Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Cave In - Anomalies Vol. 1 (2010)
Although Cave In made what they wanted to make in 2005's Perfect Pitch Black, they ended up going on hiatus the following year. They returned in 2009 with an EP titled Planets of Old that further brought back their heavier roots. They also decided to release a compilation of rarities from their earlier years titled Anomalies, Vol 1. Vol. 2 is just one of their live performances from 2003.
Anomalies Vol. 1 contains two bonus tracks from earlier releases, 4 covers, and one demo track, all of which show the band's evolution from metalcore to spacey alt-rock. Yeah, there's not a lot of metalcore here but still enough to qualify as metalcore to my ears...
The opening track "Mr. Co-Dexterity" is a bonus track from the Japanese edition of Until Your Heart Stops. Lots of rifftastic guitars and bass, along with screamed vocals by Stephen Brodsky side-to-side with his clean singing. "Inflatable Dream" originated from the Creative Eclipses sessions. The vocals are mostly performed by bassist Caleb Scofield (RIP). With his wicked growls and the heavier riffing, this is more like a bridge between those two aforementioned releases.
The first cover, Bad Brains' "I Love I Jah" is done in Cave In's own atmospheric style (the kind of covers I like, mostly). It was recorded for a 1999 Bad Brains tribute album and hinting at the band's sound in Jupiter and Tides of Tomorrow, which doesn't fit well lyrically here. The extensive amount of noise and feedback is rather useless. Their cover of "Plainsong" by The Cure has nice synths and guitars, though Brodsky's attempt at lower singing is just awkward, especially with the echoing effect. But then the band covers "N.I.B.", and they made it as awesome as the original Black Sabbath hit. Somehow turning an early heavy metal classic into atmospheric metalcore works. Nice one!
Then we come to an early demo of "Innuendo and Out the Other" (still confused about that name). I didn't like the original version from Jupiter, and I don't like this version either, sounding too much like a live recording with no audience. However, not all of it is bad. I can hear the bass, and there's a screamed ending verse that should've been in the album version. And finally, one more cover, the Codeine song "Cave In", which inspired the band's name. The vocals are nice, but other than that, it's a rock-less failure.
I would recommend this release only for the die-hard fans of Cave In. Even though there are a few great tracks, specifically the heavy ones, it's in the same low level as their 2000s material. All it's good for is making the band's discography more complete....
Favorites: "Mr. Co-Dexterity", "Inflatable Dream", "N.I.B."