After
Antenna, the RCA debut of Cave In, many wrote them off as becoming a pop rock band. I believe RCA put them under too much pressure to make a hit record instead of leaving them alone and let them do what they wanted.
Antenna wasn't necessarily a bad album I just feel it just strayed too far from their roots and it seemed to be an attempt to force them to be a pop rock band which they clearly aren't. Since then, they have moved back to Hydra Head records where they started their career.
Perfect Pitch Black moves away from the pop oriented direction of
Antenna and more back into the styles of
Until Your Heart Stops and
Jupiter. In the album liner notes each member leaves a short synopsis of their feelings of the past few years and the band.
Adam McGrath felt a sense of wasted time with the band during their time with RCA records and was at odds with continuing with Cave In or quitting. He feels this record is what they originally wanted to do; have fun playing what
they wanted to.
Caleb Scofield has no regrets and offers no apology about what happened during the last couple years. He looks at it as a learning process of how they should run their band. Never let anyone else take control of what you want to do and do what makes you happy.
Stephen Brodsky tells of his boredom of playing the same tracks from
Antenna and going back to re-learn songs from
Until Your Heart Stops. This inspired a new creative flow within him towards making new music. He states the track
Trepanning (the practice of drilling a hole into ones skull to alleviate pressure build-ups) conveys their sentiments during the writing period.
John-Robert Conners expresses the same feelings as Brodsky, old tracks influencing new music and renewed love for playing. They wanted to showcase their skills and what they had to offer musically.
Stephen Brodsky – Vocals/Guitar
John-Robert Conners – Drums
Adam McGrath – Guitar
Caleb Scofield – Bass/Vocals
Some of the tracks on this album were reworkings of previously recorded songs from 2004 and others were completely brand new.
Perfect Pitch Black starts off with the title track which is ambient electronic noises which lead perfectly into
The World is In Your Way. A mid-tempo rocker until they hit the chorus that explodes with aggression and intensity. The tempos are constantly changing from each section which adds well to the song. During the song Brodsky uses clear vocals for the verse and Scofield growls angrily during the chorus and breakdown, a great way to start off the album.
Off to Ruin calms things down a bit with a great intro riff into a slower song. Brodsky’s vocals have a slight electronic reverb which sounds great during the verses and Scofield breaks out the screaming into the chorus. The song hits a nice breakdown which flows well into a pseudo solo.
Trepanning is a balls out hard rock song with intense pacing and growled vocals which reverses the style of the singing order with Brodsky taking the chorus. A couple of cool ascending leads behind the main riff and a solo which my brother says reminds him of a Ninja Turtles game due to the surf style effect on the guitars, what can I say, he’s a nerd. Next we have the more eclectic
Paranormal, this is one of the songs styled more after their
Jupiter songs. I really like Scofield’s work on this track, the guitars let him drive the song along while at the same time adding an ethereal space vibe. The straight up rocker
Droned follows and picks up the pace again. The bass really stands out again driving the song along with the drumming.
Down the Drain is one of the two slowest tracks along with
Tension in the Ranks. They are somewhat similar so I’ll put them together.
Down the Drain is a very peaceful song featuring an acoustically driven rhythm. I’m not always a fan of slow songs but this one is really good. Brodsky sings of time with a girl who is insecure and confused, I enjoy the lyrics. The first couple times I heard
Tension in the Ranks I really didn’t care for it much. It seems to be one of those songs that has to grow on you and you begin to see the intricacies in the music. I used to skip it but now I always listen to it. Instead of using the acoustic a clean electric is used to carry the song. I really like the ending for this one, it starts out slow but finishes strong.
In between those last two is the instrumental
Ataraxia. Ataraxia means: calmness untroubled by mental or emotional disquiet. I assume that the lack of vocals are what conveys this feeling. Some people won’t like this song but I actually enjoy it a lot. It’s a little more repetitive than others but that may be due to the lack of vocals, other than some background wailing, that gives it that feeling. I really like the riff and the song possibly goes on slightly too long but it never bothers me. Finally we come to the last song
Screaming in Your Sleep. Picking up the pace after
Tension in the Ranks this is a drum and bass driven song with the guitars completely dropping out in the verses save for a few ambient effects, giving out the space rock feeling again. I like the solo, which is a bit longer than the others and fits the song well.
For those Cave In fans who didn’t like
Antenna this is the album that truly should have came after
Jupiter. It incorporates their older styles very well and doesn’t try for songs that will get radio play. That isn’t to say that these songs couldn’t be on the radio, but it doesn’t sound so forced. If you didn't totally enjoy the metal styling of
Until Your Heart Stops this is a good mix of the two albums that came before
Antenna.
Perfect Pitch Black is a great recovery for Cave In.
Final Rating: 4-4.5
