When I first heard “Leaving None Behind”, I was stunned. Echoes, albeit a new band at the time, captured powerful broad-stroke emotions of grief, acceptance, and moving forward. They weren’t afraid to admit the pains of life, but they didn’t want to live their, either. Eventually, The Pursuit dropped and solidified these sentiments into a captivating concept album that expanded on their post-hardcore and post-metal influences. Then, Cornerstone came a few years later with a much quieter release cycle and a larger focus on clean vocals.

And then the band went dark.

“Pyre” and “A Lost Hymn” feel like the perfect way to break the silence. Both tracks look at renewal and rebirth of sorts, and while the band hasn’t reinvented themselves in any large way, the fact they’re back is definitely cause for celebration.

“Pyre” is the shorter of the two tracks, but it definitely packs the biggest punch. Echoes oscillate between ambient guitar lines and clean vocal lines to wall-of-delay chord-mashing and passionate screaming. It has the certain rhythmic energy that makes the band so compelling.

“A Lost Hymn” starts off softly before blooming into anthemic bliss. This track relies heavily on its instrumental segments, and it has a very strong melodic anchor paired with incredible drumming and bass. In particular, the section around 2:20 is fascinating in this respect. Vocals kick in late in the track and are all screamed. Ultimately, the song feels pretty close to what we saw on The Pursuit, though more refined and mature in many respects.

Hopefully these two tracks are indicative that we can expect more from the band soon.

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