The early 2000s were a weird time to be a Cave In fan. After setting a high mark for metalcore with their debut 1998 record “Until Your Heart Stops“, the Massachusetts natives blasted off into space rock with their 2000 follow-up “Jupiter“. The expected backlash was immediately evident, and yet “Jupiter” endured, remaining a now revered gem among the band’s sturdy catalog —as proven by their well-received 25th anniversary celebrations around it this year.
The above-mentioned dramatic left turn also opened an unexpected door for the band, as it led them to signing with RCA Records for their 2003 opus, “Antenna“. While that outing inherited traits of their cosmic voyages, it was ultimately more grounded by alternative rock friendly format.
However, despite scoring tours with Foo Fighters, Muse and a run on Lollapalooza, “Antenna” failed to attain the mainstream success its label desired, leading to the band once again striking it out in the underground. In a new piece published via Metal Hammer, Cave In spoke about that era and what led to the song “Anchor” being chosen as the lead single from “Antenna“. Guitarist/vocalist Adam McGrath elaborated on that choice:
“Our A&R rep constantly said we needed a song like Soundgarden’s ‘Black Hole Sun‘ and he felt ‘Anchor‘ was that song. He thought that ‘Anchor‘ would be the best way to introduce Cave In‘ to a national radio audience, but I know we all felt there were better songs and singles on the record.”
Given the inclusion of “Youth Overrided” — an all-timer from the Cave In catalog — McGrath was certainly not wrong about their being better songs. Despite a big budget video and rollout, “Anchor” failed to resonate — at least to label expectations. McGrath looked back at its reception, telling Metal Hammer:
“When it dropped it barely had a lukewarm response. There were certainly cries of ‘sell-out’ and people wondering how watered down we had become. I hoped we would have better luck with other singles down the line, but we really never made it that far. Excitement from the label dwindled after the first single dropped and our A&R rep left RCA shortly after Antenna’s release. All these events left Cave In rudderless in the major label machine.”
After being chewed up and spit out by the label, Cave In did wind up bouncing back. By 2005 they returned with “Perfect Pitch Black“, an album that forged a blueprint they’ve built upon since. Frontman/guitarist Stephen Brodsky told the aforementioned publication of that:
“The best thing to come out of [everything that happened] is ‘Perfect Pitch Black‘. In the wake of ‘Antenna‘, I feel fortunate that we found the strength to stay together and make that statement. You’re not wrong in thinking it’s an angry record, but Cave In was an angry band from the start, and maybe we just came full circle.”
