An unusual combination of hard rock, musical theater training and an 11-year age difference merge to give duo Silver Cave their sound.
The self-described “brutal and melodic” hard rock and metal duo Silver Cave is set to release their EP “See You Later” Friday. Frontman Trent Rowland said it will favor more hard-rock sounds in comparison to their previous metal-heavy EP, “Clocks.”
Rowland, a 2015 Ohio State alumnus and guitarist and bassist, and drummer Jaxson Tackett met in 2019 when Rowland had recently relocated from Los Angeles to Columbus. He connected with Tackett on Bandmix.com, a website used by musicians and bands to meet and collaborate. Initially, Rowland was hesitant to work with someone so much younger than him — Tackett is 17 years old and Rowland is 28 years old. Ultimately, Tackett’s maturity and talent on the drums won him over.
“Jaxson is definitely a much more seasoned player than a typical person,” Rowland said. “I could just tell he had good live instincts, kept time really well, little things that you might not think about.”
Rowland said that with his love for songwriting and Tackett’s skills on the drums, the two work well together.
“I think Jackson’s talent does kind of inspire me because I kind of see myself more as a songwriter than a player. And Jackson is such a good player, it makes me want to get my chops up and match it,” Rowland said.
With a love for music starting from a young age, Rowland said he was writing music by the end of high school. His personal inspirations include rock bands such as Chevelle, Alter Bridge and Gojira.
“That’s just the kind of music I’ve been into since I started having my own opinion on music,” Rowland said. “I just really enjoy the heavy percussive nature of it. It kind of pounds you over the head in a good way.”
Silver Cave’s sound has aspects of hard rock and many different styles of metal but with one thing missing – Rowland doesn’t scream or use a harsh tone when singing, forgoing a typical feature of metal music.
“I studied theater at Ohio State, and I was in musicals there. I’ve been in musicals since — that’s another thing that I do. So I guess regular, clean singing is just where I feel more comfortable,” Rowland said.
Tackett said he received his first drum set after his parents took notice of his love for “Guitar Hero” and “Rock Band.” The first song he learned to play on the drums was “Enter Sandman” by Metallica.
“I grew up on aggressive, fast and just head-on type of music, and then soon, down the line, I broaden my horizons and listen to way weirder stuff than I expected to — but you know, it’s all about doing different stuff, right?” Tackett said.
Because of the social distancing guidelines brought on by COVID-19, the two haven’t been able to meet and practice as much as they would like. Rowland said Silver Cave hasn’t been able to perform live in Columbus yet.
“It’s really given me a lot of time to plot and plan and see what we’re gonna do. Just trying to stay practiced and stay up on the songs. And that way, when we get back together, we can kind of hit the ground running,” Rowland said.
Silver Cave’s music is available on Spotify, Bandcamp and Apple Music. They can be found on Twitter @silvercaveband, Instagram @silvercaveband and Facebook.
