Weekly album: Convulse - Cycle of Revenge

Convulse - Cycle of Revenge

2016 / Death metal, Progressive rock

1. Cycle of Revenge

2. God Is You

3. Pangaea

4. Fractured Pieces

5. Nature of Humankind

6. Ever Flowing Stream

7. War

8. Into the Void

Kattroll: Last week, I noticed a gig poster at Nosturi, which said that Convulse is throwing a gig together with Demilich and two other smaller bands. The reason why we hadn't already known about the gig is beyond my comprehension, but I immediately re-arranged my work shifts and begun to wait for the gig. While getting hyped for the gig, I realized that Convulse had just released a new album and a quick gallup revealed that not single one of us four had heard it. I'm almost ashamed! The atrocity was easily dealt with by choosing 'Cycle of Revenge' as the weekly album. Checking out the new album before attending a gig is usually considered a wise move.

I remember reading that this album isn't really traditional death metal, and the statement is correct. As the album progressed, I forgot several times that I'm listening to Convulse. The album isn't of low quality so the quality wasn't the reason, but the fact that the album is completely different from what I expected. My favourite Convulse album is the controversial and opinion dividing 'Reflections.' I can admit to dancing to it (Yes, dancing to death metal is possible.), but 'Cycle of Revenge offers something completely different. The album's length is just barely 30 minutes, so several spins are more than welcome. 

The opening song 'Cycle of Revenge' is a groovy song, which sounds sort of familiar to me, even though it isn't as heavy and straightforward as the rest of Convulse's material. The next song, 'God Is You', is one of the high points of Convulse, but the third song, 'Pangaea' is almost a ballad from time to time. You can't even recognize the band to be Convulse at all times. The album isn't bad at all, but I wouldn't consider this death metal anymore. Who said this album is supposed to be death metal anyways? The songs after 'Fractured Pieces' remind me of Baroness and early Amorphis, because progressive elements are heavily present. The atmosphere is simultaneously oppressive and emancipated. 

Orostider: Quite often people name the old school death metal bands from the States as the ones that have influenced them the most as an individual. If I had to choose the most important death metal albums to me, I would pick Death's "Scream Bloody Gore", Demilich's "Nespithe" and Convulse's "World Without God." "World Without God" offers the finest murky death metal from the 90's in my opinion and should be considered an essential death metal piece.

"Cycle of Revenge" is Convulse's second album after they tore their grave apart. I had no idea what to expect from Convulse, because they already surprised everyone in the 90's by releasing "Reflections", which was heavily rock n' roll infused death metal with a really joyous touch. Even though "Reflections" is a solid album in my opinion, it's completely different than "World Without God" and its horrifyingly heavy and grim content. "Cycle of Revenge" seems to be the new "Reflections" in a way.

As the album starts, the first passages remind me more of Black Pyramid's psychedelic stoner than traditional death metal. I wasn't prepared for this at all, but like I stated before, I really enjoyed "Reflections" and "Cycle of Revenge" isn't a bad shot either. Convulse's new style could be described as Kingston Wall meets 90's death metal and it actually works pretty well. The first spin doesn't really tell enough, because this is an album that requires several listens to fully understand what's going on. 

The death metal elements are quite scarce in a way. The death metal influenced riffs are only occasional and the only distinctive death metal influences are the low death metal growls. In addition to the traditional growls, 'Ever Flowing Stream' (I wonder if the name refers to Dismember's "Like An Ever Flowing Stream") has higher pitch creaking vocals, which are something I have never heard from Convulse before. The whole "Cycle of Revenge" is something I would've never expected from Convulse, but even though the album doesn't feel as solid as their releases from the 90's, I really enjoy their Kingston Wall vibes.

I am certain that quite a lot of people end up hating the album, but in my opinion, experimenting is always a good way to find new experiences. "Cycle of Revenge" shouldn't be compared to "World Without God". "World Without God" was released 25 years ago and during those years, we already saw Convulse trying out new elements and sounds. We shouldn't expect them to follow a certain path. 

"Cycle of Revenge" has its flaws, but it isn't even close to a bad album. Whereas most of the riffs were refreshing, unexpected and sort of original, some of them were utterly average. For example, "Nature of Humankind's" chugging riff is as dull as the similar riffs on any album. The same song's "Domination" chants are sort of hilarious too. The only riff that could end up in "below average" folder in my eyes, is the verse riff of "Pangaea." But when Convulse's riffs cross the 'average bar', they really surpass the average riffs. 

This album is not everyone's cup o'tea for sure, but why should it be? This album possibly evokes either affection, confusion or hatred, but I recommend every open-minded death metal enthusiast to check this. I also cautiously recommend this album to Kingston Wall fans, who are also into heavier music. 

Favourite songs: "Cycle of Revenge", "War."

btcarey: After nearly a 20 year break in studio albums, Convulse released ‘’Evil Prevails” in 2013. For many, the new album was a disappointment, deviating even further from the band’s claim-to-fame album “World Without God”. But some fans identified that such a length of time could only spur progression and redefinition, and embraced the new era of Convulse with open arms.

When I first heard “Evil Prevails” I was one of the not-so-accepting-of-new-Convulse fans. Besides a few average tracks I thought “Evil Prevails” lacked direction and consistency, with progression and tradition fighting for the spotlight. For this reason, when I heard Convulse released a new album, “Cycle of Revenge”, I was bit skeptical of its integrity. Fortunately the preconception was far from correct and “Cycle of Revenge” is actually pretty fucking awesome.

Even though Convulse has always been semi-progressive, they’ve had a greater focus on death metal themes. This cannot be said for “Cycle of Revenge”. Convulse took all the prog themes from their previous albums and ran with them, resulting in a solid, well-balanced progressive metal album with death influences. While this might turn off some of the classic death metal fans it has opened doors for a much more diverse fan base. I would suggest “Cycle of Revenge” to fans of Convulse, death and progressive metal.

Favorite Songs: “Pangaea”, “Ever Flowing Stream”

tp5170: I had heard enough of Convulse’s older production to know what the band used to about in be in the past, so I wasn’t really expecting that much from this album, but to my pleasant surprise the album turned out to be something entirely different. Cycle of Revenge is a brave leap into the unknown with the death metal part still being there but this time playing a smaller role and it is clear right from the start that this is album is not a direct continuation to any of their previous releases. 

The vocals are probably the only thing that connects the album directly to death metal, because otherwise the album resembles something that I’d call a mix between progressive rock and death metal. The general flow of the music is certainly progressive but it’s really groovy and approachable at the same time. The combination of styles works surprisingly well, but unfortunately the composition seems to stagnate at some point before the end, so in a sense I am really glad that the album is only half an hour long and ends before it overstays its welcome. 

Favourite songs: ‘Cycle of Revenge, ‘Into the Void'