Cave In

Creative Eclipses (Hydrahead)
by Tim Den

Transforming 180 degrees from their last output (the math-metalcore of Until Your Heart Stops), Cave-In‘s new EP spits in the faces of Hessians and hardcore tough guys. Creative Eclipses is everything Until Your Heart Stops wasn’t. Melodic, sentimental at times, vulnerable, and (most obviously) very, very un-heavy. Blending Pink Floyd with post-hardcore drums and bleeps with other non-musical sound effects, it’s no wonder that every purist hardcore kid is complaining about this record. In other words: This is a thinking and listening experience. Of course idiots with too many metal objects protruding from their lips don’t understand it. Which is a good thing, at least for Cave-In. Purposely ditching the aggro crowd, the band now feels confident enough to dabble in anything they wish… and it shows in Creative Eclipses.

Guitarist/vocalist Steve Brodsky’s more than competent melodies, especially in the rocking “Magnified” and the (gulp!) tranquil acoustic “Burning Down the Billboards,” have turned this once one-dimensional band into a mercury-like entity.

Cave-In can now do whatever the hell they want, and do it well. Creative Eclipses is the proof.
(PO Box 990248 Boston, MA 02199)