong with your album.
I used to be absolutely love the first two albums and defend them to high heaven because Jake's vision for them was absolutely spot-on. The sort of 'Hollywood b-movie" lyrics give them identity and accessibility, but something about the music is a bit too cheesy for me these days. And while The Nexus is absolutely a step up musically, I found it seriously bizarre that Andy had probably seven minutes total out of fifty-one where he did vocals (I forget, it's been a while since I counted it up) and had so many repeated lines. I'm sure the repetition was for thematic purposes, but it feels like he got seriously sidelined on the album. Massive Addictive's probably my favorite these days, but then again, Jake got sidelined on it, so fuck. Maximalism definitely has the best balance of the three vocalists out of the classic albums, but considering that Jake only wrote two songs on it... It really isn't one of the classic Amaranthe albums, and although it's just as fun as the previous ones, it's vapid as hell. Considering my dissatisfaction with Maximalism at the time, hearing about Cyhra was everything I could've wanted.
Man, LTM was a 9 or 10 for me depending on the day. It's a fucking master stroke in everything I hoped it'd be, save for being a bit heavier, though that was something the follow-up could've improved on. When I heard the announcement that the next album would be more focused on making songs that'd work well live over the moody, somewhat gloomy feel of Letters, that was completely understandable. They didn't have that many songs on Letters that truly fit an arena. But Christ, they sacrificed everything for the sake of heaviness, and even then, that heaviness was not much whatsoever. Considering that I completely dropped being an active part of the fanbase after NHIH, I'm banking all of my investment in them on the next album. If it's as much of a misfire as No Halos, I'm straight up done with the band. Letters'll be to me what the first batch of In Flames albums are to that band's purists.
Yeah, I completely agree. When "Bye Bye Forever" is one of your highlights, there's something seriously wrong with your album.
I used to be absolutely love the first two albums and defend them to high heaven because Jake's vision for them was absolutely spot-on. The sort of 'Hollywood b-movie" lyrics give them identity and accessibility, but something about the music is a bit too cheesy for me these days. And while The Nexus is absolutely a step up musically, I found it seriously bizarre that Andy had probably seven minutes total out of fifty-one where he did vocals (I forget, it's been a while since I counted it up) and had so many repeated lines. I'm sure the repetition was for thematic purposes, but it feels like he got seriously sidelined on the album. Massive Addictive's probably my favorite these days, but then again, Jake got sidelined on it, so fuck. Maximalism definitely has the best balance of the three vocalists out of the classic albums, but considering that Jake only wrote two songs on it... It really isn't one of the classic Amaranthe albums, and although it's just as fun as the previous ones, it's vapid as hell. Considering my dissatisfaction with Maximalism at the time, hearing about Cyhra was everything I could've wanted.
Man, LTM was a 9 or 10 for me depending on the day. It's a fucking master stroke in everything I hoped it'd be, save for being a bit heavier, though that was something the follow-up could've improved on. When I heard the announcement that the next album would be more focused on making songs that'd work well live over the moody, somewhat gloomy feel of Letters, that was completely understandable. They didn't have that many songs on Letters that truly fit an arena. But Christ, they sacrificed everything for the sake of heaviness, and even then, that heaviness was not much whatsoever. Considering that I completely dropped being an active part of the fanbase after NHIH, I'm banking all of my investment in them on the next album. If it's as much of a misfire as No Halos, I'm straight up done with the band. Letters'll be to me what the first batch of In Flames albums are to that band's purists.
Xpyro125
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I liked the solo there. That's it, that's all the positive things I can say, it's a bunch of people who think they're smarter than they actually are [Feat. Jake E].
Dunno how you can do symphonic/gothic metal that tries less than Within Temptation's worst efforts, but here we are.
Dunno how you can do symphonic/gothic metal that tries less than Within Temptation's worst efforts, but here we are.
Xpyro125
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Yeah the solo was OK, but felt a bit out of place considering the overall flow of the track. Jake looks a bit rough in that video honestlylike he's just woken up from a wild night.
I'd genuinely have no interest in the song if the solo wasn't there. I mean, I'm going to forget about it in two days, but at least there was one neat thing.
And yeah, he really does.
Xpyro125
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I like some gothic and symphonic stuff, but I never really fell in love with either subgenre. Blasphemous as it is to say, I quite like Lacuna Coil (Not that they've been gothic in nearly 20 years, but eh), and they're the only real GM band who I ever semi-regularly listen to.
There are a few songs I like by bands here and there, Sinergy (featuring a certain Jesper Stromblad), early Nightwish, Katatonia, some of DT's older stuff, IF's Subterranean probably counts at some level, Tristania, Moonspell, Paradise Lost, Flowing Tears, Poisonblack, Anubis... but it's generally just a few or a couple of songs from each, rather than entire albums.
