Evra
Lightbearer

Ambitious quintet Evra consider themselves bearers of light when they release their first album, an album they call Lightbearer. They have enlisted help from names well known in the business to create the best sound possible but also for their visual presentation, the album has a fairly striking cover. It is a Danish quintet hiding behind the moniker Evra and they have been around for two years but have already started to build a reputation as a wild live band, and already received some praise from internet reviewers for their live shows. That would go far in terms of reaching the band’s goal to build themselves a name in the business both on their home turf in Denmark but also on the international stage. So now let us deduce whether or not they have what it takes to make it on the bigger stage.

The label states that Evra is aiming to merge two genres that are both respected and popular within the heavy music scene: Stoner and hardcore. I don’t think that is a bad description of what Evra is offering, it is heavy, crunchy stoner riffs combined with the typical hardcore vocals and energy. It is groovy, catchy, energetic and straight to the point – easy to take in and easy to like. They combine the elements of these two genres in a good way, a seamless merger I would say. The production is good; it has the rough edges and crunchiness that you want from music that is styled this way. The album is short and to the point with only nine tracks and thirty minutes of music – they go for the intense experience rather than more is better (which it never really is).

I think this is a real quality album, it is really great. Though, being a critic I cannot ignore that the vocals seem a tad ordinary for a hardcore album, a small letdown in the bigger picture but a letdown nonetheless. The thing that they do really well is that they remind you of a whole racket of bands but that they don’t really sound like any of them, I think they sound very fresh and exciting. And they do what they do really well. This is certainly an album that I can recommend, sure I can make a reservation for the vocals but the fact is that it is a great album even with vocals that aren’t of the same level as the rest. I should add that the vocals aren’t bad, they are just a bit ordinary and not of the same high standard as the rest of the album.

I think that the title track is the highlight of the album, an amazing and catchy track that stands out a lot. But all the songs are very strong and the album has no real weakness, it is amazing in most regards. It is like this you want hardcore to sound, with energy, drive and attitude – but also individuality and personality, I Think Evra hits the bullseye with their debut album.  And if their live shows are as good as alluded to by the label they have every possibility to become a band everyone is talking about. But success isn’t really that much about quality of the product but rather about how good a seller and marketer you are, but if they are half as good at that as they are at being musicians and song writers they will be very successful.

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