CAVE IN

For a band that are only just rising to prominence and are all relatively young (mid-twenties) Cave In have released an awful lot of albums. They started out in the mid- to late-nineties as some sort of death/thrash/black metal band (I don't know the precise name for genre but it is the one where the singer grunts and belches his way through the songs), made an utterly abrupt about-turn to become a Radiohead-esque nu-prog band before currently making their name as a more intelligent pioneer of melodic Foo Fighters type alternative rock. Therefore, my reviews do not represent the complete picture as I have not reviewed their two early hardcore albums When Your Heart Stops and Beyond Hypothermia. Just when I first got into the band (through 2000's Jupiter), due to my charming naivity, I also bought myself a copy of Beyond Hypothermia and was, understandably, equal parts surprised, disappointed and mortified. Indeed, Beyond Hypothermia holds the dubious distinction of being the only album I've ever taken back to the shop for a refund (not including stuff I've sold on second hand). Obviously I claimed I'd bought the wrong thing by mistake (although I did look pretty cool in that the store clerk was surprised he hadn't heard of the band) and, funnily enough, partially exchanged it for a copy of Marquee Moon. So there was a happy ending to the saga. It is perhaps worth noting that during the hardcore metal phase they had a couple of different vocalists before guitarist Stephen Brodsky assumed vocal duties and promoted himself to frontman for the group.

Anyway, it seems fair to say Cave In have now made a niche for themselves with a commercial blend of the Foo Fighters' melodic rock (who they recently supported) and the art-rock pretensions of Radiohead. As it happens, I think I preferred the band when they were a little more ambitious but far be it from me to dictate how an artist should approach his work (even if there is a whiff of selling out in some of the streamlined recent songs). Certainly the polished production of the recently released Antenna does not seem as intriguing as the rough-and-ready "live" recordings of Jupiter. That said, the main problem is probably just that their long, epic numbers are a bit hit and miss. There ain't no complaining about the quality of "In the Stream of Commerce" or "Big Riff" but the likes of "Requiem" or "Seafrost" can certainly seem a little ponderous. That said, out of the three most recent releases there is definitely enough material to make up one half of a very decent greatest hits collection. The interesting thing to ponder is what will the second half sound like? I might be sounding like a broken record but artistic progression is clearly important and it would sure be swell if Cave In were to become one of the great contemporary artists. Perhaps I don't see quite enough natural genius thus far but there is no doubting that their heart is in the right place. Here's hoping their next album turns out to be the OK Computer of the noughties.

