HAVOCHATE
Cycle of Pain
Indecent Media 2005
www.havochate.com

What’s the 4-1-1?
New York heavy metal act unleashes their sophomore effort.

Genre
Heavy metal / hard rock / thrash

The Good
“Cycle of Pain” starts things off with a full-out thrash assault. Bouchee’s vocals are blood thirsty, but not out of control (like cookie monster). The drums are pounding and the riffs are punishing. “Tentacle” has some rapid-fire guitar riffage and frantic double-kick drum work. Even thought the vocals are powerful and angry, during the chorus Bouchee shows off that he has some range. The guitar solo is interesting, but not too show-offish. “Fiction” displays how effective a simple heavy riff can be. The track starts off slow but builds to a flurry of distortion.

The combination of furious vocals and monstrous riffs on “Still Alive” are so strong that it had me looking for someone or something to punch. The intro to “Alone” had clean acoustic riffs and an ominous church bell in the background. You can already tell it’s going to get wild, and it does! “Crack in the Sky” starts off with some heavy drum work that gives way to fuzzy guitars. A brief, racking guitar solo closes out the song. No words can describe the intensity of “Speak No More”. At least there are some down tempo points so you can collect yourself.

The Bad
Nothing

The Verdict
This Cycle of Pain is too addictive to ignore. It’s nice to know that there are still some metal acts out there that embrace the old school, and put their own stamp on it.

Did You Know?
Guitarist Freddie Ordine is a Libra.

Rating: out of 5

--George Dionne