Search - Cable :: Gutter Queen

Finding Their Niche

purerockfury | Chicago, IL | 11/05/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I guess you could say that I've been following Cable from the beginning when I saw a review of their demo and it caught my interest back in 1994. Upon getting a copy of their split with Malcolm's Lost and their subsequent follow-up 7" and debut full length "Variable Speed Drive", I always liked what i was hearing but never enough to make a permanent spot for it in any place I kept my "starting rotation" of music. "Gutter Queen" changed all of that forever.As in the past, I bought "Gutter Queen" based on a combination of curiousity, recommendations and the backing record label (Hydra Head). The difference within was nothing short of eye opening. After the first three or four songs, I was hypnotized by the way that the missing ingredient on Cable's earlier works was finding it's way into these songs. I couldn't quite pinpoint what it was because at a glance, it sounded very much like the Cable I was accustomed to but there was a much more serious tone under the hood that I found myself liking very much.Overall, this is a very angry record. It's difficult to imagine who could have wrought so much anger in these men but it constructively came out on this recording. I think the main thing that has kept Cable out of the underground spotlight is there obvious desire to tread their own path and do things very much their own way. The music is very heavy with an emotional bent but it leans neither towards metal or "emo". As a matter of fact, this recording can be described as "anti-emo" as I think this runs neck and neck with Kiss It Goodbye in the blatantly pissed off department.It's difficult to describe accurately what this sounds like because at the end of the day, it merely sounds like Cable. I suppose it has a stoner rock underpinning and some vague influences (namely Sabbath and to a much lesser degree Neurosis) but nothing staunchly comes to mind that would make someone who is completely oblivious to Cable's greatness understand. It's unfortunate that this is most likely the culprit in why Cable never became as popular in the underground as the Dillinger Escape Plan's but on the other hand, it is precisely why after 10 years, I still follow Cable fervently while my attention span for bands like Dillinger were equal to that of a 3-year old at an insurance seminar. Give this album a chance...you can thank me later."

Out of the doghouse, and into the gutter...

Tim Neilson | Tempe, AZ United States | 03/21/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"After a couple of 7"s, eps and a full length on Doghouse, Cable once again changed the line up, now a three piece, lean and really mean. For this release Cable got a little deeper, their songs have gotten longer and more intense. People might judge this band for the label that puts out their records. This is no more metal core of other Hydra Head releases, as they were "emo" when on Doghouse. Cable will always be the black sheep of their record company, because there aren't many labels or bands like them. Heavy, but not metal, hard, but no way hardcore, rock but for certainly not what you hear on the radio. The music is intricate, and emotional, but again in no way "emo", the emotion being emoted is that of intense anger. If you like your rock hard and heavy with screams about six dead on the delta, while drinkin' on I-95 and placing that music into a genre is unimportant to you, then look no further...Cable will tear into you."