Black metal has been undergoing a bit of a revolution in the last few years. Bands like Deafheaven, Wolves in the Throne Room, and Lantlôs have been augmenting their metal chops with elements of post rock and shoegaze. It’s a simple formula, but surprisingly effective.
But at the forefront of the “blackgaze” movement is a French group called Alcest, who wrote much of the blueprint on their breakthrough record Écailles de lune.
I was first introduced to Metavari as a post rock band (by a friend of mine who later joined the line up). They played the same intricate, introspective instrumental music as bands like Collection of Colonies of Bees, Do Make Say Think, and The Album Leaf.
And when my band was booked alongside them for analecta‘s album release show, that’s what we went in expecting. But somewhere along the road, bandleader Nate Utesch transitioned the project into a dreamy synth pop. Yet when paired with their post rock sensibilities, they created something incredibly special.
If you picked up Men At Work’s sophomore album Cargo looking for anything like their smash novelty hit “Down Under,” you’d be sorely disappointed.
Of course, the single wasn’t a great representation of Business As Usual either, but Cargo separates itself even further.
A hit single can be a huge boon for a new band. It can launch their career like a jet engine, putting them in front of a huge audience.
But it can also be an albatross, painting listeners’ perception of your work. Perhaps there’s no greater example of this curse than Men At Work’s “Down Under,” which hit number one in a handful of countries around the world—despite being a poor representation of their debut album.
When my wife and I started dating, we went through that phase every new couple goes through where you share mix CDs back and forth.
One of the mixes that she gave me included “Brand New Key,” a bouncing, Honky-Tonking raucous track led by Melanie’s powerful voice and a mischievous innuendo (the key is a…you know).
I found this record in a dollar bin years ago, and haven’t listened to it until now. And with that single as my only preview, I’m a bit surprised.
I’m a big fan of dream pop and shoegaze. Bands like Beach House, Cocteau Twins, Slowdive, and My Bloody Valentine.
And as I’ve read more about the pioneers of those genres, I am always, always surprised to see Mazzy Star on that list.
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.
Of all of the chameleonic reinventions across the history of recorded music, few groups were as mercurial as Cave In.
And while Antenna might not be the biggest left turn they’ve ever taken, it’s certainly the furthest end of their creative spectrum, leaning heavier on space rock and alternative than ever before. But there’s still plenty of metal heaviness to give these songs some real heft. Continue reading
After metalcore mavens Cave In released the spaced out, alternative metal masterpiece Jupiter, much of their fanbase was alienated—even as critics lauded them.
Anyone hoping that Jupiter was a one off was even more disappointed by Tides of Tomorrow, a six-song EP that features some of the group’s most melodic output.
In all of my examinations of the nerdiest aspects of music critique, I have never found a band with a more convoluted creative arc than Cave In.
I was first exposed to the group a few years ago when I picked up White Silence in a lot of records that I bought to flip. It was an angular, abrasive piece of experimental metalcore that I was not into at all. I dismissed them as a band I just wasn’t into, and that was that.
Then a few weeks ago, a friend recommended Antenna, their major label breakthrough that blended alternative metal and space rock to make something that my friend described as “Deftones meets Sunny Day Real Estate.” After hearing the contrast, I delved deep into their discography to try to figure out what exactly happened.