Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Cave In - Perfect Pitch Black (2005)
Now this is something Cave In wanted to do, make a post-hardcore/alt-metal release that balances their earlier heaviness with the alt-ish tendencies they were sucked into. They started off with metalcore in Beyond Hypothermia and Until Your Heart Stops, adopted more of a spacey alt-rock sound in Jupiter and Tides of Tomorrow, and was signed to RCA to make the accessible Antenna. That last album was not worth it for the band and their longtime fans.
Heading back to the more lenient Hydra Head, Perfect Pitch Black shows the band taking their sound from Jupiter and making it heavier, even adding in the harsh vocals last used in Until Your Heart Stops. If the objective was to regain their earlier fans with songs having a better balanced structure, they've done it. Though not by a long shot...
The album opens with static melody in the 30-second title intro. It segues to "The World is in Your Way" which is an amazing song! This is basically like early Queen gone f***ing heavy. Caleb Scofield performs some cool Coalesce-esque growls here. RIP... "Off to Ruin" sounds closer to Jupiter and Antenna which ruins some things. Although there are still Caleb's cool growls. His screams and bass give "Trepanning" instant memorability. Practically every fan of this band has discovered them when they were in high school, but for me, it was just a few years before this review. This f***ing sh*t rocks hard! I especially the groovy bridge midway through. And my first encounter with Caleb's vocals was from his guest appearances with Converge, Isis, and The Ocean. He will truly be missed...
The 7-minute "Paranormal" is a true epic, starting off spacey with Stephen Brodsky's soaring cleans, "Moonlight comes through the shades now". While the U2 influences that cover their early 2000s material is still there, his cleans have beautiful strength and wider range compared to those albums. Plus we have still have that earlier heaviness and Caleb's p*ssed-off growls. Then there's a soft atmospheric break before the drums and guitar feedback rise again for the emotional climax. Majestic! However, the strength is reduced with the slow acoustic "Down the Drain" that sounds too programmed. Same with "Droned", which is heavy and catchy but a little too droning.
"Ataraxia" is a 5-minute instrumental of darkness and hope, with some choir. I enjoy the heavy guitar rhythms that never sound too plodding. "Tension in the Ranks" sounds too Radiohead-ish, again throwing back to the spacey sound of Jupiter. The guitar rhythm work seems to collapse upon itself. "Screaming in Your Sleep" bounces through guitar/bass distortion. Strong ending track, but I wish there was more of Caleb's growls from the first half of the album.
Perfect Pitch Black may not be Cave In's return to their 90s peak, but it's a slight improvement from their previous two albums and has more enjoyable tracks. A decent comeback to the earlier aspects they've revolutionized....
Favorites: "The World is in Your Way", "Trepanning", "Paranormal", "Ataraxia", "Screaming in Your Sleep"