Review by Rachel Jablonski
motion picture presumed to be intense, dark, thrilling, and action packed, The Cave, in theaters this summer, will more than likely appeal to younger audiences. The premise: A rescue team is sent down into the world's largest cave system to try to find the spelunkers who first explored its depths. But when the group's escape route is cut off, they are hunted by the monstrous creatures that live down below (Yahoo! Movies). Paralleling such deep, dark moods is an accompanying movie soundtrack full of current metal based artists who will be making their debut for some and providing a solid compilation for others. The wide array of bands reveals the current similarities and diversities of the heavy music genre and exposes the talents of rising metal artists.
Killswitch Engage:
http://www.killswitchengage.com
With a current album, The End of Heartache, out on Roadrunner
Records it is interesting that the soundtrack features an older song,
“Irreversal,” from the band’s 2000 self-titled release.
Though the song is Killswitch illustrative, it is not a logical choice
due to many other strong tunes from the band. However, true to form is
the track with screams, heavy guitars, and melodies at the chorus.
Nightwish:
http://www.nightwish.com
The Nightwish track, “Nemo,” has been chosen as the soundtrack’s
first single and can also be found on the Nightwish album called Once.
The female vocals, use of piano keys, synth, steady beats, and background
choral chants allow for uninterrupted soft musical flow, while guitars
give off a pleasing hard edge.
Atreyu & Ill Nino:
http://www.atreyurock.com
http://www.illnino.com
Atreyu’s “You Eclipsed Me” and Ill Nino’s “I’ll
Find the Way” are two distinct songs with two distinct sounds on
two distinct labels (Victory and Roadrunner). Yet similarities present
themselves between the songs. Though the vocalists of each band add their
own unique hardcore/melodic flavors, both seem to share a strained deep
squeal type scream. Whereas Atreyu seems to follow a more traditional
musical philosophy, Ill Nino adds their Spanish cultural zest. “You
Eclipsed Me” can be found on Atreyu’s The Curse and
Ill Nino has a new album coming out in September.
Shadows Fall & Trivium:
http://www.shadowsfall.com
http://www.trivium.org
Having reviewed The War Within by Shadows Fall and Trivium’s Ascendancy, it is amusing that the two songs found to standout
most on each album were chosen for The Cave soundtrack.
Shadows Fall
review
Trivium review
Lacuna Coil:
http://www.lacunacoil.it
“Daylight Dancer” off of Comalies by Italy’s
Lacuna Coil is full of deep bass and melodious vocal contributions. It
is a good song and a good representation of the overall fabulous album
on Century Media.
Open Hand:
http://www.openhandrocks.com
“Hard Night” off of Open Hand’s 2005 release called You and Me is a great track. The groovy guitar and melodic vocals
will have the audience hooked. There are no screams on this track, just
plain and simple hard rock delight.
Bleeding Through:
http://www.bleedingthrough.com
This Is Love, This Is Murderous is the album on Trustkill Records
that features “Love Lost in a Hail of Gunfire” by Bleeding
Through. The song begins with a Gregorian chant soon revealing bludgeoning
speed metal. Despite some synth and melody incorporated as well, the song
is ultimately pugnacious.
Diecast:
http://www.bhcdiecast.com
The hardcore/melodic nature of Diecast’s “Medieval,”
from their album Tearing Down Your Blue Skies, fits in well with
the heavy nature of The Cave soundtrack. The lyrics also fit
in well with lines like buried six feet down as the premise of
the movie concerns being “buried,” trapped in other words,
below water.
Strapping Young Lad:
http://www.strappingyounglad.com
Recently off of perhaps this summer’s best tour, Sounds of the Underground,
Strapping Young Lad is featured on the soundtrack as well with “Love?”
off their new album entitled Alien. It’s a fast, double
bass laden, noisy, display of Devin-filled goodness.
Bury Your Dead:
http://www.buryyourdead.com
Also on a festival tour this summer, namely Ozzfest, Bury Your Dead’s
“Magnolia” has found its way on the album. The crunchy guitars
and hardcore vocals of the track, also found on Cover Your Tracks,
further emphasize the mood of the soundtrack.
It Dies Today:
http://www.itdiestoday.com
The deep sound and melodic portions of “A Threnody for Modern Romance”
represents Buffalo, New York’s It Dies Today. The song can also
be found on their album The Caitiff Choir on Trustkill Records.
Mastodon:
http://shop.relapse.com/artist/artist.aspx?ArtistID=10063
Distortion rich and guitar dominant is “Blood and Thunder”
by Mastodon from their album Leviathan. Dueling riffs at two
different octaves make up a guitar solo as Mastodon demonstrates their
strong contribution to the world of metal.
Vext:
http://www.purevolume.com/vext
Brooklyn’s Vext is probably not a familiar name to many. With little
information to be found on the band besides a couple of songs on Pure
Volume, the song contends as a legitimate ingredient on The Cave soundtrack with enjoyable tempo changes and good melody at the chorus.
Burning Brides:
http://www.burningbridgesband.com
The Burning Brides track “King of the Demimonde” consists
of a slower tempo than other songs on the album. The mood is still dark,
but the sound is not quite as intense. The vocal screams featured on the
track, which is off of the band’s Leave no Ashes release,
are raspy and Kurt Cobain-like in sound.
Egypt Central:
http://www.egyptcentralmusic.com
The hard rock track, “Taking You Down,” from Memphis’
Egypt Central is not featured on a major label, but makes a debut here.
Devilinside:
http://www.devilinsidemafia.com
A thick metal sound exists on “Conflicted, Conditioned” by
Minneapolis¹ Devilinside. The track can be found on the band’s
album called Volume One presented by Abacus Recordings.
Candiria:
http://www.candiriamusic.com
Despite a heavy guitar existing on “Bring the Pain/Multiple Incisions,”
the song does not seem to fit the soundtrack. Unlike any other on the
album the song consists of rap-like vocals that are distracting and seem
to kill the mood the soundtrack is going for. The song happens to be off
of another movie soundtrack from the film called Wrong Turn also
released on Lakeshore Records.