With their debut album “Echoes: Vanished Lore of Fire,” BEYREVRA from Nuremberg/Germany present a skillful mixture of Melodic Death and Black Metal. Founded in 2018, BEYREVRA completed their line-up over the following years. After the recordings were completed in the Mordor Sounds Studio, renowned Endarker Studio took over the mixing and mastering and gave “Echoes: Vanished Lore of Fire” a unique and yet typically Swedish touch.

 “Sentenced” is first. A crow squawks, followed by an increasingly loud set of spoken words that eventually leads to the main riff. I hear some Melodic Death Metal, and some Black Metal in their sound. “Burning Fate” begins with bell strikes and light rain, setting a somber and ominous mood. The music is reflective of this as well. “New Aeon Rising” has a similar sound, and through four songs, I don’t believe the band are pushing themselves enough to separate them from their many peers playing a similar style of Metal.

 “Erased” hears the riff venture out a bit in the beginning, but it soon falls into a similar groove once more. “Fallen Son” isn’t much better, unfortunately…the riffs are just too simple and not inventive. Let’s keep trying to get through the album the best that we can. “Beheading the Truth” has another simple and unimaginative riff. This is the core of the band’s sound, so it needs the most improvement. “Barren Tales” has a little more of an inventive riff even with some melody, but at this point in the album, they should have explored more. “The Hermit’s Torment” closes the album, and the sound is too similar once again.

Overall, the fatal flaw of the band was not separating themselves from their peers. They relied too much on simple riffs and explored territory, and did not take any chances. The result is a mediocre effort that just lacked originality and punch.