The debut album of the Montreal based band End Of Crisis is a perfect blend of brutal metalcore and melodic hardcore. Cycles, a seven song album, caught me by surprise in the best of ways.Define: Existence starts off this album with some ambience, which fades out to bring in some heavy guitars and screams. The drums keep it interesting throughout the rest of the song. The breakdown at the end of the song is outstanding, with brutal screams that match perfectly with the tone of the guitars.Bear The Burden is next, and keeps the heaviness coming. I love the guitars at the beginning of this song, as they add another element to an already heavy onslaught of music. At halfway through the second song, I realize how much I already love the screams, courtesy of JP Barcha Charlebois. His screams match perfectly with the rest of the band, something that makes me fall in love with a band. Heart & Soul is the song that lead me to listen to the rest of this album, and it is easy to see why. The song starts with great call-and-response guitar parts that sound are as heavy as they are mosh-inducing. The rest of the song is not as interesting as the beginning, but still packs a punch with a slew of breakdowns throughout. The last one in particular caught my attention, with great background guitars and perfect screams.The next song, 22-11-10, starts off with calming guitars that are transitioned perfectly into a heavy beat led by the drums. The beginning of this song might be my favorite part on the entire album, really showing off what this band can do. Even with no screams, this is a powerful song, and easily one of the best on the album.Brendan Murphy (Counterparts) is featured on the next track, A Life With Rain. To me, this is the heaviest song on Cycles, with breakdown after breakdown. I am usually not a fan of that style, but this song makes it work, flowing perfectly from part to part.Despite some impressive drumming, Always Hopeful is probably the least interesting of the seven songs on Cycles. I’ll the band a pass though, as they have wowed me five songs in a row prior to Always Hopeful.Outlast finished off the album, and it is back to the brutal for one last song. They keep the pedal down the entire song, up until they fade out.End Of Crisis has put together a great group of seven songs that flow together perfectly and keep the listener interested and hyped. With brutal breakdowns aplenty, Cycles is an album that leaves me wanting more. With only seven songs, the album may go by quickly, but the songs leave an imprint. 
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