Review Summary: The new faces of Southern metal.
Louisiana's ferocious Cane Hill has come back stronger than ever on their sophomore album, Too Far Gone. The singles leading up to the album, “Too Far Gone”, “Lord of Flies”, “10 Cents” and “It Follows” left me wanting more, and it was delivered. This album showcases Cane Hill’s evolution to a more mature, defined band that has never been better. Elijah Witt’s vocals have progressed, seen on “Lord of Flies”, “Why?”, “Erased”, and “Scumbag”. James Barnett’s riffs have just gotten better and better, and solos are still as on point as they always have been. Solos are seriously lacking in most modern metal/metalcore/nu metal/whatever. If they are present, they are usually short and boring. James’ solos are on the caliber of Kirk Hammett and Dimebag Darrell’s; wah-filled shred and Floyd Rose madness. Bassist Ryan Henriquez and drummer Devin Clark keep the rhythm section tight, maintaining the infectious groove. “Scumbag” is a short and chaotic high point of the album, yelling a giant “*** you” at Nazis. Cane Hill is bringing back all the best elements of 90’s metal and nu metal and making it their own. Originality is seriously lacking at the moment, and Cane Hill is essential to save the genre. Too Far Gone is the best release of 2018 so far, and I predict it will still come out on top in the future. And remember, this is only their second album. There’s much more headbanging, butt smoking bangers to come.
