Cave In - Orange Silence

I've always been a Cave In fan. From the early days of their 7" on Hydrahead, to the first 'proper' album 'Until Your Heart Stops', to the controversial (at the time) change in direction that was 'Jupiter', and then on to the major label rock breakthrough attempt of 'Antenna', the comeback record 'Perfect Pitch Black'. And then last year came the surprise of a new album being dropped, 'White Silence'. Good news. Sign me up.

Unfortunately, however, it wasn't quite that simple, as the combined popularity of Cave In, Hydrahead Records and colour vinyl meant that the end product sold out fast. All vinyl copies of this album sold out stupidly quickly, and I was disappointed to not be able to get one. So, as is often the case, I turned to eBay, and after only a year(!) I finally managed to get myself a copy of this record. I think there were three colours pressed (white, orange and grey). No idea on the pressing info, but I picked up clear orange copy:

Not sure what I think of the cover art on this one. On the one hand I think I'm not into it, because it looks kinda messy, as the above photos probably show. But holding a physical copy in my hand I have to say that there is something about it in real life that makes it look cool somehow. I think it's the white. The white makes it look clean and sharp. But for those of you who haven't seen a copy in real life, you'll just have to take my word for it.

So what's this album like? Well, I have to say, I'm really into it. I did struggle at first though. The first listen was really hard work. I had to strongly fight the urge to turn it off halfway through. It seemed unlistenable because it was all over the place. But due to my history of loving this band, I wanted to give it more of a chance, so I persisted, and after about 5 listens I started to get into it. It's now on regular rotation. I get it more with every listen. I think it's fair to say that this record brings together elements of several of their previous releases - the ferocious vocals from the metal hardcore records, the 70s rock moments from 'Until Your Heart Stops', and the hippy vibe from that billboards song on of 'Creative Eclipses'. It's all here in one very interesting album. Somehow I have a feeling that this won't be the last copy of this record that I acquire.