Job For A Cowboy

Genesis

Written by: PP on 10/08/2007 17:22:59

What is it about Job For A Cowboy that makes people go as crazy as they do? After all, it's approaching miraculous that a death metal/death core band as brutal as them is able to sell 13,000 copies of their debut album "Genesis" on its first week of sale! The attached Myspace hype/media circus revolving around the band made me more than curious to check out the band. Ah, who am I kidding, I'm only writing this review because our writer Marina has seemingly disappeared from cyberspace, so I'm filling in for her meanwhile, writing up her long overdue reviews despite my seemingly never-ending pile of promo CDs on my desk (New writers wanted!).

After some active-listening sessions, it seems that there's some substance within all the hype anyway, contrary to common belief. These guys deliver a brutal death metal assault with thick, intricate guitars and a wall of double-pedals and growled vocals. By description, it sounds like all other death metal bands, right? Correct, but the truth is something entirely different. Where most death metal bands fall into the slump where they only seem to be concentrating on creating as much noise as possible, as brutally as possible, Job For A Cowboy avoids the pitfall by focusing on the actual songwriting, evident in the constantly changing riffs and hooks. Even their brutally growling vocalist is able to pace his voice fittingly, adding structure and coherence to the songs.

Another stumbling stone for many death metal bands is the inconsistency on record. They might have one or two great tracks, but the rest fall short and end up blending together into a grey mass of genericness. Job For A Cowboy avoids this brilliantly through the use of dark, atmospheric instrumental tracks like "Upheaval" and "Blasphemy", which are well placed to give the listener some time to breathe and a pause to reflect upon what he has just heard. For example, when "The Divine Falsehood" continues directly and slowly from "Blasphemy", it immediately adds a sense of memorability to the album, as well as diversity and much needed change. You can't even begin comparing it to the chaotic "Bearing The Serpents Lamb" or the technical "Strings Of Hypocrisy". This is one of the absolute strengths of the album, because it gives the album flow. It feels like a full recording instead of just 10 separate songs pieced together.

Critics and fans alike might cite the aforementioned differences as blasphemous in death metal, but in my opinion they are what makes Job For A Cowboy stand out from the crowd. They haven't sacrificed any brutality even though their sound is much more accessible. They might be a part of the growing 'deathcore' trend, which seems to be the 'next big thing' in heavy music now that metalcore is dying out, but they are among the front runners of the genre.

8

Download: Reduced To Mere Filth, The Divine Falsehood
For the fans of: Animosity, The Red Chord, See You Next Tuesday, All Shall Perish
Listen: Myspace

Release date 21.05.2007
Metal Blade
Provided by Target ApS

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