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.
Moral Eclipse
Cave In Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Into a valentinal trash.
These are the crushes meant to crush you.
The contact was dry,
But exasperating like a teething smile.
Pulse by pulse,
I honor wet weather to myself into her hands,
And for an angel even she knew it well
A dead man floating
Is one in a forgetful moment.
She saw it haunted in my eyes
When finally they opened,
Coughing up blood like throat.
No, lover let go of my neck.
We knew together that every crack in the wall
Is a step towards release of the lascivious waters
I no longer wade through.
The lyrics to "Moral Eclipse" by Cave In describe a tumultuous and complicated romantic relationship. The first line, "Yellow turns this courage badge into a valentinal trash," suggests that the singer may have been brave and confident in the beginning of the relationship, but has become disillusioned and defeated. The next line, "These are the crushes meant to crush you," implies that the relationship is one of unrequited love or infatuation, and that the intensity of the singer's feelings is causing them emotional pain.
The chorus begins with the line "A dead man floating is one in a forgetful moment," which paints a vivid picture of the singer's emotional state - feeling lost, aimless, and without purpose. They then describe a moment where they were so overcome with emotion that they were "coughing up blood like throat," further emphasizing the physical and mental toll the relationship is taking on them. The final lines of the chorus - "No, lover let go of my neck / We knew together that every crack in the wall is a step towards release of the lascivious waters I no longer wade through" - suggest that the singer is trying to break free of the toxic aspects of the relationship, but also that they may feel conflicted and unsure about leaving it behind entirely.
Line by Line Meaning
Yellow turns this courage badge
The color yellow makes this symbol of bravery useless
Into a valentinal trash.
Almost like discarded Valentine's Day chocolates
These are the crushes meant to crush you.
These infatuations are meant to hurt you
The contact was dry,
The physical touch was lacking
But exasperating like a teething smile.
But still frustrating like a baby's teething grin
Pulse by pulse,
Heartbeat by heartbeat
I honor wet weather to myself into her hands,
I offer myself completely to her, regardless of the consequences
And for an angel even she knew it well
And even she knew I was giving myself up for her like a martyr
When my drool dropped past her lips.
When she consumed me completely
A dead man floating
A lifeless body drifting
Is one in a forgetful moment.
Is the result of a lapse in memory or awareness
She saw it haunted in my eyes
She sensed the emptiness and despair in my expression
When finally they opened,
When my eyes finally revealed the truth
Coughing up blood like throat.
Experiencing pain and discomfort from the situation
No, lover let go of my neck.
No, my love, release your hold on me
We knew together that every crack in the wall
We both understood that any obstacle in our way was an opportunity
Is a step towards release of the lascivious waters
Is a chance to free the suppressed desires
I no longer wade through.
That I can no longer contain or endure
Contributed by Penelope Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.