4 out of 5

Label: Valley King Records

Produced by: Cavity (?), Frank Heath

I’m going to give this one to Cavity A.D. I mean, normally, on a split, I’d weight things based on each contributor, but A. this is supposedly Cavity’s last song ever and B. it’s runtime is longer than both of Midmourner’s tracks combined and C. one of Midmourner’s tracks is a Cavity cover. So.

Also: this does happen to be one of my now favorite C.A.D. songs; it’s amazingly “simple” and vocal-less and linear, but it hits the way it should, and adds in all the flavor where it’s needed to mark it as a unique beast. “Primitive Angel” is, unsurprisingly, a slow riff and minimal beat, but there’s a light and playful hand to it, not mired in the usual / purposeful death sludge of C.A.D.’s last couple recordings – which fit those tunes – and working in a goddamned slide guitar in a way that doesn’t just feel like a gimmick. It’s a casual stroll into a warm sun, but still ready to draw down.

Midmourner, at least here, sounds like an (early) Cavity cover band. Part of that is obviously because of their covering “Burning My Eyes” from Cav’s first release, but “When Knives Still Drove Conversations” is very much in line: brutal shouts; volumized sludge metal. It might be easier to assess this song as its own thing when not paired with a sure inspiration, but… here we are. And unfortunately, I’d say Midmourner lacks some special extra something to make them their own thing, but being a Cavity cover band isn’t a bad gig.