Xpyro125
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Makes sense. I've just drifted off into shoegaze/dream pop, some melodeath, and black/post-black these days, but it's nice to listen to stuff that I used to repeat for days on end.
The Grayfox
#MusicTheoryBro
Oh how I miss Poisonblack. I'm a sucker for gothic and gothic-leaning metal. Even though I think Poisonblack kind of got away from that style in their later years. I love their first few albums though.
I have such a weird taste in music that I thought would never happen. I listen to a lot of old stuff, a lot of new stuff... but it's almost always in the metal realm. I just don't connect with other types of music so much. But if you would have told me 15 years ago that I would be listening to bands like Beartooth, Lorna Shore and Ice Nine Kills, I probably would have told you that you were insane.
On the topic of Cyhra, it just doesn't do it for me for the most part. I think any time Jesper formed a new band, I had this subconscious thought of "ooh, maybe it'll be MDM" and then when it wasn't, it was disappointing. That being said, I did listen to Letters From Myself quite a bit when it first came out.
I have such a weird taste in music that I thought would never happen. I listen to a lot of old stuff, a lot of new stuff... but it's almost always in the metal realm. I just don't connect with other types of music so much. But if you would have told me 15 years ago that I would be listening to bands like Beartooth, Lorna Shore and Ice Nine Kills, I probably would have told you that you were insane.
On the topic of Cyhra, it just doesn't do it for me for the most part. I think any time Jesper formed a new band, I had this subconscious thought of "ooh, maybe it'll be MDM" and then when it wasn't, it was disappointing. That being said, I did listen to Letters From Myself quite a bit when it first came out.
Xpyro125
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I fucking love Letters, every time I listen to one of the songs, I pretty much have to listen to the entire album all over again. Admittedly, it's why I try not to listen to any of the songs from it regularly, but sometimes I'm just in the mood for that.
I was seriously hyped going into Cyhra 2 (Before No Halos In Hell had a name). and I so badly wanted to tell the band how much I loved their lead single after I listened to it. Then I listened to "Out of My Life", and after the first listen, I did a serious double take. It's just "Karma" if you completely homogenized it, and I was just completely baffled. Then we had "Battle From Within", and it was alright, the lyrics and story behind it were cool and deep enough to keep me a little bit optimistic. Considering that Letters is one of my favorite albums of all time and then considering the quality of No Halos... I've never been so disappointed in a band. I know I wasn't an In Flames fan before Siren Charms or Battles, but I feel like I would've been less disappointed going into Battles than I was when I finished No Halos. I'm not hyped for Cyhra 3 anymore, I'm not an active part of the fanbase anymore, and I haven't really spoken to any of the band members since "Out of My Life" released just because I had nothing nice to say about No Halos. I think it broke me in the sense that I'll never be a big part of an active fanbase nor extremely hyped about a release ever again.
I was seriously hyped going into Cyhra 2 (Before No Halos In Hell had a name). and I so badly wanted to tell the band how much I loved their lead single after I listened to it. Then I listened to "Out of My Life", and after the first listen, I did a serious double take. It's just "Karma" if you completely homogenized it, and I was just completely baffled. Then we had "Battle From Within", and it was alright, the lyrics and story behind it were cool and deep enough to keep me a little bit optimistic. Considering that Letters is one of my favorite albums of all time and then considering the quality of No Halos... I've never been so disappointed in a band. I know I wasn't an In Flames fan before Siren Charms or Battles, but I feel like I would've been less disappointed going into Battles than I was when I finished No Halos. I'm not hyped for Cyhra 3 anymore, I'm not an active part of the fanbase anymore, and I haven't really spoken to any of the band members since "Out of My Life" released just because I had nothing nice to say about No Halos. I think it broke me in the sense that I'll never be a big part of an active fanbase nor extremely hyped about a release ever again.
LtM was solid enough, decent album as long as you weren't expecting a return to the glory days of 1996-2000. It's pretty unique and has a lot of variety across the disc. Jake's vocals are a sticking point for a lot of people which is fair enough. I don't mind him but can see why others wouldn't be that enamoured with him.
As far as Poisonblack go, I really like Escapexstacy. Lust Stained Despair is solid too. Glow of the Flames has been a favourite for a long time (although it was only some time after I first heard it that I actually realised what the lyrics were about). With Her I die is another one I used to play a lot. Very nice guitar melodies. Poisonblack had a lot of melody going on amongst all the gothic dressing, which is probably what drew me to them initially.
As far as Poisonblack go, I really like Escapexstacy. Lust Stained Despair is solid too. Glow of the Flames has been a favourite for a long time (although it was only some time after I first heard it that I actually realised what the lyrics were about
). With Her I die is another one I used to play a lot. Very nice guitar melodies. Poisonblack had a lot of melody going on amongst all the gothic dressing, which is probably what drew me to them initially.Similar threads
