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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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Jacob Bannon Goes Solo With Wear Your Wounds (Album Review)

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Take “Grim Heart/Black Rose” off of Converge’s No Heroes, expand it even more and structure an entire album out of it and you’ll have a small inkling of what Wear Your Wounds brings to the table. That’s, of course, oversimplifying the latest project from Jacob Bannon because just like the aforementioned song, WYW is a whole other musical journey unto itself. [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.