Sometimes I’ll go to a show during the week to catch the “last band” of the night, or maybe because I know certain people will be there. Usually, I ignore all the bands on the bill that I haven’t heard of. But occasionally, from upstairs or way in the back of the bar, I’ll hear a band that sounds interesting, and I get “drawn in” by them. I’ll wander over, even though I have never heard of them and was ready to dismiss them. CABLE is a band like that. Their sound just draws you in. Even if it’s just the dull thump of bass below your feet, you feel compelled to investigate and stand directly in front of the cabinets.

Yeah, for this review, I won’t bother with any stories or anything like that. I friggin’ loved this thing. CABLE is such a great band. They play a familiar style of riff-heavy atmospheric screamy stuff that I guess you could call sludge. The trouble with a label like that is, there’s so much more going on in CABLE’s music. I love their old stuff too like “Skyhorse Jams”. The interesting thing about these guys for me is the way they can make these epic 8 minute jams that never get old, and always seem to move you forward. Sure, there are a lot of spacier, quiet moments on this disc, but when those sledgehammer crunchy riffs kick in, they just keep bringing you back for more.

The music is as commanding as it is ragged. There are so many bands out there, banging out a mix of heavy elements (punk, doom, death metal, etc.) that gets generically lumped in as “sludge”. I’m not really sure what makes this stuff stand out so much. Maybe it’s the osmosis of band’s connections with Steve Austin and TODAY IS THE DAY. Any connection to genius like that has to be a good thing. Or maybe it's just that they've been around for ten years. I mean, check out “The Reason I’m Poor”. The arrangement is just so killer…the way the slow, skulking riff fastens itself to the quiet, effervescent guitar interplay of Aaron Lewis and Chris Fischkelta; it kinda reminds me of PELICAN in spots, but in a less polished way. The female vocals and FLOYD vibe of “It’s My Right to Be an Asshole” is another high point of the disc, along with the furiously destructive title track. PIGS NEVER FLY!!! Don’t forget it, muthafucka.

- Marchman

OFFICIAL SITE: myspace.com/cablerocks

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