Review Summary: Ruination is not awesome, nor is it great; rather its a decent death metal album, one that will not turn any heads or raise any eyebrows but one that will certainly satisfy that desire for a death metal fix.
Let's face it; Job For A Cowboy are not part of the death metal elite. They are more or less an average death metal band; I wouldn't even classify them as technical death metal as most do because I don't hear anything particularly 'technical' in their work. Ruination is their second LP, and while it improves upon their somewhat generic 'Genesis' full length it doesn't really expand into new territory. Job For A Cowboy haven't really put out any masterpieces since their inception. 'Genesis' was so generic it was painful to listen to, and don't even get me started on their 'Doom' LP, which was deathcore at its worst. So imagine my surprise when I popped in 'Ruination' and was treated to a decent death metal outing, one that I would actually want to listen to. Imagine that.
On Ruination the band eschew their deathcore sound and embrace something that could only be classified as death metal. Crushing riffs, blast beats and deep growls permeate the album, and the end result is a rather decent, if not average death metal album. The problem is that the album sounds so monotonous. For one, the music is bland and each song blends into the next like nobodies business. To add insult to injury there are no stand out tracks or performances to be found here. Sure, there are moments that are decent and enjoyable, but overall each song is flat out generic with generic death metal riffs, blast beats and monotone growling. Oh, did I mention each song sounds very monotone-like, almost blending into the background? Sure, the music is crushing, brutal, intense, heavy, hard, etc, but where is the soul?
Still, there is enjoyment to be found on Ruination; a slowed groove here, a decent guitar riff there; they are few and far in between but nevertheless they save Ruination from being a complete failure. I still find myself popping in Ruination from time to time, but it quickly gets tiring, just as it did upon the first listen.
Ruination is not awesome, nor is it great; rather its a decent death metal album, one that will not turn any heads or raise any eyebrows but one that will certainly satisfy that desire for a death metal fix.
