Rockmymonkey.com review of "Cash is King" Posted: 10-23-06 Writer: Mark Carras For some reason this review was very difficult for me to write. Sometimes just liking a cd isn't enough. I like it, but to explain why I like it takes about as many hours as the band took to record the damn thing. I have listened to the cd more times then I can remember, I dug out the band's previous release Thirty Pieces Of Silver to compare, I read a few reviews that other people had written, and I still could not think of what to write. So I am just going to start typing and hope I come up with enough to call this review done. This release seems to be more sludge and doom inspired then Thirty Pieces Of Silver was. Where Thirty Pieces Of Silver had a really cool upbeat stoner groove, this one seems to have a more muddy feel to it and is sometimes slower in the tempo. Not saying that this is a doom record. This is still an upbeat stoner rock band. Just saying that it doesn't come across as up beat as the last one. Could this be a sonic illusion created by a smaller budget or is it meant to be more sludge like? Maybe it is time I hunt the band down for an interview? The production doesn't seem as crisp as Thirty Pieces Of Silver, but it is still great for what it is. I still found myself getting into it on the first few days I started listening to it. My favorite song is probably "The Bottom Line" due to it's fast tempo, but an entire cd of this would get boring too. The slower songs complement the faster songs well and the cd as a whole comes off as well balanced. Many bands today end up with all the songs sounding the same, but here the songs stand on their own a little more. By the time they release a third full length I should be able to even pick a top seven of the 14 songs on this thing. If I had to pick a negative it would be that the band does not seem to have progressed any. Maybe they just need a better producer? Jack Endino? Maybe it is the adjustment of new guitarist Bob Bridges? Maybe next time they should get brave and stir up the pot by changing studios? They seem to be too comfortable and that can keep a band from growing. This band has way too much potential for that. Did this thing Rock My Monkey? Yes it did. In fact, that may be the problem. I listened to it too many times before trying to write this review. In a perfect world I would have 6 months to review a cd, but instead it is more like six days. If you like your stoner rock a little more up beat, then check these guys out. Imagine a mix of Corrosion of Conformity, Clutch, Monster Magnet, Kyuss, Queens Of The Stone Age, and maybe The Atomic Bitchwax and you have an idea of what these guys sound like. If you hate most of the bands listed above you will hate Devil To Pay as well.