5 out of 5

Label: Hydra Head Records

Produced by: Steve Austin

There is a way to do the hardcore rock thing that prioritizes rock and still maintains an absolutely razor-sharp edge; and if several example bands come to mind, take a breath to spin up those albums and see how the intensity persists over the course of a full disc.  Do you end up tuning out a bit when the group hits same-soundy peaks?  Or is it maybe a bit too much volume after a few tracks, and best sampled bit by bit?

Yes, many bands can approximate the blend of shredding shouts and Sabbath or Slayer riffs, but being able to go the distance with that – to continue to innovate, to come into your own sound – is much rarer.  Cable, ye of 1900 breakups and a collection of reborn-from-the-flames albums of excellence, seemed to nail it on their debut, then continued to do on subsequent releases in a way that makes you shake your head with disbelief at how solid and unrepentant each album is, digging deep into a stew of Southern rock, sludge and rock and shaping it into something steamingly fresh.

Northern Failures continues that trend without missing a beat, kicking right off with Wings Of Hope’s start-stop riffing and passionate shouting, letting you know from the forefront what kind of heft Cable promises to bring to the table.  And, amazingly, the group manages to rework this formula through an impressive push and pull throughout, dropping into a slow pummel when the maxed out assault threatens to overwhelm, and tossing in longer form slowburners (Climb the Cactus, Homewrecker) to play off the more immediate rock.  And it ends with a Marshall Tucker Band cover – Can’t You See – which renders the song in imitable Cable style, getting especially volatile in its final few seconds, securing the track as an undeniably fitting conclusion to a jam-packed-with-perfection disc.