''Heavy Pendulum'' is the seventh studio album by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Cave In Cave In is an American rock band that formed in 1995 in Methuen, Massachusetts. The band's lineup solidified with the 1998 release of ''Until Your Heart Stops'' through Hydra Head Records, and their early albums were prominent in the metalcore ...

, released on May 20, 2022 through

Relapse Records Relapse Records is an American independent record label based in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990. The label features many grindcore, death metal, metalcore and sludge metal artists. History The label was ...

. This is the band's first album with bassist/backing vocalist

Nate Newton Nathaniel Newton (born December 20, 1961) is a former American football guard in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and Carolina Panthers. He also was a member of the Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League. He p ...

, though late bassist/vocalist

Caleb Scofield Caleb Mark Scofield (October 6, 1978 – March 28, 2018) was an American musician who was a bassist and singer mostly known for the alternative metal band Cave In, and his own sludge metal band Zozobra. Caleb was also a part of the sludge band Ol ...

still has a presence on the record.

Background

In July 2021, Cave In signed to

and announced its seventh studio album will be released through the label. The album's title was revealed as ''Heavy Pendulum'' with the release of the single "New Reality" on March 15, 2022. The album's second single, "Blinded by a Blaze", was released on April 5. The album's third single, "Blood Spiller", was released on April 26. The fourth single, "Reckoning", was released on May 10; the song was written entirely by guitarist Adam McGrath. The album was produced by

Converge Converge may refer to: * Converge (band), American hardcore punk band * Converge (Baptist denomination), American national evangelical Baptist body * Limit (mathematics) * Converge ICT, internet service provider in the Philippines *CONVERGE CFD s ...

guitarist

Kurt Ballou Kurt Ballou (born February 1, 1974) is an American musician and producer based in Massachusetts, best known as the guitarist for hardcore punk band Converge and for his prolific recording and production work at his own GodCity Studio. Early and ...

, who produced Cave In's debut ''

Until Your Heart Stops ''Until Your Heart Stops'' is the debut album by metalcore band Cave In. It was released in 1999 on Hydra Head Records. ''Until Your Heart Stops'' has been regarded as a landmark release in the metallic hardcore genre.J. Bennett, "Who's That Gi ...

''. "New Reality" features a riff that was written by late bassist/vocalist

in 2011. Additionally, "Amaranthine" features lyrics that were written by Scofield.

Musical style and lyrical themes

Revolver A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...

'' described lead single and opening track "New Reality" as leaning "into the quartet's sludgier inclinations." Jon Hadusek from ''

Consequence Consequence may refer to: * Logical consequence, also known as a ''consequence relation'', or ''entailment'' * In operant conditioning, a result of some behavior * Consequentialism, a theory in philosophy in which the morality of an act is determi ...

'' referred to the song's riff as "heavy sludge and

stoner metal Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Sleep. ...

." Second single, "Blinded by a Blaze", has been described as

post-metal Post-metal is a music genre rooted in heavy metal but exploring approaches beyond metal conventions. It emerged in the 1990s with bands such as Neurosis and Godflesh, who transformed metal texture through experimental composition. In a way simil ...

. Nicholas Senior of ''

New Noise Magazine ''New Noise Magazine'' is an American music magazine that focuses on artist news, band interviews, album reviews and underground culture. It was founded in February 2013, by Lisa Root, who had previously been the co-founder and editor-in-chief of ...

'' described the album as stoner metal, comparing it to

Red Fang Red Fang is an American rock band from Portland, Oregon, formed in 2005. It is composed of guitarist and vocalist Bryan Giles, bassist and vocalist Aaron Beam, guitarist David Sullivan and drummer John Sherman. The band has released five studi ...

. Additionally, the album has been noted has having a strong

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

influence. "Blood Spiller" was written in response to several events that occurred in 2020. Frontman

Stephen Brodsky Stephen Brodsky is an American rock musician best known as a member of Cave In, Mutoid Man, New Idea Society and Old Man Gloom. He also has a solo career and is a former member of Converge, Kid Kilowatt, Parasite and Pet Genius. History Stephe ...

stated:

If you laid out the timeline for 2020 like a recipe, it might look something like this:
global pandemic Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * Global (Paul van Dyk album), ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * Global (Bunji Garlin album), ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * Global (Humanoid album), ''Gl ...
+
lockdowns A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison ...
+ worldwide protests over the wrongful death of
George Floyd George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was an African-American man who was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest made after a store clerk suspected Floyd may have used a counterfeit twe ...
+ election year = cocktail for end times. Somewhere in that concoction, we found ingredients for a new Cave In album. Blood Spiller is the sound of us swallowing it, getting ripped on the horrors within, and coming down to reflect on it through song.

Track listing

Personnel

Cave In *

– lead vocals, lead guitar *Adam McGrath – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Reckoning" *

– bass, backing vocals, tambourine *John-Robert Conners – drums ;Production *

– production, mixing *Zach Weeks – assistant producer, additional mixing *Richey Beckett – artwork

Charts

References

{{Cave In 2022 albums Cave In albums Relapse Records albums Albums produced by Kurt Ballou