Boosted by the success of their 2017 debut, »Letters To Myself«, Swedish bashers CYHRA are using that momentum and pushing forward with a new album, »No Halos In Hell«, and Nuclear Blast fully behind them. Founded by vocalist Jake E (ex-AMARANTHE) and guitarist Jesper Strömblad (ex-IN FLAMES), CYHRA has gone from being reminiscent of the duo's former bands to having an identity all its own. In fact, »No Halos In Hell« is one of those rare albums that defies being placed neatly in a boxed-up metal genre coming out heavy and dynamic, yet loaded with melodic vocal hooks that stay nailed to the brain for days while keeping the impact hard and heavy. Fusing these two elements in the best way possible was CYHRA's main focus this time out.

 

As strong as »Letters To Myself« was as a debut, »No Halos In Hell« is head and shoulders above it in every way. The addition of guitarist Euge Valovirta (ex-SHINING) as a full member has raised the creative process to a new level.

 

For those that want to try and label CYHRA with a genre stamp, one listen through »No Halos In Hell« will instantly solidify the stance that Jake E and his bandmates think and play outside the box. This is reflected in the multi-faceted spread of tracks from lead-off track ‘Out Of My Life’, the thundering ‘Kings Tonight’, the soaring folk-flavoured ‘Blood Brothers’, the tender ‘Lost In Time’, and the schizophrenic ‘Hit Me’. And this is just the tip of the iceberg