With Antenna, Cave In reached the absolute apex of their brand of heavy alternative. Seeing no point in trying to remake a nearly perfect album, they shifted gears once again—this time going back into a heavier direction.

And this is where the story of Cave In gets a little messy. For Antenna, the group signed with RCA Records: a move that had them branded by many metal and hardcore acolytes as sellouts.

But after their major label debut and subsequent tour (again, with the Foo Fighters), they began working a new record. They sent some demos to the label, who weren’t interested in the heavier direction they were going in. Instead of caving (get it?) to label pressure, they jumped ship and went back to metal mainstay Hydra Head Records.

Their frustrations with RCA probably pushed Cave In to double down, because this record is furious. While the demos (which were included in the download card) featured no vocals, the vocals on the demos are split between Stephen Brodsky’s soaring croon and bassist Caleb Scofield’s hardcore screams.

While Brodsky had had the occasional shriek on Jupiter and even Antenna, Scofield screams on nearly every track. In some songs, he even takes more of a lead roll. Most specifically on the blistering “Trepanning,” which is the most pointed jab at RCA. According to the band, trepanning is a medical procedure where a hole is drilled in a patient’s head to relieve pressure—guys were pissed. Even without the screaming, “Droned” and “Screaming In Your Sleep” are similarly uproarious.

But besides the moshability of “Trepanning,” most of Perfect Pitch Black is still pretty far removed from Cave In’s early metalcore roots. For the most part, these songs are patient, more menacing than maniacal. They may have reintroduced some heavier elements, but much of their modus operandi is unchanged. Brodsky’s melodies are still incredibly acrobatic, the guitars are still chopped through a variety of effects pedals, the song structures are still long and mercurial.

The result is an album that lands somewhere between Jupiter and post metal bands like Pelican and Isis (Scofield would later join Isis’ frontman Aaron Harris’ Old Man Gloom, and Brodsky would take his place after his death). And as much as I love post metal, that’s great news. “The World Is In Your Way” opens the album with a riff that wouldn’t be out of place on City of Echoes. The instrumental “Ataraxia” pairs airy, warped guitars with a heavy groove by the rhythm section. The massive “Paranormal” is the spiritual sequel to Jupiter’s “Requiem”—a seven-minute opus that shifts from anthemic to brutal to atmospheric without ever missing a beat.

There are some quieter moments too though. “Down the Drain” is an acoustic ballad paired with swirling electric guitars. It’s the same trick as “Sometimes” by My Bloody Valentine, but it works. “Tension in the Ranks” (which should have closed the album, honestly) is almost baroque in its delicacy—before it explodes into a massive coda.

The trepanning of Perfect Pitch Black wasn’t enough to ease the pressure, though. The group would go on hiatus the next year before reforming a few years later. But even through the frustrations of label pressure, lineup changes, and fan expectations, Perfect Pitch Black is a perfect end cap * to a career marked by fearless exploration and constant reinvention. And while no two Cave In records may sound quite alike, they never sound like anyone else. And if that’s not the mark of a great band, I don’t know what is.

*I’m still not sold on White Silence.