Review Summary: Cave In are back, baby!
The last time that anyone had heard from Cave In, it appeared that they were primed for a comeback of epic proportions. After abandoning their post as one of the upper echelon of Boston based 1990's metalcore bands to head in a more rock oriented direction in the beginning years of the decade, 2005's
Perfect Pitch Black saw Cave In partially returning to the heavier sound which they were known for. That same year they released a limited run cassingle (do people still listen to tapes???) that expanded on Cave In's amalgamation of their older heavier sound and their alt rock leanings. Now some 4 years and numerous side projects later, Cave In are back with a new EP that manages to be heavier, spacier, and just as kick
ass as anything they've ever done.
Planets of Old begins with the juggernaut "Cayman's Tongue". Its opening riff is a towering wall of murky sludge and twisted, ethereal guitar atmospherics that makes tracks like the much beloved "Big Riff", off of 2001's Jupiter, seem puny in comparison. It is dirty, gritty, and mean. At the two minute mark Steve Brodsky relinquishes vocal duties to bassist and Zozobra collaborationist Caleb Scofield, who's demonic bark crushes like a run away freight train, further making "Cayman's Tongue" the heaviest, most balls to the wall recording ever to be released under the Cave In name. "Retina Sees Rewind" hearkens to
Perfect Pitch Black on steroids with its groovy, Thin Lizzy-ish leads and Brodsky's soaring vocals. As the EP continues Cave In treat us to something that hasn't been heard in years, a technical speed-
fuck of a metalcore song, i.e. "The Redtrail", that has you wondering, "when the hell did this turn into Jane Doe?". No joke, its frenzied punk infused drums, technical fretboard wankery, and high pitched throat shredding screams are metalcore mana.
Planets of Old ends with the catchiest song on the EP, "Air Escapes". Brodsky's vocal hooks drive the song through a landscape of groovy rock. Unfortunately, while it would easily be a top track on
Perfect Pitch Black, it lacks the steam to hold up to the rest of
Planets of Old.
Cave In are back. Simple as that.
Planets of Old is a venerable tour-de-force of everything one could ever want from a Cave In album. It's too bad that Cave In have written this off as a fans only release by making
Planets of Old vinyl only for its physical release.
