[THE
PICK-UP]
I’ve known
Waves of Decay’s guitarist Arun Rao for a couple of years ever since I shredded
his other band called Hope Erodes in late 2015. Recently he introduced me to
the debut EP of Waves Of Decay, Cycloptic. He offered to send the physical release
to me by mail which I accepted. Well, it’s time to shred once more!
[THE
SHREDDING BASICS]
Cycloptic
is the first EP of Waves Of Decay, formally known as Horny Moses and is an
independent release. The band uses an experimental combination of power,
thrash, death and industrial metal. Stijn’s vocals can jump from high-pitched
clean singing to angry grunting while the guitars vary between thrashing riffs
and power metal melodies. It makes Waves of Decay’s sound feel both gritty and
uplifting. Keyboards are also present but in a limited form, usually functioning
as a bridge between a instrumental breakdown and a song’s opening verse. In
addition, Daan Swinnen, frontman of the young thrash-death metal hybrid
Bloodrocuted, joins in during Cyclopic’s final two songs to add in a few lines
of his own using bone-chilling shrieks that came as a pleasant surprise to me.
You know, it’s that kind of unpredictability that makes the songs on Waves Of
Decay’s debut EP so interesting, especially when listening to it for the first
time. And it’s tempting to give this EP another spin afterwards.
[THE PARK OF THEMES]
As with the
band’s overall music style, Cycloptic’s lyrics deal with real-world issues like
war and a possible apocalypse using fantasy metaphors. For instance, in the
first track, Destiny, a nuclear attack is described as “Sulfur breathing
angels. A demonic flavor. Ruinates our nation.”
[THE VISION OF DEVASTATION]
A faceless
guy rips open his chest to reveal a huge, blood red eye staring straight at
you. The entire image is in black, grey and white with red being the only other
color on the artwork. The overall art style makes me think about the Sin City
comics written by Frank Miller. Very cool stuff, check it out.
[THE
SHARPEST SHREDS]
Both the
EP’s opening and ending tracks, Destiny and The Hurricane respectively, deserve
mentioning here. Destiny does exactly what all great opening tracks do,
showcasing the band’s strengths and warming you up for the rest of the EP. And
with this great opening track, Waves of Decay unleash heavy guitar riffs,
flexible vocals and a badass breakdown in the middle of the track accompanied
by a sweet electronic tune. And The Hurricane brings the EP to an epic finale!
The song’s verses are performed in death metal mode, with pounding beats and
harsh vocals, while a thunderous power metal melody and clean singing takes
over when the chorus kicks in. And I dare you not to sing along with Stijn as
he sings his way through said chorus. It’s that catchy! And finally there’s a
cool guitar solo to put the icing on the power death cake!
[THE
BLUNTEST BLADES]
The fourth
track, As I Walk, was a fun track but didn’t have the same raw finesse or epic
feel as the other tracks. The song starts off great with a mosh-inducing thrash
metal riff, but the rest of the song feels a bit like a drag compared to the
rest of the EP.
[THE
SHREDDER’S SCORECARD]
7,5 Cyclops
eyes out of 10. Although Waves Of Decay are a starting band on paper, the band
members clearly show they are experienced musicians, working together to create
a juicy, flexible sound that brings in several metal subgenres together. Well
worth checking out if you enjoy power, death, thrash, industrial or anything in
between!
[NOW BANG
ALONG]
Here’s
Destiny, Cycloptic’s opening track.