After a short EP, 1999's Creative Eclipses, displayed the young roots of their new approach their promise was almost immediately fully realised with the exhilarating majesty of 2000's Jupiter. Despite the obvious intricacies of the music, including many multi-sectioned songs, the production is a very stripped-down affair with an almost live feel and a rough edge that brilliantly promotes the rawness of the guitars. The obvious swing on the album between the magnum opuses like "Big Riff" and "Requiem" and the short shocks of melodic rock like the title track and "Brain Candle" gives it an enviable flow and coherency. Furthermore, if the title and artwork were not clue enough it is also clear that the plow furroughed on this album can very definitely be classed as contemporary space-rock. Obviously it is not as anarchic or as psychedelic as Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd but early progressive rock remains an anachronistic but no less rewarding reference point. (When I saw them live a year after this release they actually came on to Yes's Fragile.) Of course, with the benefit of the ages, they are able to succeed where seventies progressive rock failed with a backbone of furious post-hardcore and an admirably aggressive twin guitar assault. Stephen Brodsky's vocals are also intriguingly caught between the violence of his hardcore upbringing and Radiohead-style falsetto twists. The space rock feel is most based around McGrath's guitar effects, with all manner of futuristic twinkles and screeches embellishing the arrangements. In fact, the penultimate instrumental, "Decay of the Delay", is almost entirely a showcase for McGrath's excellent use of feedback and unconventional lead style ("Big Riff" is the only track to feature a traditional-style guitar solo). Furthermore, it would be unfair of me to neglect the powerful rhythm section based most prominently on the relentless drumming of Conners. Like Jason Reece of ...And You Will Know Us by Trail of Dead he comes across as a contemporary Keith Moon given the power of his drumming, although it is likely it is a result of Conners learning his trade in the hardcore scene. Even as an extreme metal band Cave In were praised for their subtlety and such intelligent dynamics have been successfully brought over to their new approach. "In the Stream of Commerce" fluctuates between the cosmic ascendency of the verse and coming down to earth with the driving melodic chorus. Certainly, such a song provides ample room for the guitarists to swap between their stellar effects and raw power-chords. The highlight of the album is almost certainly the multi-sectioned and consistently astonishing "Big Riff". In fact the song is inappropriately named as there is nothing particularly "big" about the riff (certainly in the classic rock sense) but the array of melodies packed into the progressive feel of the song is astonishing. With every new section, although it all flows wonderfully smoothly, comes a new and increasingly superior hook. The song itself journeys from the abrasive opening section through the remnants of their hardcore approach to an emotionally yearning and supremely melodic climax. Certainly, it stands as their most impressive epic song to date. In contrast, the other two epics, "Innuendo and Out the Other" (arf, arf) and "Requiem", tend to ramble on a bit with a far less strict structure and less melody in general. Thankfully, such disappointment is nullified by the peerless melodic rock of "Jupiter" and "Brain Candle", even though both of which suggest easy comparisons with the Foo Fighteres. Similarly, the acoustic/electric dynamics of the closing "New Moon" echo a Radiohead influence, particularly the pseudo-grunge leanings of The Bends. Still, it remains a sincere and affecting, if predictable, end to such an impressive album. Clearly, the instrumental demands of hardcore metal have helped mould Cave In into far superior musicians than we have come to expect. Combined with the impressive songwriting, mix of progressive arrangements, keen sense of melody and traditional rock dynamics such an approach helped elevate Cave In to practically the top of contemporary alternative rock. An album of space-rock that is out of this world.

Due to the rather contrived position of Chris Cornell um-ing and ah-ing over whether to record a full-length album with his newly-founded Led Zeppelin tribute super-group Audioslave Cave In were forced to delay recording their own full length follow-up to Jupiter. Both bands had recruited the same producer, Rich Costey, and clearly the potential mega-bucks sell-out of Old-School Nu-Metal meets Old-School Grunge meant Cave In were the jilted party. Thankfully, in the mean-time, they recorded a mini-album of alternative material (that they did not think would fit in on their future full-length outing) to fill the gap between releases. Certainly, as opposed to Creative Eclipses, six proper songs and a thirty minute running time adds up to sufficient value for money, even if it is stuck between the E. and the L. with regards to the P. In fact, this mini-album offers further value-for-money due to the fact that it is really, really good. Indeed, it is a shame in a way that they did not hold on a little longer and include some of the songs on here on Antenna. It is noticeable that the songs on here have less of a progressive feel than the previous release and are certainly more indicative of the album to come than the one that has just passed. That said, the songwriting is certainly as strong as ever. The opening "Come Into Your Own" is far more indicative of standard yet superior alternative rock, rather than an obvious continuation of the space-rock dynamics. In fact the 50's sci-fi artwork is a bit of a hoax as the album itself treads a far more earthly path. Still, stylistic alterations hardly make for independent criticisms and the fact that the songs are all so good mean that any such complaints are unsustainable. The aforementioned "Come Into Your Own" is still superbly strong, melodically, even if it did take me a few listens to fully appreciate their apparent change (or at least modification) in direction. The undisputed highlight on the album, though, is the brilliantly atmospheric "Dark Driving". Brodsky's falsetto on the verse is equal parts eerie and unearthly before, as with "In the Stream of Commerce", the song twists into a crunching guitar-driven chorus. As opposed to McGrath's effects on the aforementioned "In the Stream of Commerce" it is the sinister backbeat of the bass and drums that accentuate Brodsky's superb vocals and provide much of the eerie atmosphere. Although nowhere near as much a highlight the intended centre-piece on the mini-album is presumably the six-and-a-half minute title track. Apparently it was written on the basis on some jazz chords McGrath had learnt and Brodsky's theatrical vocals mean it can't help but come across as a rather laboured Moody Blues rip-off. That said, it is partially rescued by a scorching, and traditional-sounding, guitar solo. As with Creative Eclipses they tackle another obscure cover (I ain't never heard of the band, let alone heard the original song), "The Callus", and it is a far greater success than "Magnified" thanks to both improved performance and the fact it is an all-round better song. The CD closes with a track equally as brilliantly atmospheric as "Dark Driving" - "Everest". Apparently it was written as a sort of tribute to Zeppelin's "Battle of Evermore" ("Evermore"="Everest") and there are certainly similarities, particularly in the pattern of the rhythm guitar and the formless structure. That's not to say it is not melodic, the whole song is anchored on a superb rolling hook, and it only serves to confirm that Cave In were successfully living up to the promise shown on Jupiter. Of course, one can't help but notice there is little on here that actually succeeds Jupiter's quality, even if a more mature approach to songwriting is in evidence. Still, as a mere stop-gap release its quality is more than just make-weight.

