Review Summary: Job for a Cowboy create one of the more interesting Deathcore releases, making for an enjoyable listen.
Job for a Cowboy- Demo
Once in awhile a band comes along and develops a new type of music, whether it be through combinations of former genres or just a whole new idea completely. Job for a Cowboy (or JFAC) have been awarded the not-so prestigious title of the creators of Deathcore, a combination of Death Metal and Metalcore. While almost every band in this specific genre of metal is generic and boring, Job for a Cowboy bring and interesting sound with crushing breakdown on this short demo. The quality may not be up to par with modern-produced metal, but what can you expect from a demo?
This band’s formation is actually quite interesting, as they basically gained almost all of their fame through the internet juggernaut, Myspace. JFAC formed in Glensdale, Arizona in December of 2003. Founders consisted of Jonny Davy(Vocalist) and Ravi Bhadriraju(Guitarist), which were soon joined by Andrew Arcurio on guitar, bassist Chad Staples and drummer Andy Rysdam. This band has some obvious amounts of success in such a short amount of time, considering they had over five million fans only a year after this demo was released. Now they have loads of fame, but do they truly deserve it?
To answer that question, yes they did, but the key word in that sentence is “did.” They don’t really deserve it anymore, as they seem to be getting a little dulled out with their recent release, “Genesis.” But this is getting off topic, they definitely have the potential to be an amazing band, they just need to exercise that potential, as seen on the “Doom EP” and this demo. Now onto the review:
One could describe this demo very easily, as it’s basically “Doom” with less impressive drums and slightly less awesome vocals. Probably the most annoying quality of the demo is the fact that Rysdam’s drumming doesn’t really fit the genre of Deathcore. He’s just not fast enough: it’s like combining rock drums with Death Metal, which obviously doesn’t work. But this isn’t that big of a distraction, as Andy does get the job done, just not very well.
Now Jonny Davy has got to be one of the best metal vocalists of modern days, he just has such an incredible range going from death growls, to pig squeals or even high pitched, ear-piercing screams (and he was the only vocalist on this demo by the way). But while it’s easy to enjoy his vocals, it’s also kind of annoying listening to this after listening to “Doom” in the past. As he does no pig squeals on any of these songs, but then again some people might actually enjoy the plain old, straight up death vocals. One thing that actually impressed on this was the fact that his vocals had a better tone and you can actually understand him sometimes. While it’s not really important to understand the lyrics in Deathcore, it’s nice to understand what he’s screaming sometimes.
Probably one of the most stand-out features of the demo is the guitars: while it’s nothing mind-blowing or technical, this demo has some of the most crushing and devastating riffs ever written. This makes it all the more exhilarating when one of their pounding breakdowns come blasting through your speakers, which there is quite of few of on this short demo. I definitely found myself headbanging to this a few times, it’s just so addicting.
The single best instrument of the demo is the bass guitar; that’s right I said bass guitar. Most of the time, in metal that is, the bass is practically inaudible. But on this album you will hear it constantly, and it’s definitely a positive element to the demo as a whole. Staples creates some of the best bass lines written in modern metal, he’s just so fast and jazzy. I suggest any bass guitarist check this guy out, you’ll probably become a fan right off the bat.
The best track is probably “Dead Stale Endings:” it features all of the best riffs and breakdowns on the demo, creating an almost perfect Deathcore track. This isn’t to say the other two tracks are bad, they just don’t meet the standards of the first track. But the whole demo features ridiculously heavy breakdowns and bridges, which is enough to suffice for the bad drumming.
It’s really challenging to describe this demo in one word, but if I could pick one I would have to say Devastation. The whole time I was listening to this images of destroyed, sinking cities filled my mind. One might take it differently, but that is my personal take on the sound of the demo. I suggest fans of Death Metal or Metalcore give this a solid listen, despite the fact that Deathcore has a bad reputation, because it’s definitely worth listening to.
Pros:
+Excellent vocals, but without pig squeals
+Bass guitarist is amazing
+Crushing breakdowns
+Excellent Deathcore
Cons:
-No pig squeals, although some might enjoy it that way
-Drummer isn’t that good
-Some poor production, but not unbearable
I recommend all three tracks for download.
