Cave In

Cave In, the Massachusetts rock outfit, produces sounds that marry refined complexity to raw force. Assembled from elements drawn from heavy metal, indie rock, and progressive rock, the group’s initial recordings—most notably 1998’s Until Your Heart Stops—displayed a pronounced thrash-metal edge riding over a turbulent, noisy foundation, while 2000’s Jupiter brought a sharper exploratory impulse that critics likened to metalcore fused with Radiohead. On Antenna, the 2003 major-label debut, Cave In pursued broader appeal by layering pop sensibilities atop their serrated metal guitars, only to restore greater density on later independent efforts such as 2011’s White Silence. Activity remained intermittent throughout the 2010s until the musicians regrouped to memorialize a departed colleague with Final Transmission in 2019; three years afterward they delivered the stern Heavy Pendulum.

Formed in 1995 in Methuen, Massachusetts, by guitarist Stephen Brodsky and vocalist Jay Frechette, the band took its name from a track on Codeine’s influential heavy alternative album Frigid Stars. Brodsky and Frechette completed the original roster with guitarist Adam McGrath, bassist Justin Matthes, and drummer John-Robert Conners. Early performances and split singles with Piebald, Gambit, and Early Grace in 1996 preceded the 1997 Hydra Head release of the “Crossbearer” b/w “Chameleon” single. An ensuing East Coast tour ended prematurely when Frechette exited to join Ten Yard Fight. Dave Scrod briefly assumed lead vocals before departing shortly before work began on the debut full-length; Steven Brodsky then handled both guitar and vocal duties while Caleb Scofield joined on bass. Until Your Heart Stops appeared in 1998, prompting an extensive tour. The 1999 EP Creative Eclipses introduced prog-rock structures, and Jupiter the following year expanded that direction, earning strong press acclaim that attracted major-label interest. After the 2002 Hydra Head EP Tides of Tomorrow, the band signed with RCA.

Antenna, Cave In’s 2003 RCA debut, prompted intensive roadwork that included a slot on Lollapalooza’s second stage and European dates supporting Foo Fighters. Though reviewers praised its accessibility without sacrificing heft, the label grew uneasy when subsequent material revisited metal roots, leading to a split. Realigning with Hydra Head, the group issued Perfect Pitch Black in 2005; afterward John-Robert Conners departed and Ben Koller, formerly of Converge, took the drum chair. Koller’s tenure proved brief: in November 2006 Cave In announced a hiatus, after which Adam McGrath formed Clouds.

The band resurfaced in July 2009 for a reunion performance at Great Scott in Allston, Massachusetts, and released the four-song EP Planets of Old, featuring Brodsky and McGrath on guitars, Scofield on bass, and Conners on drums. Audio and video captured at that show appeared in an expanded Planets of Old edition. Touring remained limited thereafter, so White Silence, the first full-length since the reunion, arrived only in 2011. Following its supporting tour, Cave In again paused while members pursued outside projects, though they played a lone 2014 show opening for Doomriders. Rehearsals and new songwriting resumed in late 2017 and early 2018, only to be upended when Caleb Scofield died in an auto accident on March 28, 2018. The musicians staged several benefit concerts for Scofield’s family, with his brother Kyle Scofield and Nate Newton of Converge filling in on bass. Material from the 2017–2018 sessions was reshaped into Final Transmission, issued by Hydra Head in June 2019 as a tribute. Newton joined the lineup officially before the 2022 release of Heavy Pendulum, the band’s first album for Relapse Records; the live concert EP Heavy Pendulum: The Singles [Live at BBC's Maida Vale Studios] followed the next year.