 | Tracklist:
1. Unfurling a Darkened Gospel
2. Summon the Hounds
3. Constitutional Masturbation
4. Regurgitated Disinformation
5. March to Global Enslavement
6. Butchering the Enlightened
7. Lords of Chaos
8. Psychological Immortality
9. To Detonate and Exterminate
10. Ruination
Release Date: 2009 | |
| | other reviews | godiseverywhere (4)
Think Suffocation mixed with early Cryptopsy, and a dash of Beneath the Massacre.... | genericnamelol (3.5)
A surprisingly solid technical death metal album.... | Eternalnow (3)
Ruination is not awesome, nor is it great; rather its a decent death metal album, one that will not ... | Darion Paone (3)
Job for a Cowbpy changes styles YET AGAIN, but still sound pretty awesome, all things considered.... |
On 24 Lists
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| Summary: A handful stand out moments cannot quite save a run-of-the-mill Death Metal affair. |
1 of 1 thought this review was well written
No matter what your judgement of Job For A Cowboy, there is certainly no denying their impact on the heavy music scene, both in the US and on the Continent. Once poster boys for the deathcore explosion of the mid noughties, the band attempted to shed their roots on debut full length Genesis by opting for a unadulterated death metal approach, aspiring to sit along their idols such as Cannibal Corpse and Deicide in an endeavour to achieve long term integrity and not remain at the forefront of a, for the most part, artistically redundant genre.
Does the fact that post this evolution Job For A Cowboy remain as popular ever display a simple admiration for their talent from death metal fans, or does it only betray the remnants of their status as just a trendy band to be seen as a fan of?
It is my opinion that on sophomore release Ruination, JFAC have shown themselves as a more than capable outfit. There is a marked improvement in musicianship, as the songs rattle along with a new found technical flair. Opener ‘Unfurling A Darkened Gospel’ begins with a neat little drum fill before the guitars hurl themselves through the speakers with a riff that twists and turns with a chaotic abandon before settling into a Decapitated-esque groove. As the first track on the album, it’s a fantastic statement of objective, and defines all that the band can do right, flaunting a capability that comes from a knowledge and understanding of their peers.
From here on, there are a number of highlights. The traditional clamour of ‘Summon The Hounds’ and Jonny Davy’s monstrous vocal work on ‘Butchering The Enlightened’ are executed with a colossal intensity, whilst songs such as ‘Constitutional Masturbation’ and the title track show the benefit of decelerating the delivery and introducing some sluggish, doomy guitar work which is a welcome change of pace.
The problem with Ruination is that these moments are too few and far between. The fact that the album contains some truly impressive instrumental performances (John ‘Charn’ Rice presents some proficient drum work, moving around his kit with skill and intensiveness, and turning in the most remarkable contribution to the disc) unfortunately does not equate to an increased number of stellar songs, and for the most part, the album is a torrent of tightly accomplished, yet instantly forgettable death metal.
It certainly takes courage to abandon the genre that made your name starting out, especially when entering the realm of death metal where it is extremely difficult to convince fans of your conviction and sincerity. But Job For A Cowboy has demonstrated on Ruination how they are qualified and accomplished enough to make decent and significant extreme music, yet they still lack the consistency required to obtain the standard reached by their peers, and to be seen as a noteworthy outfit.
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| Recent reviews by this author | | | |
Album Rating: 2
good review, but very meh album
Digging: Dead Congregation - Graves of the Archangels Digging: Dead Congregation - Graves of the Archangels | | | Album Rating: 3.5
Cheers man.
| | | Album Rating: 2
they have gotten better since Doom and Genesis, though, getting rid of the shrieks played a major part of that
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never capitalize genre titles. most people consider them a branch of music, like an adjective, than an actually genre, or a noun.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Yeah, I think they still have their best work to come. Definatley masses of potential imo.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Thanks Bitchfork, I'll change that.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Davy is beast
^123, everytime i listen to this i still think im listening to trevor strnad
Digging: Of Monsters and Men - My Head is an Animal Digging: Of Monsters and Men - My Head is an Animal | | |
these guys are super nice and put on a good show
and one of their guitarists likes agalloch so that's good enough for me
| | | Album Rating: 2
band sucks dick. Pretty good review bro.
Digging: Hard Jams Inc. - Mars Volta False Prog Digging: Hard Jams Inc. - Mars Volta False Prog | | | Album Rating: 3.5
Thanks alot dude.
| | | Album Rating: 2
no prob. Lets see some more reivews from you, try reviewing like... maybe another genre, I wanna see your take on other things.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Dont worry man, Im working on it :D
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3.5 is way too high. More like 2.5. Even said yourself it was run of the mill
Digging: Incantation - Onward to Golgotha Digging: Incantation - Onward to Golgotha
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this isnt even average its worse then that
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
I said alot of it was run of the mill. I also said their are some fantastic highlights which I detailed, and imo the muscianship and the great ideas that are briefly present here lift it too way beyond a 2.5.
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hmm. well i have lots of album that i love at a 3.5, but i guess it's your prerogative.
Think Suffocation mixed with early Cryptopsy, and a dash of Beneath the Massacre.
| | | Album Rating: 4
Good review dude, quite liked this album.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Cool man, I'll be checking them out at Download in a few weeks, seen them once on the mainstage at Donington, it didnt go down too well. Think they'll be far more suited to the third stage.
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Job For A Cowboy held my attention for one complete spin. Now I'm over it.
Awesome album artwork though.
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Awesome album artwork though.
That mascot they have rules
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