New Cyhra Album 2018-2019

[DE4life]

These were A88's bullet-point requests after LtM for the next album:

- experienced producer - nope, it actually had less experience than the previous album as even though they retained Jacob Hansen they lost Jesper as a producer, as well as Jakob Hermann and Roberto Laghi.
- less songs, but longer songs that would allow for melodic ideas and riff to develop better and break intro-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-solo-chorus cycle that we have on this album - nope. More songs, same length and even less complexity as far as structure is concerned.
- less electronics fucking up good songs - nope. Stupid, shitty sounding electronics all over the place. Five people somehow working on electronics for this album.
- more quality riffs - nope. For the most part LtM had better riffs.
- more attention given to solos - Ehhh... kind of. Doesn't help much though.
- more attention given to generic vocals lines in some songs - nope. Vocal lines on this album are even more generic than LtM.
- better record label that could really promote this stuff - Hey, we actually have one yes! Spinefarm to Nuclear Blast.

 

[DE4life]

Also my final note on this tonight, but the lyrics on this album are shit. Like, really fucking shit. Embarrassingly bad.

 

[eochaid]

I prefer I, the Mask to Halos, and I honestly didn't think back in 2017 or 2018 that I'd be preferring the new IF album over the new Cyhra album.

I also do. In the end, I still can listen to like six or seven tracks from ITM.

Also, if you join all of the choruses in one track... Almost all of them follow the same pattern. Is... embarrasing.

 

[galvanized]

the pleasure is mine

don’t be scared

 

[galvanized]

My current song list in rough ranking (best at top):

Dreams Gone Wrong - good composition
Man of Eternal Rain - good composition
I Am the One - good vocals, nice solo atmosphere. Electronics too loud though.
Hit Me - intro such a tease. again cool solo atmosphere (invokes old Soilwork or something)
Blood Brothers - is this the heaviest song on the album? Sonically very dense. Invokes SOAPF.
Kings Tonight - WTF is up with the loud electronics. Otherwise decent.
Kings and Queens - Heavy riffs recall old IF. Solo a little disappointing.

The cool intros are doing their job at drawing me in. I ignore all the other songs, no interest.

 

[DE4life]

Also, if you join all of the choruses in one track... Almost all of them follow the same pattern. Is... embarrasing.

It was more or less the same on the last album as well tbh.

 

[eochaid]

I do not agree with that perception. LTM choruses were more varied on their structures. On this album almost all of them follow the same pattern.

 

[DE4life]

You agreed with it at the time (see the original thread) so I'm curious as to what changed your mind, as the music is still the same.

 

[galvanized]

Guitar work is better on the new album. And guitar production is crunchier.

 

[DE4life]

Production is definitely better. Actual guitar work? Not sure. A lot of the riffs are just instrumental version of the chorus vocal melody which isn't very creative. Solos are allowed a little longer to breathe on this album but I wouldn't say many of them are particularly good or memorable. There's nothing on this album for me that beats the opening riffs of Karma, or the incredible melancholic melodies of Closure.

 

[eochaid]

You agreed with it at the time (see the original thread) so I'm curious as to what changed your mind, as the music is still the same.

The problem with the first album was that he was more... intense in the choruses. Though I agree that there was a pattern in all of the songs. The problem with this one is that almost all of the choruses follow the same pattern.

 

[galvanized]

Unlike every IF album where the sound is very different from album to album, here Cyhra took the opposite route and basically made the same album. I feel like we are splitting hairs with comparing the two. Some things are a little better on the new album, but some things were a little better on the old album. Ultimately these two albums are closer together than any two IF albums over the past 25 years.

The new album has more metal intros that hook you in. Even if you hate the chorus you might still listen. The old album had overall better composition. If you listened then afterwards you thought “that was pretty solid”.

 

[DE4life]

They played it much safer with this album. Remember the strange tempo changes in Black Wings? The odd talking segments in Dead To Me? Jake's random switch to a really high register in the Holding Your Breath chorus (the intro of which sounded bizarrely like a Linkin Park song)? The unusual noises at the beginning of Closure? Karma's old school IF throwback riffs? Here To Save You's sudden jump into PM style that somehow worked? There were so many small, unique elements on the last album which didn't always work but showed a band that were experimenting, trying new things and having fun.

There's nothing like that on Halos. Nothing unique or unusual or special. It's super safe and as a result largely boring. Last album was not perfect by any means and I would agree that it is silly to pretend it didn't have a lot of the same issues as Halos, but the new album has essentially made all the same mistakes but with more boring music. Not good.

 

[DE4life]

The problem with the first album was that he was more... intense in the choruses. Though I agree that there was a pattern in all of the songs. The problem with this one is that almost all of the choruses follow the same pattern.

We were all saying the same thing the last time around though, so I don't think this is a new complaint. Maybe it's even more so on Halos than LtM, but it was still there last time.

As I said in my post above, they've basically made the same mistakes as before but with simpler and more boring music.

 

[eochaid]

It's so boring. I didn't even had the urge to listen to it again for a third time. There's really nothing that catches my attention.

 

[JesterSlaveSucks]

u guys are dumb bye bye for ever is best chorus since i am a mask

 

[eochaid]

You are... a mask?

 

[JesterSlaveSucks]

i am a jester who wants to be freeee

 

[DE4life]

One difference between LtM and Halos is that LtM had no songs with choruses like I Am The One or Hit Me. That's very much an "innovation" of this album.

 

[A88]

I feel like we are splitting hairs with comparing the two. Some things are a little better on the new album, but some things were a little better on the old album. QUOTE]

Just...no.