Cave In - Antenna

Cave In sold out. At least, that's what I bet is on the mind of a bunch of hard-core kids that used to worship the ground this band treaded. In 2001 they dropped Jupiter into the laps of their fans and that’s when all the whiney cries of "sell outs!" erupted. After stuff on Until Your Heart Stops, it’s hard to believe Cave In was the same band on Jupiter. Now, they take the next step from that with Antenna. Now, hear me out. I didn't like their earlier, heavier stuff; instead, I really enjoyed Jupiter. In order to describe Antenna, I've put it this way: take Jupiter and its 6-7 minute songs, mix them with Tides of Tomorrow songs, and make them 3-4 minutes and ready for radio play. At first, that sounds like it would be bad. Terribly, terribly bad. But, oddly enough, it works for Cave In. It took a couple listens to grow on me, but I really enjoy this CD now. The songs on Antenna have more organized structures than the rambling ones on Jupiter and you wonder if they made the conscious effort to make radio friendly songs. "Woodwork", "Anchor", and "Rubber and Glue" are stand outs, clever songs with subtle hooks. Then they have a couple of songs like "Inspire", which have one riff that sounds like it'll be on every heavy metal radio station in the country that used to formerly play Korn and Limp Bizkit. This scares me. "Beautiful Son" is an acoustic number; strange for Cave In, but still refreshing. And if you liked the epic, rambling songs on Jupiter, there is an 8+ minute epic called "Sea Frost" to satisfy you. The sound they got in the studio is just so HUGE. A big drum sound and a big guitar sound are perfect for this band. If you were one of the fans that loved Until Your Heart Stops and have been praying for Cave In to return to that style, don’t get this. If you enjoyed Jupiter or Tides of Tomorrow, this one’s for you. If you’ve never given Cave In a chance, this is a good CD to start with, but I wouldn’t consider this their best work. Get Jupiter instead. [www.cavein.net]