Ape Cave

Hailing from Portland, Oregon, stoner doom band Ape Cave exploded onto the underground metal circuit this past New Year’s Day with its pulverizing debut album, “Pillars of Evolution.” Every track demonstrates a foreword-thinking brand of stoner metal that is still very much rooted in massively thick and sludgy riffs, but does not fall victim to the generic trappings of occult doom metal’s lethargic distortion. Instead it opts to incorporate the technical soloing and tightly knotted grooves of progressive death metal to make the music all the more pummeling and set Ape Cave apart from the legions of High on Fire clones. Traditionalists of the style should fear not, however, as like most stoner metal bands, desert imagery does of course play a vital part in the aesthetic here. The Ancient Egyptian themes found on “Pillars of Evolution” efficiently deliver the scorching aural sensation of blistering ambient interludes before the riffs maul listeners like a club-wielding Neanderthal. - The Daily Collegian

(Introduction about website)
So what is it about ‘Pillars of Evolution’ that is so special? Well, for one, it’s just great, heavy music. Also, there is a lot of it. The musicians are top tier, incorporating tediously difficult passages, solos and riffs into 8 sturdy songs that reinforce their knack for intelligent songcraft. It’s an impressive lunge forward that covers a lot of ground considering the time between both releases. The stand-alone quality of each track shows just how far Ape Cave have progressed: if ‘Primordium’ was indeed primal, then ‘Pillars of Evolution’ is the natural next step. It refocuses the visceral ire conveyed in ‘Primordium,’ creating songs that utilize the fuming energy in more brilliant ways. This continuity of ideas is even apparent in the album covers, with ‘Primordium’ depicting prehistoric aggro apes splayed across an igneous landscape and ‘Pillars of Evolution,’ a grim-faced Pharaoh observing the construction of the Pyramids. The boys hit the drawing board hard this time, writing smarter, better, maybe even faster. Whatever the case may be, this track-by-track review shows how their hard work payed off.
(Track by track review with pictures) - Doomed and Stoned

After giving it much thought, Portland, OR’s Ape Cave can best be described as Northwest in sound. Pillars of Evolution, their debut album, shows strong elements of doom and stoner rock, but they’re delivered with both a blues swagger and a math-metal aesthetic; plus, the heavy guitar reverb gives the riffs a psychedelic edge. The slower moments of the album evoke Botch or Helms Alee, particularly the riffs on “Pharaoh’s Eclipse,” while the rockier sections summon Red Fang, supporting the claim that Ape Cave embody the genreless spirit of the region. Stoner rock has become quite stale but the simplest rock riffs here have intriguing tricks, like on “Road to Ladakh.” The growled vocals serve the music and occasionally veer into grunge territory, while the drumming is perfectly restrained. They seem young from their photos but play much older than their years, which makes their great musical sensibilities that much more impressive. Pillars of Evolution truly sounds like an evolution of a sound, which coupled with its phenomenal production, is an encouraging sign of the next generation of metal. - Invisible Oranges