Job For a Cowboy is a band known for their
itchy feet. Originally a deathcore outfit, these good ol’ boys from Arizona had
dropped the ‘core’ by the release of their debut album, Genesis, in 2007, going
for straight out death. And with fourth album, SUN EATER, just out this November 2014
from Metal Blade, the boys are on the move again.
Opening track, Eating the Visions of God,
sets the tone well, a plaintive, mid-paced number with brooding guitar and
witchy vocals. It’s a dark sound, almost doomy in places, and dangerously
bordering on prog with a lengthy 6 minutes running time. Second track, Sun of
Nihility, is more of the same, almost a continuation of the opener, while on
third track, The Stone Cross, we get our first taste of blast beats. The pace
remains frenetic with The Synthetic Sea, Nick Schendzielos’ bass, pounding
through the mix from the outset of this album, reaching something of a
crescendo here. The guitar here feels Norwegian; a ferocious wall of sound
mirroring Davy’s ravenous vocals. This blackened tone seeps through to sixth
track, The Celestial Antidote, while Buried Monuments brings something of a
NWOBHM flavour in with some melodic lead playing. Closing track, Worming
Nightfall, compliments the doomy, mid-paced vibe of the album’s opener to bring
us full circle.
It’s plain to see that JFAC have taken a
leaf out of Opeth’s book here. Sure, they may not have gone just as far as Mikael
& co, ditching the death metal roots altogether, but SUN EATER is definitely
a melting pot. This is a band groping around for a new sound; reluctant to
settle on anything in particular but seemingly more than happy to have their
audience along for the ride while they experiment. And while still death metal
at heart, there is certainly more evidence here of a growing trend within
contemporary extreme metal to seek out fresh musical pastures.
Reviewed by Wayne Simmons
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