/cavitymiami
Daniel Gorostiaga-Bass|Jason Landrian-Guitar|Ryan Weinstein-Guitar|Jorge Alvarez-Drums|Rene Barge-Vocals
Written by Jerry Graham
Miami 1992-Far removed from the media spotlight, where the tourism commission would have you believe everything is Palm Trees, a Nightclubbing socialite playground and Pretty People, there is an undercurrent of ugliness brewing. As the small local punk/hardcore scene dwindles, losing its few bands to more accessible styles of music while others just lost interest, Dan Gorostiaga and Rene Barge decided to do something even heavier. Recruiting local musicians Joey to play Drums and Raf Luna on Guitar, they jammed. The resulting sound used hardcore as a springboard while incorporating heavier riffs and a thicker sound, this was the predecessor of a genre that would come to be known as Sludge. The band quickly got five songs together and played their first live show at a local record store “Uncle Sam’s” on Miami Beach. As the room was enveloped in a wall of feedback and noise, most patrons fled for their lives, leaving only 5-10 people. However the small group that stayed became a maniacal core of fanatics, which was the way of Cavity’s brutal sound, either you loved it or you ran screaming for the exit. |However, even in Miami where original bands are few and far between and there is not much of any cohesive live music scene, the purveyors of pound known as Cavity started to make waves in their small pond. Word in the underground music scene traveled and Cavity took their show on the road touring the East Coast in 1993 with just a 7”inch under their belt. The responses were jaws dropping and eardrums being blown across the states. When they returned, Raf Luna left the band (eventually playing in the Crumbs) and Anthony Vialon, Guitarist for heavy South Florida bands Floor and Load joined, augmenting the bands sound considerably. By now the group was solidifying their aggressive live shows to match the chaos of the music, including the wild antics of Barge, who once rattled the drummer so badly, he refused to go back on stage for a half hour, only returning when Jimmy Bower from EyeHateGod was about to man the throne. Time then becomes too much of a blur of activity to truly record accurately, Cavity output within the next few years reaches critical mass, including a variety of 7” inches, splits compilation appearances, each one making wider ripples through the nation. |In 1995, Cavity who now featured current drummer Jorge Alvarez recorded and released their first album “Human Abjection” on City of Crime Records (a label co-owned by Daniel Gorostiaga). Only 500 copies were ever released, all in vinyl and all sold quickly. One of those records came to the attention of world renowned artist Pushead (who unique artistic style graces albums by groups such as Metallica, COC and the Misfits to name a few) who quickly signed the band to his Bacteria Sour label. Soon after, Cavity released the “Drowning” CD, which collected the Human Abjection LP, 7” material and several new songs to the delight of misanthropes everywhere. The band’s tempos veered from the most dense, thick stew to landslide speed and the wallowing noises and effects were unlike anything out at the time. Cavity found their name being dropped in Metal periodicals all around and bigger audiences attending when they played (probably 20 people). Because their spastic noise rock stylings made it tough to pigeon-hole Cavity into one genre, the minstrels of menace were able to play bills with a diverse roster of artists across the heavy spectrum including: Frodus, Refused, High on Fire, ISIS, Converge, Avail, Man is the Bastard, EyeHateGod, Bongzilla, Disassociate, Rorschach, Assuck 16 and Heroin.|Cavity soon followed up with a second full-length “Somewhere between the Train Station and the Dumping Grounds” (Rhetoric Records) in 1996, which included a hidden track after the first song that contained an entire full-length live show. 1997 would prove to be a busy year beginning with the group recording an EP for Bacteria Sour entitled “Laid Insignificant” that would eventually be released the following year. Ryan Weinstein, long time fan and active musician was recruited to man second guitar while Barge decided he would leave to pursue other interests. The Cavity collective was approached by Frank Kozik, President of Man’s Ruin Records, a strong Independent label primarily responsible for spearheading a re-launch of heavy fuzzed out rock, which became known by the media as “Stoner Rock.” Their roster included essential albums by respected groups such as Queens of the Stone Age, Unida, The Melvins, Beaver and Fu Manchu, the only common thread of these bands with Cavity is the heavy guitar tone. Kozik, who had heard the band’s second album, wanted to put out their next release. The band feeling a kindred spirit, would oblige with their strongest and most varied release yet, 1999’s “SuperCollider.” |SuperCollider would gain rave reviews from critics everywhere such as Metal Maniacs who called the album “a festering sore of rolling thunder,” and even the esteemed All Music Guide who called it “one of the strongest alternative metal releases of the year!” With Vialon now on vocals and guitar, the band experimented with C Tunings, repetitious grooves and at times almost industrial production. |After a tour with Swedish Post Punkers Refused, Weinstein left, Vialon quit to move to Switzerland (nothing to do with Refused) and Barge re-entered the picture. Jason Landrian, who approached Dan at a show months before and offered to play guitar, was asked to audition. Nine days later, newest member Landrian embarked on a tour of the West Coast with the band. After years of toil without a break and no financial restitution, Cavity decided to take a break from their hectic schedule, playing shows sporadically and slowly writing new material. Aaron Turner, President of Hydra Head Records and frontman of ISIS, left an open offer for the band to record an album for his label. In 2001, the band took him up on his offer, joining Hydra Head Records, who are reputed for having a diverse roster of artists, each trail blazing new paths for their own brands of heavy music. Some of these artists included Cave In, Botch, Cable, Drowningman and Cavity would be a worthy addition to the ranks. In the Fall of 2001 “On the Lam” is set to be released. It follows the technical standards set on SuperCollider while hashing out the relentlessly brutal sludge of earlier efforts and the result while differing greatly from album to album is absolute Cavity.| |
