Customer Reviews

Jupiter

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Listening to _Jupiter_, one might find it hard to believe Cave-In was once a pulverizing, technical hardcore outfit. Or...maybe not. After all, _Until Your Heart Stops_, for all its gut-shocking brutality, still showed a band with an ear for experimentation. Sluiced in those crashing riffs and blistering speed were Floydian guitarscapes and some Rush-like rhythmic interaction.

_Jupiter_ brings Cave-In to a new place. Perhaps if one had to pigeonhole it, _Jupiter_ would get lumped in with alternative rock. These guys aren't really playing metal anymore. While heavy at times -- the monstrous drumming and eponymous wall-of-guitar crush in "Big Riff" -- it can also possess a weightless cosmic atmosphere, full of shade and subtlety. "Innuendo and Out the Other" is all watery guitar chords and skillful production overlays; the instrumental "Decay of the Delay" is crying feedback and melting pulses. The differences between loud and soft are emphasized by a stunning production that lets every quiet detail shine through and weighs you down with the density of their heavy side. The vocals mostly abandon that shockingly powerful rasping scream for a smoother articulation sounding like a more organic Thom Yorke. The songwriting is all very strong and clever: the title track embraces a brilliant hook ("Jupiter, you're seemingly so right for me") with a quirky Middle Eastern guitar figure that is sheer genius: "Brain Candle" is sparkling-but-heavy guitar power pop; "Big Riff" navigates its progressive structure with subtle hooks and intelligent arrangements to a flattening climax; "New Moon" is a plaintive, thoughtful conclusion.

I hate to single anyone out and risk trivializing the work of the rest of the band, but I have to say the most amazing part of this album is Stephen Brodsky. His sonorous tone and perfect control inspire, his soft but powerful falsetto approaches beauty, and when his urgent cry occasionally rises to a desperate scream ("Big Riff"!!!), I cannot fight off the chills. Of course, the rest of the band is obscenely talented -- after all, they once demonstrated chops up there with that wild Dillinger Escape Plan. Here, though, the band is less overt and confirms their ability in a different mold.

For something different, _Jupiter_ is a good disc: heavy, vast, tuneful, and original.

Jupiter is, hands down, one of the best rock albums of all time. Extreme statement? Yes. Justified? You better believe it.

I discovered Cave In thanks to my friend Heather, and for that I owe her credit for most of my musical taste. I have fallen in and out of love with all of the mainstream modern rock greats: Radiohead, The Mars Volta, Incubus (I did say mainstream), Interpol, even Green Day. At the same time I rejected pop influences and searched for deeper, more visceral music: The Postman Syndrome, Hopesfall, Thrice, ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, etc. Cave In spawned all of this with Jupiter.

I am not one to describe each song on an album, meticulously pointing its ups and downs, its mellifluous tones and chromatic pitfalls, but I will tell you that Jupiter opens with a farsical pop cacophony of addictive brilliance. The opener, aptly titled "Jupiter", invades the listener's nerves with resonating high-frequency riffs and moody percussive flows that make you question whether or not you appreciate the blunt nature of the band. Nonetheless, Cave In "keeps your seat on the edge" and coerces you to discover more of the space between modern rock.

Each subsequent song is an experiment in beauty, inciting metal, alternative, classical, and progressive tones in a aggregate class of so-called space rock. "In the Stream of Commerce", "Big Riff", and "Requiem" are staples, and they will haunt your daydreams ad infinitum.

All in all, I personally guarantee that you will love this album.

Buy Jupiter, and you'll never look back.

This album has been played over and over again in my car, my home stereo, my computer--everywhere that I have access--for as long as I have had it. While I love the earlier metalcore-ish Cave In, I love this album much, much more. The only way I can describe this album, is that: it is absolutely breathtaking. It is so different from anything I've ever heard, and I find it incredibly difficult (when suggesting it to my friends) to compare it to another band. No single track stands out anymore than another, not because they sound alike, but because every song is so amazing and original. While it is true that there are only 8 tracks, Jupiter is nearly 45 minutes in length; and like I implied before, every song is brilliant. The only complaint that I could possibly have about this album, is that: the lyrics in the CD jacket aren't wholly accurate.

I believe a previous reviewer, Ain Soph Aur, summed up my feelings of this album quite nicely when they said, "Some of my favorite songs are: See tracks 1 - 8."

Jupiter... a masterpiece that makes it impossible to recommend "a good song from the album".

Fans of earlier Cave In releases should take note: Cave In no longer plays the same style of evil sounding hardcore. As a band they have evolved into one of the best around. A good way to describe the new Cave In material is if Rush and Tool had a baby and it listened to Harcore, Punk, Emo and a little eastern music. Lead Singer Steve Brodsky has an amazing voice, which at times can serve as the driving force of the music, and at times can play only a supporting role. Not only that but they are lyrically sound, here's a lyrical sample from the song big riff; "Your another coat of red in hell, kill this child to make sure I'd raise him well. On the concrete road to recovery while I'm knocking over every cone in front of me"
Anyone who is a fan of experimental prog rock should definitely pick this up, and indie fans should not be afraid to pick this up either, it's just good music.