By the time Cave In's proper full-length follow-up to Jupiter was released their profile had shot up significantly. Obviously the support slot with the Foo Fighters was a God-send in terms of exposure, but both NME and Kerrang! heralded the release of this album with overwhelmingly positive reviews and they even got the first single release from it, "Anchor", on to MTV2 (although that was presumably thanks to their new major label, RCA, the previous releases having been through the independent Hydrahead). Whilst there's no doubt I'm happy for the band (it's always nice to say you were there first) I can't help but feel they have sacrificed some of the intrigue of their approach in favour of a more commercial rock approach. There are still considerably pretentious moments on the album but, disappointingly, there is nothing as fascinatingly epic as the likes of "Big Riff". It would be oversimplifying matters to suggest they have divorced melody and pretentiousness into distinct categories but the only really pretentious song on the album, "Seafrost", has little or no melody to speak of and is a real disappointment compared with the tight yet expansive songwriting on "Big Riff". Whilst I have come round to half-appreciate its textures and atmosphere I still have not shaken the impression of it being ponderous, long-winded and ultimately disadvantageous to the album as a whole. The fact that it follows the God-awful U2-esque "Beautiful Son" does little to appease my ill-humour. In fact, 'tis a shame that the album is temporarily derailed by the ponderous duo as it was certainly building up to be a decent affiar. The single release "Anchor" is the Foo Fighters by another name but it is at least vintage Foo Fighters, containing the zest and energy their more recent releases have been sadly lacking. On the other hand, the first two songs are definitively Cave In and represent a niche of sorts. The opening "Stained Silver" is, refreshingly, more old-style space-rock with a cosmic-sounding verse which dives into a gale-force chorus. Furthermore, the following "Inspire" is a wonder of a song with by far the best chorus they've ever written, and certainly one of the best pure rock songs of recent years by anyone (exemplified by the hard rock guitar riff that introduces it). Certainly if they could consistently produce songs like that, mixed with better and more intelligent epics than "Seafrost", there would be hope yet that they could succeed Jupiter and truly make a name for themselves. The second half of the album is certainly more consistent, even if it fails to match both the dizzying highs and terrifying lows of the first. "Youth Overrided" attempts some sort of fusion between emo and space-rock and, whilst Brodsky is nothing more than a rudimentary lyricist, such pretensions are saved by the memorable chorus. Similarly, "Rubber and Glue" (featuring the son of "Big Riff"'s big riff) is elevated beyond decent by a cracking middle-eight. Premature single "Lost in the Air" continues further their stream-lined space-rock and features a fantastic chorus. The real highlight of the second half, though, is the closing track "Woodwork". Almost like a distorted mirror image of the the opener, "Stained Silver", with a weary, crawling verse contrasted against an energised, climatic chorus. Certainly it ensures the album ends as it begun, it is just a shame that what comes in between is that little bit inconsistent. As I said in the previous review, it is a pity "Come Into Your Own", "Everest" and, in particular,"Dark Driving" could not have been reserved for inclusion on this album in place of the likes of "Beautiful Son" and "Seafrost". There is also enough on here to suggest Cave In still have plenty of potential to fulfill. I've no doubt that combining the burdgeoning ambition of Jupiter with the more mature songwriting exhibited on here would probably be the most rewarding approach. Ultimately it is up to them: they could stagnate into the meat-and-veg rock of the Foo Fighters, progress to the pioneering intellectualism of Radiohead or combine the two and make a niche all of their own.

When Chuck D asked Flava Flav to ruminate on the subject of whether Public Enemy were going to sell out, Flava reflected for a moment before offering the emphatic rejoinder 'I know if we do we get the hell out'. After releasing an album that did just that, particularly bearing in mind the band's uncompromising beginning, apparently under record label pressure (always an easy claim to make retrospectively) and coming back from two years of constant touring Cave In's first reaction was indeed to 'get the hell out'. The fact that Antenna had not been the success they had hoped for raises the interesting point of which is worse for an alternative band - to sell out and succeed (cf. Nirvana) or sell out and fail? The band's comments in the sleeve-notes for this release certainly shows Cave In preferred their route as their commercial failure allowed them to return to their 'spiritual home' on indie label Hydrahead and be free to record any kind of album they felt like. After having one avenue closed to them by an unreceptive populist audience (mainly due to the fact they couldn't write memorable commercial rock tunes) the band promptly decided to go in complete reverse from the Jupiter crossroads and head back to their belching death metal roots. I am still none the wiser as to which anal sub-category it is meant to be bracketed in with ('grindcore'? 'screamo'? 're-death'?) and I am certainly no closer to being a fan. However, to temper my ill-will towards their stylistic u-turn they actually stick primarily to Brodsky's characterless alt-rock croon. This album therefore falls conspicuously and uneasily between their two approaches. For the first half of the album the band sound almost exactly as they did on the previous three releases before bassist Caleb Scofield breaks up proceedings with his incongruous belching. As a result, I find it hard to imagine this release really satisfies either set of fans. Furthermore, as far as I know, Cave In as a hardcore metal group were praised for their musical intricacy and intelligence in arrangements. There is limited evidence of either innovations on display here. Whilst some of the arrangements are a little more uncompromising than on Antenna the whole exercise really just seems like a continuation of it with a few unnecessary roars cut-and-pasted in. Of the four 'fusion' numbers "Off to Ruin" is the only one that really works on the joint level with it matching their space rock atmospherics with a grinding pace. On the other hand, the thrashing "Trepanning" is, I guess, the most successful return to the roots with Brodsky's indie vocals burnt off by Scofield's vicious roar. The simple fact is, though, that, unlike the scores of ugly teenagers in their black garb and lank hair, I cannot help but feel that sort of macho grunting is just vaguely ridiculous and therefore impossible to take seriously. I should be pleased, then, that Scofield drops back to concentrate solely on his bass duties after only the fourth song (the unnecessarily dragged out "Paranormal") and the rest of the album is concerned only with reproducing their latter day space rock. However, despite their pleas to the contrary, this stuff still sounds just like Antenna redux and comes nowhere near to matching the quality of Jupiter or even Tides of Tomorrow. The downbeat, lo-fi ballad "Down the Drain" is quite pleasant but for a band that apparently want to disown Antenna they certainly haven't produced much to justify their cause. I have actually seen this album praised as some kind of benchmark for intelligent metal in 2005 but these people clearly haven't heard Jupiter. As it is, this release, despite its apparently worthy sentiments, only reinforces Antenna's mediocrity and it is truly a shame that I have had to witness what were once my favourite contemporary rock band contribute two of the dullest rock records to my collection and in doing so all but extinguish all fondness I once had for them.

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Email me at: jackfeeny@yahoo.co.uk