Cane Hill - Kill the Sun

One of the most animalistic bands leading the charge of this decade’s nu metal revival, Cane Hill just a year ago delivered their sophomore slab of meaty Korn/Slipknot-esque nu metal after their relentless debut LP, Smile, in 2016. To be getting an EP from them already this year, especially one of this nature is a bit astonishing. The band had been teasing toward this project near the end of last year with a few singles, and the samples they provided had me pretty interested.

Kill the Sun is a sharp left turn from the band’s raw nu metal aggression into grungy acoustic waters with little to hint back at the rabid fury of their previous albums. Laden with smooth clean singing and smoky alternative acoustic rock moodiness, the six tracks that make up the very Jar of Flies-inspired Kill the Sunremind me a bit of Godsmack’s one-off acoustic EP, which comes with a foul premonition.

As much as I was eager to hear more of this brooding side of Cane Hill after hearing the brightly haunting title track and the tasteful leather drum ambiance of “Acid Rain” prior to the album’s release, the three songs that comprise the opening half are a disappointing drudge of serviceable post-grunge typicality at best, with the first of the three, “86d - No Escort”, opening the album on a truly awful note of Puddle of Mudd/Seether-esque drug balladry. The song “Empty” is a decent falsetto-laden acoustic strummer that at least shows that the band do have some business being in this musical territory, but the following track, “Save Me” is a flacid piano ballad that sucks the life out of the album with its sheer lack of energy and character over the course of its cliché post-grunge-ballad structure. Thankfully the seance-y atmosphere and somberness of the title track comes in and brings some genuine melancholy to the track list, on which it is definitely the standout cut. The subsequent “Acid Rain” sometimes falls a bit into the same clichés that the first three did, but the band’s adherence to the brooding combination of bongos and spooky hums keeps the song in its best space for the majority of the time. The closing song, “The Smoking Man”, runs in the same vein as the previous two tracks, but is kind of nondescript in comparison, serving as a bit of an unnecessary exit.

Kill the Sun opens up a subtler, calmer side of Cane Hill to the outside world that they definitely have the capacity to channel into some truly gorgeous music, but its inconsistent direction too often leads it into the common pitfalls of the acoustic grunge album, resulting in a rather unflattering start to the EP and only two real highlights. The title track is an admirable thing of beauty, though, that shows what potential the band have in this field. Like the peculiarly many acoustic EPs inspired by Alice in Chains’ Jar of Flies, like Godsmack’s The Other Side or Thou’s Inconsolable, perhaps this is also just a little bonus project to hold fans over between fiery nu metal studio albums. Perhaps though, there’s more where this came from. Personally, I love what Cane Hill contributes to nu metal with their confident, no-bullshit approach in this day and age, and I would worry about them diluting it by trying to force this kind of material in with what they show to be their primary strength. If this style is an outlet they want to continue creating with, I hope they perhaps make specifically dedicated EPs like this one (though hopefully a bit more focused) a regular excursion for them throughout their career rather than trying to mix it into something like Too Far Gone or Smile. For now, this EP provides a disappointing, but still promising look into this softer, moodier side of Cane Hill, until whatever their next album entails