When it came to figuring out what their next step as a band should be, ERRA wanted to make sure that it was one that put them first.

That may seem like a simple and obvious statement, but it can so often get lost in the noise and speed of all of this. The last five years have seen the band go from scene staple to full-blown superstars, as much a cult project as an influence and leader of the pack. It would be easy to rest on their laurels and do something that they thought the wider scene wanted to hear, or they could make something that they wanted to hear.

That’s where ‘silence outlives the earth’ comes into play. A 42-minute boot to the temple, an unrelenting piece of furious, frantic and fantastically dense modern metalcore mastery, it is also ERRA’s most direct release to date. Still jam-packed with the same levels of technicality and tenacity that have carried them throughout the years, but with the sort of punch that leaves one hell of a colourful bruise, it’s a collection of songs that not only further cements their place in the upper echelons but serves as a perfect welcome mat for those still joining the party.

To find out more about how they carved out this sensational new era, Rock Sound had a catch-up with vocalist J.T. Cavey and Jesse Cash.

Rock Sound: What are your immediate feelings about where ERRA is right now, off the back of this album dropping? How does it compare to previous records?

J.T.: Eager. I’ve been wanting people to hear it so bad. I’ve been so excited for it. I’m very proud of it, and I think it’s probably my favourite record of ours now. We created an environment over the last two records in which we have been able to lock in our process and workflow. And because of that, I feel like these songs are really strong.

Jesse: Yeah, I feel that eagerness. We pushed for a pretty quick rollout from the point that we revealed that this was going to be an album to it being released. The main band that made me want to do that was Deftones, because I liked how they released their recent record. It was two singles and six weeks between the announcement and the release. I really like it when bands just give it to you. It’s really easy to get caught up in the teasing, but as a listener and a fan myself, I would always prefer to get the record as soon as possible.

RS: You can definitely feel that excitement within the songs. Off the back of ‘Cure’ in 2024, what do you feel as though your initial intent was with this record as a follow-up?

Jesse: The thing with ‘Cure’ is that we kind of knew what was going to happen with it whilst we were writing it. We had these conversations in the studio, and Connor always has his finger on the pulse of our fanbase’s zeitgeist. He was the first one early on to say to me, ‘Just so you know, people are going to complain that this is less technical, and I replied with, ‘Yeah, I know, maybe they will get used to it. And I still stand by that.  I think it’s a record that, in subsequent years, will get better and not worse. But we were definitely trying to do a different thing with it. I wanted to make something that was really rhythm-focused and very atmospheric.

Whilst on this record, we are still doing that different thing, but we are also returning to form. There are a lot of elements that feel reminiscent of the first couple of records, even pre-JT. I think ‘Stellar Form’ is a good example of that, because there are moments when I can hear the Misery Signals influence coming through. As much as that band was a big part of the forming of ERRA, but it’s not an influence that I have really thought about a lot in recent years. But hearing it now, it feels like a refresh of those sounds. I feel like it has more of an instantaneous appeal than ‘Cure’ did, particularly for someone who has been listening to us for a long time, but so much more elevated than what we have done before. It’s the best version of an ERRA record as far as I am concerned.

RS: It’s always a case of keeping tabs on what is happening within the musical world you have forged, but also outside of that as well. What would you say were the things that were coming to the surface in terms of what was happening around you in your everyday lives that you were bringing to the table this time around?

J.T.: I look at a lot of things. I often look at my previous performances first. When you’re writing music, you’re obviously going to be influenced by the music you’re listening to or the things that are happening in your world. Those things always creep in. But I always approach new records and recordings with the intention of achieving your new PRs, really. Making your best lift. I look at the past to see if there is anything I used to do or have that I should bring back. Be that my range or trying new things. I’m sure that Jesse and the rest of the band look back at what they have been writing and work in the same way. I don’t think that we ever lock in and say, ‘We need to do this type of record’. This time around was incredible, free-flowing, and low-stress. We gave ourselves a lot of time and had a lot of fun making it. Nothing felt like a grind, and it all came very naturally.

Jesse: When it started to really take shape, and we knew what we needed to do with it, was when we did the first four songs. We recorded this album in two sessions several months apart, and it was awesome. I would highly recommend it, and I never want to do it any other way again. It allowed time to marinate on what had occurred in the studio first time around and then adjust as we moved forwards. It’s a very different process going through that with a producer compared to on your own.

