Review by Allan on November 1, 2002.

When Cave In released their shocking album “Jupiter” I wasn’t sure if the band was just changing their style, or if they would end up being one of those respectable bands that would continue to progress with each album. I had the impression that they’d be constantly evolving due to “Jupiter” being so experimental, but I couldn’t be sure. Now, Cave In has released their six-song EP “Tides of Tomorrow”, which answers all the questions I care to know.

Yes, Cave In do care about continuing to push themselves and progress. It’s evident just by listening to the songs on “Tides of Tomorrow” and “Jupiter” and then comparing them. Cave In are still holding true to their roots while they manage to move forward.

As far as musicianship is concerned, Cave In has improved even though they were great to start with. Adam McGrath still has his incendiary guitar tone that is present all throughout the music. McGrath, along with Brodsky, keep the songs quite guitar driven. However, Brodsky pays as much attention to his keyboards as he does his guitar. Effects on “Tides of Tomorrow” are omnipresent. They color the songs and give them quite a bit of depth. Brodsky being the talented man he is also takes care of the vocal duties. He just continues to improve. First it was the drastic improvement from the “Until Your Heart Stops” to “Jupiter”, and now Brodsky is fine-tuning his performance. He does an excellent job with vocal melodies and harmonies, range, and his confidence has skyrocketed. Drummer John-Robert Connors has never sounded so good. He is very creative and makes his drumming a real part of the song instead of just being at hand to keep the time. Quite a feat considering all the layering involved in Cave In’s music, but he pulls it off. It’s great that even bassist Caleb Scofield has room in the band instead of being lost in the mix. As I said, Cave In are superior musicians and they only take as much of the spotlight as they should.

The songwriting on “Tides of Tomorrow” may be more straightforward and less experimental than the music on “Jupiter”, but it’s improving ad infinitum. The songs are more tightly strung than they’ve ever managed to be. They continue to flow throughout each passage without being snagged by any loose ends. Cave In also continues to be able to incorporate multiple moods on their music, from melodramatic to positive to aggressive, and more. Somehow, throughout all the musical layers and the shifting moods, and everything else that goes into their music, Cave In still comes out on top as a supreme force instead of some band that’s just trying to be different.

Bottom Line: It’s never to late to experience Cave In’s mastery. “Tides of Tomorrow” is surely an EP worth the cash, not only for it being a decent length of six songs, but because of the quality it holds. If Cave In continues to hold their standards this high I don’t know how I’ll be able to handle their next full length.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Originality: 9
Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 9
Overall: 8

Rating: 8.6 out of 10

Review by Adam M on February 1, 2018.

After a very pretty introduction, the album Terminal Spirit Disease gets off to a fast start. Thankfully, it doesn't overstay its welcome at six songs in length. The music here forms the blueprint for melodic death metal before the slightly more refined Slaughter of the Soul came along and refined the genre forever.

This album still has some noticeable improvements over the earlier albums. First of all is Thomas Lindberg's vocals, which are now put in the acidic forefront of the music. Second of all is a more poignant production job that lets the melodies run through nicely. This album still isn't perfect, however. The greater run lengths of the next two albums allowed for more ideas to be incorporated and the formula to be further refined. There is still a nice blueprint for melodic music to be found on this disc. The music has greater melody and greater catchiness than the earlier albums. Don't think depth is forsaken for these newfound wondrous melodies, however. The songs, such as the awesome title track 'Terminal Spirit Disease' have plenty of nuances and reasons to give the album further listens. It's actually a very close race between this album, Slaughter of the Soul and At War With Reality for the best album that At the Gates put out. The differences in the albums are minor and all three are essential listening for the At the Gates fan. I think this album makes a nice use of its runtime and gives you powerful tracks in a short period of time.

It's like a Reign in Blood experience, but one that is all the more poignant because of melodic tendencies. Listening to Terminal Spirit Disease is a mandatory experience for anyone calling themselves a metal head, but the band would get even better on future releases.

Rating: 8.2 out of 10