Break the Cycle | Review - Metal Bell Magazine

My excitement for RockRing’s “Break The Cycle” has been growing ever since I came across the event page on Facebook. I’ve already been to one of their events and it was simply amazing. It’s safe to say that Break the Cycle met my expectations.

The event was scheduled to start at 19:30 , but naturally there was a major delay and the first band started playing at around 20:50. This was mainly expected, and it did not affect the event a lot.

I’ve already had the chance to see some of the bands perform before and I definitely love them, but I was also very anxious to check the new talents, and I was not disappointed.

Grey Groove

Although they had some technical difficulties which caused a small pause during their performance (during which the audience showed minor signs of disrespect, not cool at all), they still were very energetic and managed to keep us entertained till the last minute. They did not play any originals, but they performed a great selection of songs, definitely perfecting some RHCP and Alter Bridge covers. I have to mention that Ronald’s vocal skills are remarkable, and I’m eager to hear any originals they write.

Risky Violet

They started with an original “Always Fly” which I found quite alternative, they definitely know how to utilize hard/indie rock elements to compose a good song. I was really enjoying the first song when they started playing “Car Radio” by 21 Pilots, and I was really impressed. 21 Pilots music is structured with layers of rap, alternative rock, and some synth pop elements , and Risky Violet killed it . But that wasn’t it , they also covered “Killing In The Name Of” and almost no one was sitting , everyone was either headbanging or singing with the band as Sharbel would pass the mic to the audience occasionally. Their female guitarist/vocalist “Alma” was generally good, although she missed a few notes, especially when covering “Sweet Dreams”, but the overall band performance was just great, looking forward to seeing them perform again.

Within Destruction

They were definitely “set to destroy”, as they started playing high quality melodic death metal covers of As I Lay Dying. Their original song “When Nightmares Collide” was meant to set the venue on fire. It is a well written and multi-textured song with Malek’s growls awakening the metalhead in every single person in the venue, the guitars blazing in harmony with the sharp bass lines, and the drummer Jack blasting away. They mostly covered As I Lay Dying songs, and they absolutely shined when playing Parkway Drive‘s “Mutiny”. Their performance was excellent, and Malek proved how great of a vocalist he is by keeping his growls solid throughout the whole act.

Turbulence

This is the third time I have the honor to see them perform, and I believe it’s my favorite. This doesn’t mean that I disliked their previous shows, however this is the first time I pay close attention to the composition and overall atmosphere they deliver, and they were majestic. Turbulence never cease to amaze me, whether its Alain’s mind-blowing solos ( the man is a genius), Owmar’s on-point vocals (they definitely match the heaviness/loudness of the band), Alexandre Abi Chaker’s (replacing Sayed Gereige ) brilliant drum beats, Charles’ harmonious bass lines, or Mood’s resonant melodies, this band is set to thrill with their piercing atmosphere, and never-ending progress. They played two originals from their album “Disequilibrium” (Richardson’s Nightmare , and Disequilibrium) and a Dream Theater cover, “Home”. All songs were professionally delivered but I’d like to emphasize on the stunning “Disequilibrium” where the lyrics describe the struggle between a man’s consciousness and sub-consciousness, and this struggle is mirrored attentively with the song’s technicality and the band’s sheer musicianship, in which Alain plays an incredible guitar solo, and Omar’s grand voice emerges to overwhelm the crowd. Turbulence did an amazing job indeed.

Ink 26

The Blood Ink/Element 26 fusion managed to keep the crowd headbanging from beginning to end. This band definitely knows how to manipulate the audience and bring the madness out of everyone listening, everyone sang along to the loudness of Lamb Of God songs, and the madness grew when bassist Roy Naufal joined the audience, similar to what he did in Summer Fusion. The band’s highlights were the aggressively melodic riffs, the fierce and dominant vocals, and the rumbling, groovy guitar tunes that punch you in the guts (in a good way). Other than that, the band dedicated an original song to Lebanon, and it was outstandingly good.

Aces High

Another fresh band to end the exciting night, Aces High could have done better. Maybe if not for the technical difficulties they had to endure, where they had to pause for some minutes, they would have performed better. Their performance was good, however it was quite average at some points. They covered Metallica and Avenged Sevenfold, and they sounded good enough, but I’m positive that they will progress. So whatever caused the not very well performance is hopefully solved by now, and I would definitely see them again to see a more professional performance, and some uniqueness in their sound too.