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.
Requiem
Cave In Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Reminded by the bulk of every memoir by yourself.
Clearing out your storage spaces all by yourself.
Remembering the way it always was by yourself.
If I could pull my thoughts together
I could then shake the thought
You might be still breathing
Are here under a dimming light of circumstance
Mourning in the confines of your room by yourself.
Reminded by the bulk of every memoir by yourself.
Clearing out your strange spaces all by yourself.
Remembering the way it always was by yourself.
Do you feel it's true that you're always doomed
With this migraine, my gain will fade
You're against the grain in the pain of a world
You don't speak a sound or walk around in anymore
Full of silent expectations
No one could have known . . .
So how would I?
Trying to find something
Looking for a whole lot of nothing
And then you found me at your door.
Full of silent expectations
No one could have known . . .
So how would I?
No two reasons have good reasons
Why'd you have to die
Relieve a hundred alibis
Cause no one is surprised
Trying to find a whole lot of nothing
And then you found me.
The lyrics to "Requiem" by Cave In describe the mourning process of someone who is grieving alone, clearing out their storage spaces and being reminded of the way things used to be. The singer is trying to hold onto hope, wishing they could shake off the thought that the person they lost might still be breathing. They observe the way others are also suffering under the circumstances, and wonder if they are always doomed to feel this way. They acknowledge their own pain, feeling like they are going against the grain of a world they no longer feel like they belong in.
The repetition of the phrase "mourning in the confines of your room by yourself" emphasizes the loneliness and isolation of grief, as well as the feeling of being trapped or confined by it. The singer also emphasizes the word "yourself" in various lines, highlighting the individual experience of grief and how it can feel like nobody else truly understands what they are going through.
Line by Line Meaning
Mourning in the confines of your room by yourself.
You are grieving alone in your room, where you can't escape your sorrow.
Reminded by the bulk of every memoir by yourself.
Every memory you have is a sad one that you're forced to face on your own.
Clearing out your storage spaces all by yourself.
You're going through your possessions, which are full of painful reminders, completely alone.
Remembering the way it always was by yourself.
You're left with memories of happier times, but you can't share them with anyone.
If I could pull my thoughts together
The artist is acknowledging their own sense of mental fragmentation, admitting they are struggling to cope with grief.
I could then shake the thought
The singer wants to let go of the idea that the deceased may still be alive somewhere.
You might be still breathing
The singer is grappling with the idea that the deceased may not really be gone.
Others I haven't seen in months or years
The artist acknowledges the fleeting nature of human contact and relationships.
Are here under a dimming light of circumstance
The artist imagines others who have suffered a similar fate to the deceased.
Do you feel it's true that you're always doomed
The artist is wrestling with the idea that everything in life leads to suffering and death.
With this migraine, my gain will fade
The singer believes that grief and pain are so overwhelming that they will eventually overshadow any happy moments in life.
You're against the grain in the pain of a world
The artist acknowledges the alienation and difference that comes with living through a traumatic event.
You don't speak a sound or walk around in anymore
The deceased is no longer able to participate in the world.
Full of silent expectations
There is a sense of the unsaid and the unfulfilled that lingers after the deceased's passing.
No one could have known
The singer is acknowledging the unpredictability of death and the fact that no one is able to anticipate loss.
Trying to find something
The artist is searching for meaning in life or maybe the afterlife.
Looking for a whole lot of nothing
The artist acknowledges that there may not be any answers to be found.
And then you found me at your door.
The singer is referring to the idea that grief can bring people together in unexpected ways.
No two reasons have good reasons
The singer is asserting that there is no justification for the loss of the deceased.
Why'd you have to die
The artist is still grappling with the reality of the deceased's passing.
Relieve a hundred alibis
The artist wants to understand why the deceased died, and is searching for any possible explanation.
Cause no one is surprised
The artist believes that there was nothing that could have been done to prevent the deceased's passing.
Trying to find a whole lot of nothing
The singer feels like they are searching for something that can't be found.
And then you found me.
Despite the difficulty of the mourning process, the artist has found some sort of solace.
Contributed by Hudson O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Mad Toto
This is one of the best songs of all time... Deserves more than 30 millon views, and a Videoclip... And so much more, a Grammy.
Riviere8281
This album especially and this band is so underrated!!!this makes them more special but they deserve more recognition!one of my favourites albums ever!!
S. B.
This song is beautiful. Even though it's over 9 minutes long, they just fly by every time I listen to it. I wish it were even longer.
1suttree
Criminally underrated.
Jacob Whyte
Whole songs awesome, but I especially love the bit at 6:51, adds a nice bit of whimsicality.
Paul Eggleston
Mourning in the confines of your room by yourself... RIP Caleb
Tom K
This takes me back 18 years to when I was an angsty teenager.
Zack Baton
How has this been played less than 10,000 times?
sirpicksalot_
no doubt. it's amazing
sirpicksalot_
+shitnrun especially at 4:00