Job For A Cowboy have a new album, titled Sun Eater, which is released by Metal Blade Records, and despite the several changes in the lineup – having just the vocalist Jonny Davy as the original member , the band has been cohesive since 2011. Also, in spite of their evolution from deathcore to a more compact, yet somehow technical, death metal, we still can find some old vestiges in this new record.
It may seem mannered, but it won’t be if listened – I mean, we can hear some vocals similar to what Dani Filth used to do in the Damnation And A Day era in Job For A Cowboy’s opening track, ‘Eating the Visions of God’. Another interesting detail can be found in ‘Sun Of Nihility’ as we have a rhythmic guitar which joins the soloist one and suddenly it will be back to its rhythmical role again.
The bass lines are constantly present and the bass will even superimpose the distorted power delivered by the two guitars. The fat, yet perceptible, sound full of rhythmical details is a delight to every bass lover. Sometimes, it is utterly the main instrument performing as the protagonist, like in ‘The Stone Cross’, when the grunted stanzas are delivered by Davy on vocals.
The guitar riffs aren’t always just full-bodied ones comprised by the characteristic death metal power-chords, but we can find complex and melodic structures which accompanies the vocalist in his diversified approach. On other hand, the drums also present some good moments of technical efficacy in which the regular pace can be transformed in a crazy reverie that completely changes the supposed simplicity of the moment, like in ‘A Global Shift’. Generally, the strong double pedals appear with preponderancy in some instants giving fastness to the tracks.
Job For A Cowboy introduced some youngsters to extreme music ten years ago in the USA and even in Europe, but these guys aren’t 15 or 16 anymore, so give them a chance and listen to this new Sun Eater if you like death metal with deathcore roots.
7.0/10
DIOGO FERREIRA