£4.00
Debut 4 track EP by Scottish metal outfit The Massace Cave. Includes the single "Behemoth", released through Holier Than Thou Records in late 2010.
Track listing:
1. Winds of Death
2. Long Time at Sea
3. Behemoth
4. The Prey Approaches
The Massacre Cave is a cave on the small, remote Scottish Isle of Eigg, wherein the entire population, save for two, was massacre after a clan dispute with the Macleods, from the neighbouring isle of Skye. It is also the name of the four-piece metal band that comes from Eigg.
The band was formed in 2005, when axe-wielding brothers Ben and Joe Cormack joined forces with drumming sensation Peter Colquhoun and later with bassist virtuoso Jodie Bremaneson. After a few years of searching for the right vocalist, they realised if you want a job done, you have to do it yourself, and so worked on being able to play their instruments whilst singing, and not looking at their hands the whole time. After some practice, the band was launched on home turf in 2007, at the annual Eigg-independence day festival, for which they received a five star review in the national newspaper, The Scotsman. Most recently The Massacre Cave was invited to play at Fence Records’ Away Game music festival, which also gained five star reviews in several national papers including The List and The Guardian. The Massacre Cave is a metal band that excites, as their live shows prove. You are lead on a journey through dark minds, inspired by harsh island winters as fast, technical guitars layer with thundering drums and raw vocals, twisting and turning through angry, ever-changing soundscapes. The band is now releasing a single, Behemoth, recorded on the island. The song is about the media circus, which something that the Isle of Eigg has had to deal with regularly since pioneering land reform in the UK in 1997. Behemoth has been released by The Massacre Cave through Holier Than Thou Records, and with the release of their new EP "The Ninth Wave", they feel it is now time to take their music off the island and let it out into the unsuspecting world.
“The Massacre Cave, Eigg’s only thrash metal band, who closed the weekend, were among the weekend’s absolute standouts”
HI-ARTS on The Away Game festival, 2010.
"When a metal band manages to charm non-metal audiences, one of two things is probably happening. The first possibility is that they are unashamedly simplistic, and are aiming for a fan base of drones who want to feel like they’re edgy enough to enjoy brutality without having to actually pay attention to what’s going on. The far preferable alternative, is that the band refuses to conform to the arrogance and and mindless machismo of the metal world, and instead performs music that even the inexperienced headbanger can tell is something pretty special.
Glasgow outfit The Massacre Cave fall firmly into this second category, and having unleashed their long-awaited EP The Ninth Wave they are about to prove their mettle, pun intended.
Let’s make one thing suitably clear: these guys are a tight, polished, solid group of musicians playing memorable and pummeling rock-metal that should be reaching a wide audience. Seeming to take cues from Mastodon and latter-day Enslaved (though during a recent conversation with the band, I found they did not seem to be big fans of either), they have recorded four rollicking barrages of metal.
The proceeds begin with “Winds of Death“, which features a galloping opening that sets the pace for the whole record. Even when the driving riffs unfurl into more gentle passages the tune maintains its compulsive edge, almost re-writing the way that the 6/8 time signature should sound.
Leading into “Long Time At Sea“, with its near-relentless double kick for the first two and a half minutes, this track features my favourite section on the release. Appearing a short way in and climaxing with the same bafflingly catchy rhythm, the brilliantly technical segment is an exercise in how to play an odd timing without feeling forced.
iTunes favourite “Behemoth” follows, which is as close to a single as you’re likely to get in music this epic, which swiftly rises then collapses into malevolent EP closer “The Prey Approaches“. If you have any interest in metal at all and would like to support the Glasgow metal scene, The Massacre Cave’s music is accomplished and innovative and deserves success."
Glasgow PodcArt 2011