When we did those first four songs – ‘gore of being’, ‘further eden’, ‘echo sonata’ and ‘lucid threshold’ – they feel really good together. It’s a nice little family, doing different things consistently and with intention. They feel uniform. That helped us figure out where else to go next.

J.T.: I remember how energised I felt coming out with those four. It was really nice.

RS: How did that affect things from a lyrical standpoint for you?

Jesse: Lyrically, this album was so much easier. Over the last couple of years, just from reading more, I got way overboard with how the lyrics needed to read and come across. I don’t think that is to a detriment, but it started to go the other way, where with this record and process. That’s in terms of being very militant with things and having to have a very clear breadcrumb trail of what it means and what we are trying to say. This time around, it was much freer and more open. That came partly from going back to ‘Drift’ and listening to those lyrics, and part of the magic of those songs. It made me realise that it’s more about a moment and how a lyric sounds in a place to complement the emotion of how that particular part sounds. It connects with people more than it does when it’s just under this overarching grand theme. How much do you want to express within those three minutes?

This time around, in terms of thematic discipline, it was line-by-line. If you say a line that resonates and feels powerful, especially within the context of the part that it is being prescribed to, and you can feel the words in conjunction with what the instruments are doing, that feels more valuable, and I think it’s more effective.

Again, when it goes back to those first four songs, I feel more emotionally connected to the words, despite there being less emphasis on everything making sense together. Sometimes a song can take shape and you can read between the lines and go, ‘Okay, subconsciously we were saying something here’. ‘further eden’ to me is just an outcry of frustration over modernity and modern conditions and being so brain fogged by all the information we are getting all the time’. ‘gore being’ is about the stresses of being a human being. But I think by not overthinking those things, we got way more connection within them. It’s about what you can do naturally without thinking yourself to death.

RS: To be able to shed that skin and be doing things in a way that feels good first and foremost is the sort of step you always think you’ll take, but sometimes it takes a bit more of a push than you realise. But to do it at this time, when more eyes are on you than ever before, it’s a great time to hit that sort of stride.

Jesse: It’s a good time in metal not to care what people think. I don’t care what anyone says now, but back in 2019, when I first discovered Sleep Token, every suit guy was being, ‘This isn’t going to work, you can’t write these six or seven-minute songs like this. And all of that means fuck all now because that band is the biggest in the world right now. And that’s really exciting. Knocked Loose as well. It’s a good time to write whatever you want. You don’t have to write things for any goal beyond liking the way it sounds and feels. It’s a time when a lot of listeners are resonating with that. They want you to write something that you enjoy listening to yourself. It may seem so simple to people who don’t write music or aren’t in a band, asking, ‘Isn’t that what you’re doing anyway?’ For years, my step-dad would say to me every time we went on tour, ‘Remember, most importantly, have fun.’ For years, I was more, ‘No, most importantly, grind and have ambition and show the world’. Having fun, though, is really the most important thing, and it should be the leading tenet of all of this.

RS: Saying all of that, it does make you wonder just how many bands out there are still functioning with that grind aspect over the fun aspect.

Jesse: It definitely makes me appreciate the bands that we have got close to over the years and the natural connection we have had with them. There are so many good bands that are artists at heart. That’s the reason they are here. Currents are a band that we haven’t toured with much, but we have always seen them around, and there is this synergy. Before this upcoming tour starts, we know we are going in with a band that approaches it the way we do. Invent Animate are like that. Fit For A King are like that.

RS: Being this deep in and knowing that you have cultivated a foundation where that is key is so important. Because it sets you up for years to come, too. Life is too short to be spending your time doing something that doesn’t make you feel good.

Jesse: It’s absolutely all about community. You form your community; its size may vary, but it’s about quality over quantity.

J.T.: In the beginning, when you’re young and you’re touring with bands who have been around for a while, seeing the attitude difference between us and meeting young bands is huge. I love feeling inspired and energised by that youthfulness that comes with new bands. Not to say those bands we used to tour with were boring or jaded, but there’s something different when you’re surrounded by people still establishing themselves. It’s been really healthy for me to meet people who make me feel like I still have stuff to work on. The ceiling has not been made yet.