Cycle of Pain – Cycle of Pain

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One third Fozzy, one third Black Label Society and one third F5 Cycle of Pain is the new band fronted by BLS bassist John “JD” DiServio featuring guest appearances from BLS leader Zakk Wylde, Cypress Hill’s Sen-Dog, Fear Factory’s Burton C. Bell and Symphony X’s Russell Allen. With DiServio as the band’s leader the bass is perhaps a little high in the mix, Cycle of Pain is a much more complicated album than your standard bass-drums-guitar affair, with lots of programming, strings and other effects, underpinned the whole time by stellar playing on the three basic instruments. Drummer Gregg Locascio performs lead vocals for the whole disc, including the very-BLS (but actually better) ballad I See Heaven, and some of the guitars and drums on three tracks, with KoRn’s Ray Luzier and Billy Idol’s Brian Tichy guesting on a track each and Tantric drummer Rich Moncia handling the rest. Apart from straight forward metal it’s on the albums many departures into funk and hip-hop, particularly the Hip-hop metal of Do My Work featuring Sen-Dog and a Wylde solo, that set it apart as something a little different. Where David Ellefson’s similarly constructed F5 becomes formulaic, Cycle of Pain broaden their sound, making the whole disc a challenging and rewarding listen.

Written by Andy Lye
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