My experience with Job for a Cowboy has been somewhat limited. Yes, they are one of those hot up and coming acts that all the kids seem to love. At least, I seem to see a good number of their shirts on those that wander aimlessly around the local mall. I do know they gained notoriety as a MySpace act that got really hot without really being recognized as being good. They then had the headlining slot on the Radio Rebellion tour a few years back, over such acts as Behemoth and Gojira.
Seems like too much too fast for the young band. This is especially true as their debut (Genesis) was not particularly special. Granted, I never gave it much of a chance, but after seeing them live, I cannot say I was that impressed. So now I am sure you are wondering why I bothered with Ruination.
Honestly, I do not know. Still, it can be telling to check up on a young band and see if they have made any progress, and it appears that Job for a Cowboy has. Some of that has been in line-up changes and some in their songwriting and performance, which has definitely improved. This is not to say this is a great album by any stretch, but it does show that the band is still developing and is working on the refinement of their craft. Perhaps it will continue and they will develop into something special. You never really know what can happen until it happens. No one wants to get written off to soon. You know?
For the majority of Ruination's forty minutes, the band knows one speed. That speed is full speed ahead. No slowing down, no surrender, never say die, and all that. It is brutal riff after brutal riff, blast beat after blast beat, and bloody throated growl after lung shredding scream. Job for a Cowboy does not know the meaning of restraint.
What they do know is that deathcore is not the style they want to remain identified with. This sophomore release sees them moving away from that and into something more along the lines of technical death metal. Mind you, this is no Necrophagist, but their technical skills are trying to peek their eyes out from behind the amplifier stacks. I guess, if anyone would be comparable, you could put the in a similar vein to The Black Dahlia Murder.
The album begins with a quick drum roll before blasting full steam ahead into "Unfurling a Darkened Gospel." The cut makes you feel as if you are pitched forward down an incline and cannot stop. It just keeps surging forward, never letting you get a good footing. This surge forward continues right into the second song, "Summon the Hounds." It is a strong start if you want to get your audience up on their toes while not wasting your best musical moments. Get the adrenaline flowing from a dead stop and they will not know what hit them.
Article comments
1 - F U
Dude, you're a fag, you just say that because you can't handle a fast tempo. Instead, you just listen to the slow pussy shit, possibly like Mudvayne.