Falling Cycle
's debut album on
Facedown
Records is a brazen, straight-ahead approach of
metal
. Mixing the breakdowns utilized in much of the mosh-laden new school
hardcore
and the machine-gun, double bass driven-stylings of some
speed
and
grind metal
, they churn out ten songs that are without a doubt
metal-core
. At times the band is reminiscent of East Coast metalheads,
Darkest Hour
, while other times they seem to have much more in common with bands like
No Innocent Victim
. More often than not on the album, however, they tend to lean more towards the
influences, especially the
Scandinavian
ones. The vocals are throaty and full of volume, but limited in range.
The Conflict
certainly shows how a band can successfully form a bridge between
, yet in many ways this album's material seems dated and hardly relevant on a musical creativity level. ~ Kurt Morris