Falling Cycle is a five piece hardcore band out now on Facedown Records. The Conflict is their latest offering.
It's funny how the tuff guy genre of hardcore has grown so tired these days. The straightXedge kids have all gotten bored wearing out their Gorilla Biscuits and Youth of Today LP's while waiting for something new. With the metalcore trend still atop its mighty perch, we've all heard those same descriptions about bands with "plenty of singalongs and catchy breakdowns." With the exception of bands like Stretch Arm Strong, the now deceased Point of Recognition and a few others, most bands coming out now sound far too formulaic to be genuine.
This is partially the case with Falling Cycle. The record opens with the sounds of Carl Orff's "O Fortuna" looped with a sound clip from the movie Gladiator before kicking into "Initium." The dual guitars work well in this context with one carrying the song while the other goes off into complex solos. Oftentimes though, the solos and the riffing both come off sounding far too cliché to bear with. "For Nothing" follows the same formula. "A Broken Glass" begins with a melancholy acoustic guitar riff before smashing the listener over the head with (predictable) slow moving metal. "I Still Dream (Part 1)" is a very beautiful piece featuring a simplistic piano run that's oddly reminiscent of "Violet" from Zao's classic Where Blood and Fire Bring Rest record.
While this record may have more than its share of cliches, it's still an excellent hardcore record that will no doubt hold up and be heralded as a classic. It's certainly a lot better than a lot of what the metalcore bands have been churning out in recent years. While the record is solid and has one identifying sound, that proves to be both its main strength and its chief weakness. The fact that all of these songs flow together shows cohesiveness but the fact that they seem to use the same "chugga chugga" breakdown in every other song makes it all sound monotonous and boring.
Overall, a great record that's at least a notch above a lot of what's coming out now. But even through its sheer brutality, it's not like you haven't heard all of this before.
C+
