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Review: 'MASSACRE CAVE, THE'
'The Ninth Wave'   

-  Label: 'Red Death Records'
-  Genre: 'Thrash Metal' -  Release Date: '23rd April 2012'

Our Rating:
A death metal band influenced by Scottish traditional folk music sounds like the basis of a good comedy sketch as does The Massacre Cave's boast of being the only thrash metal band on the isle of Eigg (pronounced 'Egg').

This small island in the Hebrides currently (according to Wikipedia) has a population of 67 although there used to be a lot more. The band name refers to where, according to folklore (ie. in the days before Wiki), almost the entire population of four hundred met their doom in 1577 at the hands of a rival Macleod clan from the neighbouring Isle of Skye. Only one family survived to tell the tale.

Siblings, Ben and Joe Cormack are two of the island's current inhabitants and together with Glaswegian drummer Pete Colquihoun and bassist Jodie Bremenason they are Massacre Cave - the band.

This is their debut release and it consists of four fast and furious tracks:
Winds Of Death
Long Time At Sea
Behemoth
The Prey Approaches

The title of their EP comes from Norse Mythology and the legend that every ninth wave is a gateway to another dimension which is thus taken as a metaphor for "optimism in a sea of shit".

The strident twin-guitar riffery and Joe's impenetrable shouty vocals are a far cry from Fife's quirky Fence Collective (King Creosote, James Yorkston etc) although their press release assures us that they have been "wowing crowds at Fence's Awaygame and Homegame festivals".

It all sounds epic and impassioned although I have not the faintest idea what any of the songs is about. Does this matter? Not really.

The only track with any clues is the single Behemoth which begins with a brief sample of radio news feature about politicians avoiding accountability. It would be a fair assumption that the unearthly growls that follow signify an angry response to monstrous media corruption. I guess I'll have to wait for The Massacre Cave Unplugged (or a lyric sheet) to confirm if this is so.

For now, this is an album that must be played LOUD as proof that this is the best heavy metal band in the Hebrides.

The Massacre Cave's website
  author: Martin Raybould

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MASSACRE CAVE, THE - The Ninth Wave