Welcome to âWhere to Startâ! As always, weâll be guiding you through the back catalogue of established bands - both obscure and relatively well known - and covering their best, worst and most middling cuts. Weâll be dividing bandsâ output into five categories: Start Here, Follow Up, Try This, For Fans Only and Avoid. This month: Cave In.
Hailing from Methuen, Massachusetts, Cave In are somewhat under looked in the grander picture of underground heavy/alternative music. Across several EPs and five albums, the band’s style has constantly either evolved or amalgamated several genres including metalcore, post hardcore, alternative, prog/space rock and noise. One might describe them as a difficult band to pin down to one scene and that is probably the group’s strength. They have had an ambitious flair throughout their career and their discography testifies to this.
Originally forming in 1995, The band have had various members come and go, but the most consistent line up they’ve had is Stephen Brodsky on vocals/guitar, Caleb Scofield on vocals/bass, Adam McGrath on guitar and John-Robert Conners on drums. They grew out of the Massachusetts metalcore scene and, as mentioned, they expanded their musical scope into something bolder and grander following their 1998 debut album ‘Until Your Heart Stops’. Elements of space rock and alternative would become the group’s main outlet. After releasing records with Hydra Head (owned by Isis’ Aaron Turner) since 1997, the band would sign to major label RCA in 2002. This was followed by third effort ‘Antenna’, which was the band’s most polished work to date. However, their tenure at the label would be short lived, due to Cave In deciding to return to their heavy roots and the label refusing to put out such material. Thus they resigned to their former label Hydra Head and released an album and EP before going on hiatus in 2006.
Three years would pass before the band would reform in 2009. From there, they released their EP ‘Planets of Old’, their 2011 fifth album ‘White Silence’, and would go on several tours. The band have been fairly quiet since then though, with members mainly focusing on their other projects, including Clouds, Zozobra, Old Man Gloom and the recently renowned Mutoid Man. Yet, many still await more material from the group as well as tours. Until then, if you aren’t too familiar with Cave In, then I suggest you digest this guide we have put together.
Start Here: âJupiterâ
With this 2000 sophomore epic, Cave In cemented themselves an ambitious style that would inform the releases which followed it. It wasn’t the first record where the band dove into spacious and progressive dreamscapes; they got there through 1999 EP ‘Creative Eclipses’. However, it was ‘Jupiter’ where they felt at their most confident with this style; light years away from their early crushing metallic hardcore sounds. The opening title track testifies to the band feeling inspired by Failure and Radiohead, thus resulting in a wash of grandeur engulfing the soundscape.
The instrumentation on offer continually holds up throughout the record’s run-time. ‘Big Riff’ captivates you with an underlying heaviness that breaks out with a rumbling bass and gritty vocal screams, whilst ‘In the Stream of Commerce’ dances along otherworldly plains of cosmic resonance. Closing the record out is ‘New Moon’, an acoustic ode ridden on breezes of noise creating an applicable soundtrack for a journey in the vast deserted wilderness. Yet for all the sheer scope of the instrumentation, the true driving force is Stephen Brodsky’s vocals. They range from being emotively yearning falsettos to cathartic yells, paving the way for the rest of the ensemble to travel in the soundscape. All in all, ‘Jupiter’ is the one album you should start with when exploring Cave In’s catalogue.
Follow-Up: âWhite Silenceâ
After returning from their hiatus with their solidly delivered EP ‘Planets of Old’ in 2009, the stage was set to remind the scene of Cave In’s presence. This was triumphantly cemented by their long awaited fifth album, ‘White Silence’. Without question, this was the Methuen, MA band’s finest and most consistently delivered material since their magnum opus ‘Jupiter’. In over half an hour, this record showed a revitalised arsenal bursting at the seams with peak musical creativity and ideas.
From the start, the opening title track’s demonic vocals break out of the static, segueing into the ear throttling ‘Serpents’, a fast crushing mix of metalcore, noise and synths. Such sounds show Cave In delivering the heaviest material they’ve played since their earlier releases, even heavier than anything on previous album ‘Perfect Pitch Black’. The likes of ‘Vicious Circles’ and ‘Centered’ add further fuel to this point. They are cosmically entrenched steamrollers, featuring crisp, searing guitars and shotgun-powered drums. The latter sees stylistic elements that would be expanded upon in Brodsky’s current band Mutoid Man. The definitive highlight though is the eight minute dynamically shifting behemoth ‘Sing My Loves’. It is an intricately layered track that features unwieldy atmospheric beauty and trudging sludge influenced drive. It is without a doubt one of the band’s best songs in their discography.
Once the heaviness passes, the band eloquently show the listener to the exit with three pristine acoustically led songs. The bright 70s tinged graciousness of ‘Heartbreaks, Earthquakes’, the underlying aplomb in ‘Iron Decibels’ and the heavenly bitter yet subtle ‘Reanimation’ presents the pure musical dynamism Cave In are capable of. Once the latter song brings ‘White Silence’ to a close through misty noise, the conclusion is that this record is one of the finest comeback albums ever made.
