You don’t come to the music of Caveman Cult for emotional nuance or involving melodies. No one searching for hope or inspiration will be welcomed with open arms. Even those who seek a catharsis for angst, anguish, or despair will find no therapy here. But if explosive typhoons of fury, violence, and destructive madness are what you’re after, perhaps as a way of getting all that out of your own system without landing in jail, or perhaps as a way of re-fueling for another charge ahead when you feel utterly spent, Caveman Cult have what you need — in spades.
I’ve been following and writing about the music of these Floridians since discovering their debut EP Rituals of Savagery six years ago. I admit that I’ve got a taste for no-holds-barred blackened death metal, and anyone who recoils at that brand of metallic extremity won’t suddenly change their minds upon listening to Caveman Cult‘s forthcoming second album, Blood and Extinction.
But on the other hand, contrary to what some less receptive listeners may think, war metal is not homogenous. There are gradations of quality even within a sub-genre so single-mindedly devoted to rage and ruination, and the grip of Caveman Cult has steadily strengthened over time because they’ve steadily honed their blades, avoiding the listener-numbness that can come from relentless saturation bombing.
Their new album, and their first on the NWN! Productions label, is yet another step up in that progress toward a pinnacle of primal barbarity. It includes the work of a new second guitarist, and was recorded by the band themselves, and we have a further sign of what it holds in store through our premiere of the new album track “Instrumento de Ira“.
The player below includes not only today’s track premiere but also a stream of the first advance track, “Conquistador de Hierro“. That one doesn’t even make it to the two-minute mark, but it will give you a quick and ugly adrenaline burst. You’ll be subjected to an assault of piston-driven drums, abrasive riffs, and acid-bathed howls. The music becomes even more riotous as it progresses, the drums clobbering with added energy, the filthy guitars swarming like piranhas in a feeding frenzy, the vocals seeming even more enraged (if that’s possible).
After that you’ll be thrown into the vortex of “Instrumento de Ira” — a thick, toxic cyclone of mangling riffage and brutally hammering percussion. Behind insane vocals, the drums deliver detonating booms in the midst of the blistering assault, and freakish soloing erupts like an unrestrained firehose spewing napalm. The sound is mangling and withering, electrifying and explosive. Near the end, it devolves into a calamitous mass of rhythmless grinding, gouging, and wailing cacophony.
In an age now defined by contagion, climate extremes, and hate-filled polarization, all of which are following trajectories that promise only deeper descents, now seems as good a time as any for this kind of soundtrack — truly pissed-off music for people who should be truly pissed-off.
Nuclear War Now! Productions will release Blood and Extinction on October 1st, in CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats. For further release info check the links below.
NWN!:
http://www.nwnprod.com/
https://nuclearwarnowproductions.bandcamp.com/album/blood-and-extinction
CAVEMAN CULT:
https://www.facebook.com/CavemanCultUnofficial