Released by: Metal Blade Records
Release Date: Out Now!!!
Genre: Progressive Death Metal
Links: https://www.facebook.com/jobforacowboy
Line Up:
Al Glassman – Guitar
Nick Schendzielos- Bass
Tony Sannicandro- Guitar
Jonny Davy- Vocals
Tracklist:
01. Eating The Visions Of God
02. Sun Of Nihility
03. The Stone Cross
04. The Synthetic Sea
05. A Global Shift
06. The Celestial Antidote
07. Encircled By Mirrors
08. Buried Monuments
09. Worming Nightfall
The first time I heard Job For A Cowboy I absolutely hated them. I probably hated them more the first time I heard them than I did Cannibal Corpse. And because of that hatred I ended up skipping out on seeing GWAR and in retrospect I wish I had chosen otherwise. Some time has passed and after I finally caught them live and with the release of the last album Demonocracy I have amended my feelings for them. Some of it has to do with a change in their sound (I feel thanks in large part to the addition of guitarist Tony Sannicandro,) but also due in part to my growth with extreme metal. They still aren’t my number one band of the genre, but I’m definitely more excited by new music from them, which leads me to this…
Their latest offering, Sun Eater, follows along the same path as their previous release. It’s as brutal as ever with some amazing guitar work. Jonny Davy is just as guttural as ever on the microphone, but it’s the music that does it for me again. Sannicandro’s solos and Al Glassman’s magnificent rhythm work, plus the bass mastery of Nick Schendzielos adding that much needed low end punch. Joining them on drums for this album is Intronaut drummer Danny Walker. If they haven’t already done it/considered it, he makes for a perfect fit for the band with his on point yet frenetic abilities. The album openers “Eating the Visions of God” and “Sun of Nihility” are also the first two releases of the album, and make for a strong kick off to a strong album. My personal favorites are “The Celestial Antidote” and “Worming Nightfall.” Though I really dig this album quite a bit, it falls a little short of the last one. Or rather, it seems more of the same. Demoncracy was such a shift in their sound I guess I was expecting something like that to happen again. However, as a complaint, that isn’t much of one as putting this one on par with an amazing album as it ain’t a bad thing at all.
Fans of Job For A Cowboy should take to this album as well as their past efforts. No real new ground has been broken, but when you’re onto something that is right, I suppose there is no need to change it up too much. Sun Eater still has some incredible songs and performances on it, and these men should be proud of the album they have put out for us.
Written by Chris Martin