Before their next album, Cave In began experimenting with their sound with Creative Eclipses, a five-song EP which indicated a new space rock direction. Their next album was Jupiter, released in 2000. The album received a good deal of press including a feature in Spin Magazine, in which they were described as an "emo-metal Radiohead," which Cave In would reject. The album also caught the attention of major labels who began courting the band after its release. The band released the six-song EP Tides of Tomorrow on Hydra Head Records before accepting a deal from RCA Records.
In 2003, Cave In released their major debut album Antenna. It had more success than their previous albums and earned them a spot on the second stage of 2003's Lollapalooza tour. After Lollapalooza, they toured Europe in support of Foo Fighters and Muse. Shortly after, the band began to revisit their metal roots during concerts, and new heavy material led to a mutual agreement to cut ties with RCA Records. Cave In returned to Hydra Head Records and released Perfect Pitch Black on September 13, 2005.
Following the release of Perfect Pitch Black, Conners departed from the band due to an injury and temporarily relocating to Germany. He was replaced by Converge drummer Ben Koller. In November of 2006, Cave In announced an indefinite hiatus.
In April of 2009, Cave In announced that they had ended their hiatus. With Conners back in the band, they had recorded a four-song EP titled Planets of Old which was initially made available on vinyl at their reunion show on July 19, 2009 at Great Scott in Allston, MA. The EP was released on CD in January 2010 with a bonus DVD of the show. The band released their fifth album White Silence on May 24, 2011.
After tours in support of White Silence, Cave In entered an undeclared semi-hiatus state as all of the band members shifted focus on their other respective side-projects. Brodsky had moved to New York City and formed Mutoid Man with Ben Koller and bassist Nick Cageao, Conners and McGrath had formed Nomad Stones, and Scofield was a member of Old Man Gloom and his own band Zozobra. On December 7, 2014, they performed live for the first time in 3 years, opening for Doomriders' tenth anniversary show. They wouldn't begin formally writing new material until February 2018.
On March 28, 2018, Caleb Scofield was killed in a car accident in Bedford, New Hampshire, on his way home from jamming with Cave In in their Boston rehearsal space. The band then put the new album on hold in favor of touring in honor of him, his wife, and their two children. Major memorial performances included a Boston show with Converge, a Los Angeles show with a one-off reunion of Isis, and an acoustic performance with Brodsky and McGrath at that year's Jacob Bannon-curated Roadburn Festival. This set was recorded and released as Live at Roadburn 2018: Tribute to Caleb Scofield.
On January 2, 2019, Cave In announced plans to release their first studio album in eight years. This album was released as Final Transmission on June 7, 2019 through Hydra Head Records. Mixed by Andrew Schneider, mastered by James Plotkin, and with artwork by Aaron Turner, it consists of practice-space demos featuring Scofield on every song. Hydra Head has been mostly inactive since 2012 but, as the band's main home for the majority of its career, they worked together to release this album. Half of the proceeds will be given to his wife and children.
Beautiful Son
Cave In Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Does it make him want to occupy this life?
Hiding all the things he prays the world won't find
Still it makes him run away so paranoid
Beautiful son, without your guns, you'd be someone
Nothing in his mind but childhood memories
Hair is finally growing back over his wounds
Still it makes him want to hurt the ones he loves
Beautiful son, without your guns, you'd be someone
So the future never came, while the past is just the same
No, we both know you'll go far when you discover who you are
Who you are
Still on a mountain peak of anger, well
All that he can do is yell
To all of us down far, far below
But we all know
Beautiful son, without your guns, you'd be someone
The lyrics to the song Beautiful Son by Cave In explore the internal struggles and conflicts of a troubled individual. The person in question has a lot going on in his mind yet feels unable to express it to the world. He is paranoid about the perception of the outside world and chooses to hide away from it. The song further explores his childhood memories that become an obsession in his adult life. He wants to relive those memories, but at the same time, he wants to hurt the people he cares about. The lyrics hint at the underlying emotional turmoil that could be driving these confusing and counterintuitive behaviors.
The song goes on to showcase the anger and frustration pent up inside the person. They feel unheard and unacknowledged and lash out, yelling to the world from their "mountain peak of anger." Despite this, the lyrics conclude with a hopeful message. The person is referred to as a "beautiful son" and is urged to realize that they have so much potential beyond their internal struggles. If they could only let go of their destructive tendencies, they could be someone great.
Line by Line Meaning
Nothing in his mind, the rent there's much too high
He has nothing going on in his mind but the heavy burden of financial stress.
Does it make him want to occupy this life?
Does it make him want to be present and fully live his life?
Hiding all the things he prays the world won't find
He keeps his secrets and vulnerabilities hidden, hoping the world won't uncover them.
Still it makes him run away so paranoid
Even though he hides his fears, they still make him feel anxious and paranoid.
Beautiful son, without your guns, you'd be someone
He is inherently beautiful and full of potential, but his tendency towards violence limits him from achieving success.
Nothing in his mind but childhood memories
His mind is consumed by memories of his past.
Does it make him want to live those years again?
Does it make him wish he could relive his childhood years?
Hair is finally growing back over his wounds
He is healing from past traumas and moving forward in life.
Still it makes him want to hurt the ones he loves
Despite his healing, his emotional pain makes him lash out at those closest to him.
So the future never came, while the past is just the same
He is stuck in the past and unable to move forward with his life.
No, we both know you'll go far when you discover who you are
Once he understands and accepts who he truly is, he has the potential to achieve great things.
Still on a mountain peak of anger, well
He is still consumed by anger and resentment.
All that he can do is yell
He can only express himself through angry outbursts.
To all of us down far, far below
He directs his anger towards those around him.
But we all know
Others can see his potential beyond his anger and violent tendencies.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: ADAM MARC MCGRATH, CALEB MARK SCOFIELD, JOHN ROBERT CONNERS, STEPHEN BRODSKY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind