Few bands have had a trajectory as winding as Cave In. Emerging at the turn of the 2000s as one of the spearheads of an adventurous post-hardcore, the Bostonians have never ceased to oscillate between aggression and melody, between metal and spatial rock. Heavy Pendulum, their first album since the death of bassist Caleb Scofield, marks an awaited return, laden with a particular emotional weight.
The critics (an 83 average across eight reviews) hail a teeming record, almost a summation, where the band churn together every facet of their history. One finds the heaviness of sludge, the melodic soars inherited from Jupiter, the cutting riffs of their early metalcore, all served by a broad, warm production.
What strikes is the generosity of the endeavour: more than an hour of music, an extended palette, a sense of writing that favours great choruses as much as frontal discharges. Cave In seem to want to say everything, to embrace everything, as if to honour a broken friendship.
This profusion is also the record’s limit: in seeking to condense everything, Heavy Pendulum sometimes loses tightness, and its generous length dilutes the impact here and there. A stricter selection would surely have made the whole more forceful.
Verdict: 8/10. A rich, sincere return, carried by a palpable emotion, confirming the lasting singularity of a band apart.
