Review Summary: The Cycles of Being Dope
Core fans are all too familiar with the story of a new band busting onto the scene with a stellar debut or sophomore album before fizzling out with a series of mediocre follow-ups as the band either waterboards themselves for the sake of mass appeal, or simply shifts in a new direction which no longer resonates with their day one listeners. Much more atypical is the story of a band that keeps their nose to the grindstone, taking measured steps as they form a fistful of wet clay into a towering sculpture.
Like Moths To Flames have been playing the long game, whether you like it or not. Almost consistent to a fault, their discography has seen very little wavering in style over the years. The band has spent over a decade steadily refining and making small tweaks to their signature heavy-tech-melodic sound, but due to the Sisyphean nature of Chris Roetter & Co, their latest effort also comes with very little in the way of surprise. The rock is still being pushed up the hill. What sets this album apart from prior releases is mainly that of perspective and experience. Where is there left to go when every fork in the road tapers toward an unscaleable monolith? For Like Moths To Flames, the answer seems to be… further inward.
The Cycles Of Trying To Cope wrestles with the ebb and flow of the human psyche, eternally bound to a nature which is flawed beyond our control. The way this manifests audibly; a roller coaster whiplash of tracks spanning the sonic realms of grief, anger, guilt, and a touch of acceptance. Proof of the nuance gained over their career is in the way these emotions are encapsulated and expanded upon. Whereas 2020’s
No Eternity In Gold yearned to strike balance with every song,
TCOTTC is seemingly a practice of mindfulness; fully allowing oneself to experience a feeling without filtering it through further intellectual processes. “Angels Weep” and “Paradigm Trigger” open up the album this way by reminding us that it’s okay to be pissed, only to remind us again with “The Shephard’s Crown” at the mid point of the album. These tracks feature very little in the way of clean singing or needless bargaining for empathy, and are the perfect counterpoint to the softer cuts like “Gone Without A Trace” and “Kintsugi”. Balance is not lost however, as anger and sadness tend to come in waves, but even as we are guided through peaks of ferocity and valleys of somber introspection, face melting riffs still pummel away like laser beams ricocheting inside a metal cage.
The addition of Zach Pishney on guitar in 2016 really breathed new life and creative juice back into the band when they needed it the most. His talents are made even more apparent here than ever before as he flexes his ability to be omnipresent on the fretboard while frying the synapses of your brain with stun locking strum patterns. The dude can write a tasty lick, and even during breakdowns, he is hardly content to linger on one note for too long. The chemistry between Zach and Chris is a match made in heaven, with both knowing exactly when to push or pull to let the other shine. The melodic leads during the chorus of “To Know is to Die” is one of my favourite examples of this chemistry in action, even if it only lasts a few seconds. The way the notes elevate Chris’ vocals and then fall away as he sustains the end of each bar is just glorious. Chris has been one of the most consistent vocalists in the game for a long time, and he doesn’t really have anything left to prove at this point. Some of the clean choruses on this album are admittedly a bit weaker than they have been in the past, but the band more than makes up for it by flooring the intensity during verses and breakdowns.
At the end of the day, Like Moths To Flames’ greatest strength is also their greatest crutch. The fact that they continually decide to double down instead of wander is what made this album such a huge crowning achievement for the band, but it also comes with the risk of falling on weary ears. This album doesn’t do much that they haven’t done before, it’s just done better, and that works well enough for me. For a metalcore band who debuted in 2010 to be releasing arguably their strongest record this late in their career is borderline unheard of, but
The Cycles Of Trying To Cope is proof that a strong work ethic, paired with a terminal case of tunnel vision, can often yield remarkable results.
