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Cave In Hone In On Space-Rawk Roots, Create A Cathartic Crusher With Majestic Heavy Pendulum

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I try to stay away from other reviews when it comes to any album I already know that I’ll be reviewing myself here but after hearing the latest Cave In record all the way through for the first time I got a little overexcited to see if people felt the same way I did. That said, I’ve gotta hand it to Decibel Magazine’s Shawn Macomber who was so on point in describing Heavy Pendulum as “the best stadium-ready modern Metal record” because, in a nutshell and at its’ core, it’s exactly that. And obviously so much more.

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22 in ’22: Rock And Roll Fables’ Guide To What To Get An Earful Of In The New Year

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I don’t why I thought it’d be a good idea to do both an end of the year list and preview list reflecting the year they’re happening in….but here we are. Our list of twenty one albums and change has already posted (Which you can read here) so now it’s time to close the book on 2021 and look to the future with 22 albums we think will make this year sound even better than the last…and change.

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19 in ’19: A Truly Exhausting Look At The 19 Albums You should’ve Paid Attention to in 2019.

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I was going to start this thing off with an additional list of “honorable mentions” so I could add EVERYTHING I wanted to include on this year end list but figured, if you regularly read this blog then you know that whatever gets featured here already has major heart eyes from its’ Editor-In-Chief so without further adieu, here’s the real meat and potatoes (Hyperlinks to our reviews are in the headers where applicable):

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Wear Your Wounds: A Track By Track By Track By Track By Track Review Of Rust on the Gates of Heaven

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Not a hoax! Not a ploy! Not a gimmick! Sort of! Regardless, you read that right! What we have for you today is a five track review of the upcoming Wear Your Wounds album because a) We wanted to get something out before it drops on Friday through Deathwish Inc b) You don’t need to read about us waxing poetic on this entire beautiful beast and c) Frankly, we thought it was a neat idea.

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Cave In Send Off Late Bassist With Possibly Their Absolute Best On Final Transmission

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Oof, before even hearing a note I knew this one was going to be a tough listen and in that department, Cave In’s Final Transmission does not disappoint. It’s also this gorgeous album that’s such a fitting tribute to late bassist Caleb Scofield and a stellar entry into the band’s already beyond solid discography.

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Mutoid Man Release Bleeder On June 30th (Album Review)

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COVEREXACTYX

Warning: About two and a half minutes into “Bridgeburner”, the opener for Mutoid Man’s latest album Bleeder, this glorious melee of riffs and drums bombards listeners ears and may cause sudden uncontrollable headbanging. [Read more…]

Mutoid Man Slay Boston’s Royale With A Smile On Their Face

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Mixing brutality with levity, Boston via NYC’s Mutoid Man stormed the Royale stage recently while supporting The Dillinger Escape Plan. With a new release almost here (Bleeder, out through Sargent House on June 30th), Mutoid Man treated fans to a slew of those new tracks which fit in seamlessly alongside tracks from 2013’s Helium Head. [Read more…]

Mutoid Man’s Helium Head is the Verge-In album the world needs AND deserves!

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Verge-In is here! Sort of! It’s Helium Head, the debut EP from Cave In’s Stephen Brodsky and Converge’s Ben Koller (Or Cave In’s Ben Koller depending on what year it is) new group Mutoid Man! Exclamation! (Hey, you take a listen to this EP on repeat and tell me you’re not bouncing off the walls!)

It’s a two pronged sonic onslaught of delightful frenetic frenzy packed neatly into a seven track EP. If you’re a fan of either of the members’ respective “day jobs” then Helium Head has something for you. It’s also an album where if you blink, you might miss all the fun. Yeah, it’s that fast.

Koller, as always, is on fire here but it’s Brodsky who really shines in the end. Fans who thought he’s gone soft with age and let Caleb Scofield take on all the aggressive parts in Cave In need only listen to opener “Gnarcissist” or follow up “Scavengers” to know that not only is Brodsky still capable of bringing the heavy but he’s also still capable of bringing some noise not heard since the Until Your Heart Stops days. Just listen to “Friday the 13/8” or “Lost In The Hive” as Brodsky gets his rage on completely for more proof.

All around, Helium Head is a solid debut of unexpected chaos from two of Massachusetts finest and hopefully a great indicator of what’s to come.

Helium Head is out digitally on November 22nd and physically on November 26th. Check out the pre-order options over on Shirts & Destroy now.