Try This: âUntil Your Heart Stopsâ
Cave In’s 1997 debut album is the clearest snapshot into their metalcore beginnings. They took the style they had established on their first EPs to its creative peak. Take ‘Terminal Deity’ for instance, with its pummelling starts and stops which mathematically switch to fast skull crushing moments before leading you unto a claustrophobic spiral. This was the band at their heaviest, and in all honesty, at the inspirational forefront of the genre. Other songs that testify to this are the bludgeoning ‘Moral Eclipse’, the unpredictable riff fuelled ‘Juggernaut’ and the dense murkiness of ‘Bottom Feeder’.
During its run, the band peppered elements that would be expanded upon in subsequent releases. For instance, the three ‘Segue’ interludes are tantalising bursts of psychedelic space rock and noise between the heavy activity. Furthermore, ‘Halo of Flies’ show the band tinkering with ideas, especially as it’s a blueprint for what they would become. Following a heavy beginning, the band deliver a cosmic flow of ample drums fills that flow effortlessly between demonic turns and otherworldly sections that see Brodsky’s recognisably clean vocals breaking out. It is a song that showcased Cave In’s willingness to expand their musicality. Another song that ushers in new atmospheric tones is ‘The End of a Rope Is a Noose’, a track that is monstrously brutal throughout its run, but sees textured, uneasy, spacious and noise tones seeping into it. All in all, even in their metalcore days, Cave In had ambitious streak embedded into their skills as musicians.
For Fans Only: âPerfect Pitch Blackâ
If there was ever an underrated Cave In album, then 2005’s ‘Perfect Pitch Black’ pretty much yanks that title. Granted, there is that sense of it flowing like a collection of songs rather than an album. This could be down to the fact that RCA, the label who put out Cave In’s one and only major label album ‘Antenna’, refused to release it as they didn’t find it commercially appealing. Thus Cave In decided to release through their former label Hydra Head Records. In many ways, one could view this fourth effort as a reactionary one to the polished alt rock tones on the previous record, especially with the return of heavier structures and screaming vocals. With that in mind, ‘Perfect Pitch Black’ is Cave In regaining a footing on old styles and amalgamating them with recent ideas. Therefore circling back to the point of the record flowing like a compilation. Regardless, it is a mighty fine collection.
But what about the meat and bones of the record? As mentioned, Cave In amalgamated the various styles they established on previous releases. For instance, ‘The World Is in Your Way’ and ‘Off to Ruin’ are epic, sprawling juggernauts, contrasting contemporary metallic tones and huge grandeur, whilst ‘Trepanning’ is a hard rocking locomotive beast with killer hooks that midway through features sidewinding guitar notes and a chewable bass line. On the other end, the band flex out their familial spacious soundscapes. ‘Paranormal’ is awash with such tones, which crumble under moments of raw heavy heft, whereas ‘Down the Drain’ transports you into an out-of-this-world shoegaze backdrop. Capping the record off with the terrifically paranoid ‘Screaming in Your Sleep’, Cave In show off their skills in creating an intriguing journey for their audience. All in all, ‘Perfect Pitch Black’ is a solid enough closer to the band’s first phase before their hiatus in 2006 and leaving us wanting more before their return in 2009.
Avoid: âAntennaâ
First of all, let’s set the record straight that Cave In’s sole major label album, 2003’s ‘Antenna’, isn’t exactly a bad album. However, when stacked up against the rest of their discography, it does stick out. The first four tracks sees a band masterfully attempt huge sounding commercial anthems. With its thumping drums and gripping bass, ‘Stained Silver’ soars along spacious tones, whilst the likes of ‘Anchor’ and ‘Inspire’ takes a Foo Fighters-esque formula to the stratosphere with an underlying post hardcore tinge. Additionally, Brodsky’s vocals feel right at home with this style. As soon as we reach the acoustically hinged ‘Beautiful Son’ though, that’s where things linger from alright to forgettable territory.
Sure, ‘Seafrost’ and ‘Lost in the Air’ are instrumentally and thematically ambitious, but the rest of the material sees a band going through the motions almost. Since its release, the band have expressed a sense of regret during their tenure under RCA, particularly since they’ve pointed out that there was interference from the label over their creativity. With this in mind, it kind of shows. On the record, there are times when the band sounds like they’re being held back somewhat by a omnipotent hand. Admittedly, there are some who view ‘Antenna’ as a strong entry in their discography. However, as pointed out before, when comparing it to their other albums, this third album is just simply an OK product.
Cave In are certainly a group whose impact on the heavy scene is quite overlooked at times. Revisiting their discography in this guide has evidently testified to this. They are an ambitious band who engross all manner of daringly ambitious scope into the very fabric of their sound. With that in mind, we hope that you the reader have come to the same conclusion.