Cave men

Cave-In play till Your Heart Stops

by Chris Kanaracus

The young (20 and under), Methuen-based Cave-In have chosen an apt title -- not only because the phrase immediately suggests something from the heavy end of the street, but also for another reason: one that doesn't become clear until you hear the music. It's an unpeggable mesh of hardcore and old-school speed metal and imaginative, status-quo-threatening forays into melody that belie any musical title, and force a re-evaluation of those already in existence.

Cave-In's founder, Steve Brodby, is slightly less enthusiastic. "It's music. Whatever comes out of our hearts and through our fingers is what goes on record and what we perform in concert. No formula."

When it comes to Cave-In's latest full-length release, Until Your Heart Stops (Hydrahead Records), Brodby is right on the mark. The songs have their share of genre conventions -- tortured screams, occasionally murky lyrics, and musically dubious "noise" sections -- but their sum total possesses a certain force that is at once too focused and too blissfully ragged to be anything but true expression.

One example is the track "Terminal Deity," which nearly trips over itself, moving wildly from one tempo and key to another at breakneck speed -- this is quite annoying. But in the aftermath (and repeated listening), it's just that lack of complacency that sets Cave-In apart from the considerable crop of heavy acts out there. Where others would set out to try this sort of thing for aesthetic purposes, these guys make it seems natural. They've written songs, unconventional ones to be sure, but songs nonetheless -- not the random blasts of "aggression" that too often are passed off as such.

This is not to say the music isn't aggressive. It is, but in a palatable way. Drummer J.R. Conners is a revelation of precision, taste, and originality within the stale, stale world of metal/hardcore drumming. And Brodby and Adam McGrath have revived a mostly lost art -- harmony guitar lines, ones that on tracks like "Juggernaut" suggest a meeting between Quicksand and, er, the Allman Brothers. Stylistically, tracks like "Segue 1 & 2" and "Halo of Flies" at times venture closer to the ground covered by Radiohead, with long, tranquil passages of guitar noodling that suggest a sound check, but more often go somewhere, and somewhere quite good. And when coupled with Brodby's bludgeoning vocals (at times he seems to be spitting blood), somehow this music -- loud, soft, raging, irritating, and confusing -- is addictive.

When you consider that Brodby "knew practically from birth" that he wanted to make his living as a musician, you might not find it so surprising. He formed Cave-In with lifelong friend Conners in April 1995, and since their star has risen quicker than most. Local shows draw hundreds of fans, UYHS has seen brisk sales, and a new EP from Hydrahead is forthcoming. But, in general, 20-year-old Brodby isn't impressed. "I'm not satisfied yet . . . a lot of people get to this level and they get big heads. `Wow, I'm the shit. I drew two hundred people to the Space last week.' Not many bands like that will go explore the country like we've been doing. You have to keep humbling yourself. If you do, you'll be more worldly, and the music will be better."

Brodby talks from a pay phone near Sioux City, Iowa, on the return swing of a tour, which took them through California and the Midwest, with labelmates Isis. "You see, the people out in Boston are so spoiled. Every band, big and small, has to come through there. Out here in the middle of nowhere, we might be playing to 20 or 40 people, but these kids appreciate it. Some of them drive for hundreds of miles to see these shows . . . they're excited. You can't get the kind of feedback and energy they give off anywhere else."

Except, perhaps, in Worcester, a place most favorable to the heavy arts.

But Brodby knows there are more fans out there. "Anyone who comes down here and gives the music a listen would be hard-pressed not to get anything out of it . . . God knows we're trying our best."

Cave-In play a 4 p.m. show on June 27 at the Space, along with Burn It Down, Isis, and Discordance Axis. Call 753-0017.