Clouds

Legendary Demo

[4/5] Cave In guitarist and Clouds mastermind Adam McGrath has a lot of explaining to do. Most notably because track seven on this album, billed as “Magic Hater,” is in fact a cover of Frank Zappa’s “Willie The Pimp.” That weird bit of thievery aside, Legendary Demo is a pretty rockin’ little record; even the nearly 20-minute saxophonic dub-noize closer is enjoyable. Opening track “New Amnesia” has a bluesy, grunge-punk energy, the whole band hammering on a riff that’ll make you wanna bust a beer bottle over whoever’s head is closest. The 70-second “Live It For Now” is a throwaway, but hey, it’s only 70 seconds long; you’ll live. The riff that underpins all the guitar soloing on “Mountain Jim” is almost Mastodon-worthy. And hey, ripoff it might be, but “Magic Hater/Willie The Pimp” is a surprisingly ferocious version of an ignored hard-rock classic. This beats the bulk of Cave In’s discography. (HYDRA HEAD) Phil Freeman