Cavity - "Human Abjection", 1995

Florida's Cavity was a busy band between 1993 and 2001; while its albums aren't many, the band released quite a number of 7-inches, EPs, and a few compilations. Just in 1993, Cavity put out its first rehearsal demo, another live demo recorded at a radio station, and a 7", gathering enough material for a full-length. The debut album, titled "Human Abjection", hit the streets in 1995 on vinyl as a self-produced effort, featuring a selection of re-recorded tracks from the previous releases plus three new songs, for about half an hour of audial torture.

Despite appearing as a group of relatively ordinary guys, Cavity crafted some of the most intense sludge-core ever; Rene Barge's hallucinated vocals, characterized by piercing, chilling screams, convey a genuine sense of desperation and contempt. While some of the songs consist of generally slow or mid-tempo litanies, featuring a mix of somber, psychotic melodies and raw power chords, the band doesn't indulge too long on the doomish sections; it seems to favor an aggressive approach, first and foremost, with unexpected bursts of speed and some more uptempo rhythms on songs like "O.T.D." or "Slug".

Everything is soaked in an almost-constant guitar feedback; if you thought that it was an annoying habit in Eyehategod's albums already, then you'll find "Human Abjection" absolutely unbearable. The production is crude and abrasive, as the album was recorded live in the studio, sounding only slightly more consistent than the demos that preceded it. The inclusion of some samples out of movies follows the blueprint of Buzzov*en and - again - Eyehategod; those two bands were obviously ahead of the sludge game by '95, having already released some of their now-classic records, and it's clear that Cavity aimed to become its Floridian counterpart. This relative lack of originality wasn't a big deal by 1995 standards, though, since that scene was so small and mostly confined to the Confederate States of America; while being slightly late to the party, Cavity was still among the earliest examples in that genre and should be rightfully held in the same regard as the other, more celebrated bands.

The album was reissued in 1996 as part of the "Drowning" compilation, together with 4 new songs, by Brian "Pushead" Schroeder's Bacteria Sour label; both the original press and this compilation aren't that easy to get a hold of these days, but they're a worthy addition to any sludge metal collection. "Human Abjection" still remains the rawest Cavity record; the band will perfect its approach in the years that followed, leading up to what is considered its classic, 1999's "Supercollider", but the psychotic hostility of its earlier output will remain unchallenged.