Cavity

Florida-based Cavity were proponents of the Southern U.S. genre known as sludgecore, and, though perhaps less well-known than such peers as Eyehategod and Crowbar, their superlative songwriting talents and apparent phobia of the spotlight have transformed them into quite the cult act.

Formed in Miami circa 1992 by vocalist Rene Barge and bassist Dan Gorostiaga, Cavity championed a harsh, tortured, feedback-drenched brand of hardcore that lay at a polar opposite to the upbeat, danceable, and, for the most part, utterly disposable music dominating the local clubs and airwaves. Recruiting guitarist Raf Luna and numerous part-time drummers, Cavity started performing in what few local venues would have them, following up their first 7" recording with a tour of the East Coast supporting Eyehategod. By 1995, guitarist Anthony Vialon (also known for his work with Floor) and drummer Jorge Alvarez had joined the fray, and Cavity released their vinyl-only Human Abjection debut that same year. It quickly sold out of its initial 500-copy pressing, but was later reissued on CD (along with the earlier 7" material) as 1996's Drowning set. A second album, Somewhere Between the Train Station…and the Dumping Grounds (which also spliced two separate sessions into one release) followed later that year, and the Laid Insignificant EP arrived the year after that, but despite ever-increasing sales and consistently enthusiastic reviews, the band was on the verge of crumbling, and both drummer Alvarez and founding frontman Barge suddenly decided to quit.

Their timing couldn't have been any worse, for Cavity had just been signed by renowned artist Frank Kozik's Man's Ruin label, but, following some soul-searching, Gorostiaga and Vialon chose to soldier on (the latter assuming vocal duties) with the help of second guitarist Ryan Weinstein and drummer Henry Wilson. Entering Miami's Tapeworm Studios in the summer of 1998, they soon emerged with the landmark Supercollider LP, which signified a creative and career peak, and instantly vindicated their drive to persist. Striking a perfectly unholy balance between Black Flag and Black Sabbath, the album earned top marks from critics of all stylistic persuasions and figured in many a Top Ten list for 1999. This media euphoria never translated into significant sales outside the deepest heavy metal underground, however, and with the subsequent bankruptcy of Man's Ruin, Cavity's destiny would yet again be set adrift to uncertainty. The band temporarily splintered so that its members could deal with the usual bevy of financial, emotional, and drug-related problems, but finally, in 2001, a reunited Cavity began rehearsing together once again. Featuring a near-classic formation of Barge, Vialon, Gorostiaga, and Alvarez alongside new guitarist Jason Landrian, the band signed to Hydra Head Records and committed 2002's excellent swan song On the Lam to posterity before laying the Cavity name to rest at last.