Cane Hill were cagey about their influences on the self-titled EP; more grounded in post-hardcore and metalcore than later albums, only that telltale “bounce” gave away the Slipknot and Korn influences that would float to the surface on Smile, along with healthy doses of Static-X and Nothingface. The chorus of “St. Veronica,” featuring an uncredited appearance by the ghost of pre-vocal-lessons Jonathan Davis, and the Marilyn Manson stomp of “(The) New Jesus” may lean a little too far into hero-worship for some, but Smile is an undeniably infectious cross-section of nu-metal’s best sounds. Too Far Gone is more its own beast, following the direction mapped out by the first record’s “Mannequin,” “It’s So Wonderful,” and “Strange Candy” to explore more textured, melodic territory.
Essentially, then, Cane Hill do with Too Far Gone what My Ticket Home did with unReal. It begins heavy, with “Too Far Gone” adding a new shout-along to future setlists, and “Lord of Flies” follows up with vintage Follow the Leader riffs and a Subliminal Verses-caliber chorus, making it an obvious single. It’s clear from this opening salvo that Elijah Witt is growing into his own, toning down the Corey Taylor-ish bellows and making use of a throaty near-spoken-word, lending a new, ominous air to “Too Far Gone” and the pre-chorus of “Erased.” He’s unafraid to stretch his pipes into limpid crooning, even falsetto, on “Singing in the Swamp” and “Why?.”
James Barnett proves he’s the new guy on the block, his an arsenal of fresh, inventive, but not overly-technical riffs a consistent highlight of the record even when things go south (in a manner of speaking). Apart from his catchy-as-hell work on “Lord of Flies,” refer to the masterpiece of a riff on “Singing in the Swamp”: alternately chunky and razor-sharp, it leaves as powerful an impression as the sexy Antichrist Superstar grooves of “Why?” and the Clutch/Black Sabbath-isms of “It Follows” and “The End.” “Erased,” with its verses of rolling bass and guitar delay, operates in a similar vein to “Why?” but turns out to be this album’s “Fountain of Youth” with an incongruously heavy breakdown following the second chorus. Knowing it’s coming doesn’t diminish its brute power; consisting of only a two-note riff and a lot of ominous space, it’s a prime example of the sort of less-is-more songwriting that their genre heroes made a living on.
The album’s first dip in quality is “It Follows,” although its aforementioned Clutch swagger keeps its corny lyrics and repetitive structure tolerable. “Scumbag” and “Hateful,” however, see the album hit bottom quite suddenly. The former plays like the band’s “I Am Hated,” giving them just under two minutes to indulge their worst tendencies. Their hearts are in the right place in denouncing Nazis and the alt-right (same thing, not to kid ourselves), and it’s a powerful message from a band conscious of their American southern heritage, but the song is fast-and-heavy in the most generic way possible, and lacks substance beyond that. “Hateful” tumbles further into the ditch with overly macho lyrics (“I feel so fucking hateful, pissing on the right here right now”) and uninspired arrangements salvaged only by the third and arguably most intense Barnett solo on the record, following the wah-pedal abuse of “Singing in the Swamp” and the melodic shred of “Why?” Too Far Gone has a hard time finding its footing on “10¢” and “The End.” before it’s over, and while these closing songs have passably catchy choruses that shouldn’t be overlooked, they don’t measure up to the album’s best.
Too Far Gone is a more cohesive record than its predecessor for over half its runtime, and willing, in some small but significant ways, to reinvent Cane Hill, or offer the option to do so: overtones of stoner rock are creeping into the Cane Hill sound, which would make a natural progression for their already dense songwriting and heavy instrumentation, but there are hints that Cane Hill could just as easily move in a more accessible alternative-rock direction. They have the energy to do it, and I can’t deny that I’d be interested to hear what they could do with a set of choruses on par with “Lord of Flies,” “Why?”, and “Erased.” Despite a couple of misjudged experiments, Too Far Gone is a worthy successor to Smile with possibly even more promise than that already auspicious debut.
-Brian L.
Essentially, then, Cane Hill do with Too Far Gone what My Ticket Home did with unReal. It begins heavy, with “Too Far Gone” adding a new shout-along to future setlists, and “Lord of Flies” follows up with vintage Follow the Leader riffs and a Subliminal Verses-caliber chorus, making it an obvious single. It’s clear from this opening salvo that Elijah Witt is growing into his own, toning down the Corey Taylor-ish bellows and making use of a throaty near-spoken-word, lending a new, ominous air to “Too Far Gone” and the pre-chorus of “Erased.” He’s unafraid to stretch his pipes into limpid crooning, even falsetto, on “Singing in the Swamp” and “Why?.”
James Barnett proves he’s the new guy on the block, his an arsenal of fresh, inventive, but not overly-technical riffs a consistent highlight of the record even when things go south (in a manner of speaking). Apart from his catchy-as-hell work on “Lord of Flies,” refer to the masterpiece of a riff on “Singing in the Swamp”: alternately chunky and razor-sharp, it leaves as powerful an impression as the sexy Antichrist Superstar grooves of “Why?” and the Clutch/Black Sabbath-isms of “It Follows” and “The End.” “Erased,” with its verses of rolling bass and guitar delay, operates in a similar vein to “Why?” but turns out to be this album’s “Fountain of Youth” with an incongruously heavy breakdown following the second chorus. Knowing it’s coming doesn’t diminish its brute power; consisting of only a two-note riff and a lot of ominous space, it’s a prime example of the sort of less-is-more songwriting that their genre heroes made a living on.
The album’s first dip in quality is “It Follows,” although its aforementioned Clutch swagger keeps its corny lyrics and repetitive structure tolerable. “Scumbag” and “Hateful,” however, see the album hit bottom quite suddenly. The former plays like the band’s “I Am Hated,” giving them just under two minutes to indulge their worst tendencies. Their hearts are in the right place in denouncing Nazis and the alt-right (same thing, not to kid ourselves), and it’s a powerful message from a band conscious of their American southern heritage, but the song is fast-and-heavy in the most generic way possible, and lacks substance beyond that. “Hateful” tumbles further into the ditch with overly macho lyrics (“I feel so fucking hateful, pissing on the right here right now”) and uninspired arrangements salvaged only by the third and arguably most intense Barnett solo on the record, following the wah-pedal abuse of “Singing in the Swamp” and the melodic shred of “Why?” Too Far Gone has a hard time finding its footing on “10¢” and “The End.” before it’s over, and while these closing songs have passably catchy choruses that shouldn’t be overlooked, they don’t measure up to the album’s best.
Too Far Gone is a more cohesive record than its predecessor for over half its runtime, and willing, in some small but significant ways, to reinvent Cane Hill, or offer the option to do so: overtones of stoner rock are creeping into the Cane Hill sound, which would make a natural progression for their already dense songwriting and heavy instrumentation, but there are hints that Cane Hill could just as easily move in a more accessible alternative-rock direction. They have the energy to do it, and I can’t deny that I’d be interested to hear what they could do with a set of choruses on par with “Lord of Flies,” “Why?”, and “Erased.” Despite a couple of misjudged experiments, Too Far Gone is a worthy successor to Smile with possibly even more promise than that already auspicious debut.
-Brian L.
Archival details
- Original URL
- https://metallifestyle.weebly.com/metal-lifestyle/review-cane-hill-too-far-gone
- Recovery source
- live-weebly
- Recovery date
- 2026-07-22
- Stewardship polish
- 2026-07-22
- Preservation status
- restored
- Missing assets
- None recorded
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