About a year and a half about I was fortunate enough to catch a Cave In performance at which they debuted a handful of new songs, many of which made their way onto this release. When they played these new songs, they were sprinkled about a set-list of recent songs from Jupiter and Antenna as well as old jams from Until Your Heart Stops. The use of the new songs to bridge the gap between spacey rock and hardcore/metal sums up the collection of songs on Perfect Pitch Black perfectly.
Following an electronic-heavy, noisy intro track, 'The World is in Your Way' starts things off. The song begins as a rock tune very much like 'Stained Silver' with vocalist/guitarist Stephen Brodsky's trademark harmonies. But as we enter into the first verse the guitars gain more chug and bassist Caleb Scofield takes his turn at the vocals with coarse screams - think of his work in side-project Old Man Gloom. The song continues to run its course with each Brodsky and Scofield trading off vocal duties for their respective parts. 'Off the Ruin' follows a similar path vocally with Brodsky and Scofield each alternating turns on vocals. Musically the pace of the song is slower than its predecessor, but this isn't a bad thing at all. The drumming of JR Conners provides the perfect pace for the thundering basslines and creeping guitar riffs of Adam McGrath and Brodsky. Combined together the result is a haunting piece of music and my favorite track off the release.
The fellows of Cave In do eventually deviate from this pattern. On the primal 'Trepanning,' the band smashes through what is the heaviest song the band has written in years. The intricate guitar riffs teamed with coarse vocals quickly brings back memories of 'Juggernaut' and 'Chameleon.' This is the definitive moment to rock out on Perfect Pitch Black.
Things get turned down a couple of notches with the songs 'Paranormal' and 'Down the Drain.' These songs with their meandering guitars reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine and Brodsky's sweet melodies would fit quite well on any of the more recent Cave In releases. The same could be said for 'Tension in the Ranks,' which falls later in the album.
The band picks up the pace again on 'Droned,' which could have been a b-side to Antenna. 'Ataraxia' is a fast-moving instrumental that highlights the guitar-work of McGrath. Cave In closes the album out on a fairly mediocre note. 'Screaming in Your Sleep' fits formula of fusing mainstream rock and the previous Cave In sound that was explored on Antenna, but unfortunately on this track, things didn't come together - though there is a wicked guitar solo mid-way through the song.
By now Cave In knows that they can't please everyone. So there is always going to be individuals spouting off shit like this: 'They were sweet back in the day, and then they tried to sell out. Now they're trying to be a metal band again - fucking wankers!' The rebuttal? Perfect Pitch Black is an excellent mixture of the different phases that Cave In has delved into throughout their career and if you can't appreciate this album, you're the wanker.
