Album Review:

Cave In
Planets of Old EP
Release Date: 08/02/2010


Dealing with any release from a band with a career-story like Cave In’s is difficult. A long history of prog/metalcore turned (according to long-standing fans) commercial tripe with 2003’s Antenna could warrant genuine apprehension when approaching Planets of Old; but I feel I can safely say that these fans can have much to look forward to on the basis of this, their first offering for 4 years. They’re back – and they mean it.

If metalcore or prog-metal are what we associate with Cave In’s “true form”, then Planets of Old certainly revisits these genres. First track ‘Cayman Tongue’ kicks in loud and hard. The guitars are down-tuned and textured with layers of precisely synchronised effects. The bass is loud and viscerally chugging. Vocals are by turns soft and ear-laceratingly ferocious. And guess what – you like it. And you want more. This is Cave In the way they should be: aggressive, fist-clenching (had me going a few times) and downright assertive.

‘Retina Sees Rewind’ is a crisp, hook-laden pocket nuke of a song that will have you banging your head along with the syncopated drumming. There’s more than a whiff of the more grunge-inflected material circa Antenna, but this influence is channelled more successfully than ever before. Yet what follows, for me personally, was certainly not on the radar: ‘The Red Trail’ pummels listeners with an uncompromising showcase of pure psychedelic hardcore. The vocals are vicious, the guitars dissonant and heavy, bass aptly distorted; this song is, to phrase in the most colloquial terms, mental, and perfectly embodies what psychedelic hardcore-punk is all about. But I also have a mild gripe with its presence on this record, in so far that we don’t seem to be getting any continuity in musical style on the EP as a whole. It’s definitely not a bad song, and there’s nothing wrong with experimenting, but I’m pretty sure Cave In wrote it because it sounds damn fun to play.

No doubt, Cave In are back on form; but I can’t help wanting more from this EP. The tracks (excepting the first one) are frustratingly short and we are still left in the dark as to exactly what sound Cave In will be pursuing in the future – but then maybe that’s what makes Planets of Old so exciting. I wasn’t a huge Cave In fan before, but they have gone about their business in slowly converting me. I expect that older fans won’t be disappointed either.

8/10 (For fans of: Glassjaw, Thrice, Reuben, Oceansize)

By Chris To