Based in Manchester, ‘VMBRA’ are a progressive metal band, already with a solid EP released in 2022. With ‘RESVRGAM’ they firmly introduced themselves into the alternative scenes in and around Manchester and established their sound with the heavy riffs and soaring vocals that they brought to every track. Now with ‘Echelon’ they attempt to build on the sound they’ve developed and strive to continue to grow in the scene.
Straight off the bat it’s fair to say they have succeeded in this regard, ‘Echelon’ is incredible. With subtle likenesses to bands such as The Deer Hunter or Haken, VMBRA have managed to build on the sound they already had with ‘RESVRGAM’ while taking it in a slightly different direction and absolutely smashing it out of the park. Where ‘RESVRGAM’ was a quality debut EP, ‘Echelon’ elevates the band to a whole new level and reminds us why we love the progressive genre so much.
The track begins with an amazing instrumental intro before settling in with our personal favourite section of the song, an a capella-esque vocal lead section that could have come straight out of a Queen record. With an upbeat, almost jaunty feel to the music, the sound is contrasted against the sinister lyrics giving the entire track a delightfully unhinged feel, combined with a similar feeling music video the entire feel of the release comes together perfectly.
With ‘Echelon’ VMBRA have taken the progressive nature of their music and ran with it. With a run time of 7 minutes and 37 seconds, the track has multiple distinct sections, each as good as the last, keeping you captivated for the entire runtime. Despite its length at no point did it feel like it was dragging on, in fact we must have listened to it about 5 times on loop for our “first” listen.
All in all, ‘Echelon’ is a track we can not stop listening to, it manages to stay fresh with every repeat and signals the continuation of an extremely exciting band for the scene. If you haven’t already listened to VMBRA, we can’t recommend this new single strongly enough.
You can stream ‘Echelon’ on Spotify here (released 22nd of March) or find VMBRA on any of their social media platforms here to keep up with any more news.