If you've heard Cave-In before but not the CD Jupiter, then you will be in for a HUGE shock when you listen to this album. The songs are, in my opinion, actually pretty mellow, more like alternative rock. However, its most definately not mainstream.

Don't get me wrong, though; the CD is good, just not that heavy. I'm perfectly o.k. with band experimenting & changing their sound, but I just wish that Cave-In would have incorporated a few more of their heavier traits into this CD. But they didn't, and that's fine.

Some of the songs on this CD are very good, such as "In the Stream...", "Big Riff" and "Innuendo...". Other songs are just o.k., but have their own unique sound. Basically, get this CD if you are looking for something very different, but if you are looking for the Cave-In of old, I would suggest previewing the CD 1st.

It seems unlikely that one of the best progressive space-rock albums would be coming from a giant in the hardcore scene.. but here it is, the amazing 'Jupiter'.

This is a wounderful audio journey through the cosmos, and it is amazingly well done.. Unlike most albums of this type, everything fits, all the looping effects are timed perfectly, and nothing ever gets repetitive. You can tell that these guys have definately been listening to their Radiohead. You can still hear some heavy edges on some of the tracks, but it meshes perfectly with the effect-laden melodic parts.

An amazing album that should not be overlooked.

That is, my personal favorite cd of any band ever. This is my favorite album of all time. I was a fan of Cave In before Jupiter came out, but Jupiter completely changed my perception of music. I remember buying it when it first came out and just being completely blown away by it. It was unlike anything I had ever heard. For someone who had previously listened to mainly punk and hardcore, this album was a real eye-opener. This band was not only good at their instruments, they were amazing at them. The vocals were soaring, the guitar work was intricate, the drums retained the pounding almost Rush-like feel that they had had on Until Your Heart Stops. Everything about this album was amazing to me. Jupiter is one of those rare albums that completely alters your musical tastes. It changed what I wanted from music, what I looked for in "good" bands, what kind of music I listened to, everything. I can honestly say that Jupiter is my favorite album of all time. (joy_opposites)

Instead of become another average metalcore band releasing the same album over and over again. Cave-In did something I wish other bands would do. Completely remake their sound.

Fans of older Cave-In beware, Jupiter has more in common with Led Zeppelin and Radiohead than Slayer or Converge. The sound is kind of like Progressive Rock meets Space Rock meets Art Rock meets Alt Metal. There is still a faint reminder of their older material in Big Riff, but other than that it's like two different bands.

The album itself is beautiful. From the title tracks almost Middle Eastern influenced sound to the beautiful closer New Moon, the band created a masterpiece that should've caught more attention that what it did. Hopefully their signing to a major label will help them.

I hadn't heard of Cave In before I happened upon a couple of online reviews of JUPITER, so I'm not at all familiar with the band's previous incarnation. No matter. JUPITER is the type of work that deserves to stand on its own. Though no one likes to pigeonhole bands by squeezing them into a particular genre, I think it does help the prospective buyer get an idea about the band's sound. I would tentatively describe Cave In as a thunderous hybrid of Hum and Tool, though with a distinctive sound. They play an almost gothically eerie "space rock," generally in extended compositions, some with progressive leanings. The guitar work is powerful and pounding, and the drumming provides a pummeling anchor to the sound. The album's title is quite apt. One senses a looming, ominous foreboding, as if something huge is slowly, almost imperceptibly, approaching on the horizon-as if one is tumbling through space toward the giant planet. Because of its complexity, JUPITER is an album that continues to reward after repeated listenings. It should be an excellent addition to any collection of well-crafted rock. Enjoy.

I have yet to hear Cave-In's earlier albums, from what I gather have more of a math-metal sound to them. So I decided to start with Jupiter. I must say I'm really impressed with this. I usually don't care much for when a band makes a transition from a non-trendy form of music such as metal to something that already gets more than enough media attention (like alternative or emo - whatever it is called). You can read my review for Metallica's wretched Load as an example. Yet, I find a lot of enormously compelling things about Jupiter.

Cave-In's Jupiter comes across as being heartfelt, jaw-dropping, and hypnotic wheras Metallica's Load comes across as being uninspired, underwelming, and just flat out boring. Load was just a sickening attempt (with suggestive coercing from the eMpTyV/radio consortium)to gather a Gen-X audience at the expense of their loyal fanbase. Jupiter sounds like a group playing what THEY (not a record label exec) believe they should be playing. But enough bellyaching.

Jupiter is just a great album from start to end. I'm reminded of a great 1990's alternative band named Failure, another group that never received their deserved success. The cosmic guitar textures and effects have to heard to be believed. Stephen Brodsky's vocals fit this type of music perfectly. And his lyrics are pretty nifty too. If I was a songwriter, I'd give up my movie star (OK, I admit the star is Godzilla) looks just to come up with lines like "You're another coat of red in Hell". It just makes you wonder how unoriginal lameness like Nickleback and Puddle of Dumm sell millions, while most music fans remain ignorant of Cave-In's existence. Why is that?