ALBUM REVIEW: Out Of The Cave – Cave
While no sound is truly trapped in the year or decade that birthed it, the modern heavy metal scene is often earmarked as just revisiting something rather than continuing a grand tradition. Is the classic sound so set in stone that any good attempt is seen as a faithful interpretation instead? Well, slap a bit of prog on it, sayeth German newcomers CAVE, and just have a good time rather than worrying about it. Out Of The Cave embodies that ethos with body and mind, but does it go further than a trip down memory lane?
Despite being formed in a basement about five minutes ago, one thing you can’t question is CAVE’s pedigree. Every position is occupied by a veteran of one or more genres of metal and boy, does it show. Ringleader Chris Lorey is in his element here, juggling the wavy and weird progressive keys on tracks like Hero, while also shrieking out riffs that would trouble even The Man with the Silicone Face, also on Hero just to show off a bit. Meanwhile, ex-METAL CHURCH frontman Ronny Munroe brings an unmatched, purist heavy metal energy to proceedings and it is a joy to hear him unleashed. From the late-80s QUEENSRYCHE strains of Blinded to the MAIDEN-esque growls and wails on album highlight Send For My Soul his range is as good as ever, even if he doesn’t blend with some of the more prog-leaning elements throughout.
Where Out Of The Cave really shines is in the technical. It’s as crisp and bright as heavy metal gets, hardly an imitation of an old school hallmark. Take Screaming For A Savior, where every single instrument is as punchy as if they were being played solo, but it all coalesces to a mass of collective prowess. Even the unbearably saccharine Like A True Father scores points for composition, even if they don’t make up the points lost for it being the audio equivalent of a gruesomely sentimental greeting card. It feels strange to claim that an album’s shortcomings can be plastered over by experience alone, but it genuinely feels like the case here.
That opening paragraph wasn’t just filler, however; Out Of The Cave wears its influences on sleeves absolutely blanketed in band patches. It’s not limited to the core experience, either. Try to listen to The Gold Crown without immediately thinking of all the members of YES waking up on the wrong side of the bed. This is no way to suggest that anything here is crimped with malicious intent. Far from it, in fact, given that everyone in CAVE lives and breathes heavy metal. It’s more an indication that this album falls into the nostalgic revisit camp, even with the prog elements breaking things up.
So, while the appeal of CAVE might not reach far beyond the long-established proponents of the genres that Out Of The Cave is a love letter to, there’s zero doubt that this blend of metal history and modern sensibility is a rock-solid effort. Are the prog elements alongside the heavy metal core used to create a groundbreaking reinvention in any sense? No, but that’s hardly the point. It’s like the old saying goes. You might not expect many new tricks from old dogs, but if one of them knows about mixed time signatures then you’re bound to get something interesting out of it.
Rating: 7/10
Out Of The Cave is set for release on March 15th via Metalapolis Records.
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