Founded by vocalist Jake E and guitarist Jesper Strömblad, CYHRA has gone from being reminiscent of the duo's former bands to having an identity all its own. With the addition of lead guitarist Euge Valovirta, and drummer Alex Landenburg the group have released two critically acclaimed albums. Adding guitarist Marcus Sunesson some time ago the band released their third album "The Vertigo Trigger" on August 18th, 2023. The album has eleven songs.

"Ready to Rumble" is first. Those opening guitar harmonies remind me of the old days of IN FLAMES, but the vocals are of course clean. The melodies are bright and polished, and the song is catchy as hell. That opening blend of keyboards and guitars give "Let's Have My Story Told" a sturdy, melodic sound, and the balance of aggressiveness tempered with such melody is what made the genre famous to begin with. The song swells from heaviness at times, while retreating to more emotional moments at other times.

"1.000.000 Fahrenheit" burns with all the passion of that temperature. I hesitate to label this music as "Modern" or "Nu" Metal, but they do flirt with that at times, and they use it to their advantage rather than letting it hide. "Buried Alive" has a smoother sound and comes out of the gates with polished corners. It still has a heavy bite but it's more about the melody and the hooks. You will be singing along with this one for days. "The Voice You Need to Hear" is an emotionally heavy song with a deep impact. Vocalist Jake reaches deep and pulls them from deep within, and the tender sound really hits the listener hard.

"If I" is more aggressive out of the gate but still tempered with melody from keyboards and piano. The band uses these augmenting elements quite well. Again, the vocal harmonies in the chorus are fantastic. "Ashlight" is another very catchy song but has enough of a backbone to appease Metalheads. One thing is for certain...the band are veteran songwriters. I was going to summarize the review with a detailed description of the genre and what it has to offer, but the more that I think about it, I say throw genre labels out the window, and just enjoy the album for what it is...a wonderfully balanced alum that will tickle the fancy of traditional Metalheads as well as the young generation of listeners.