Job For A Cowboy - 'Ruination'

Job For A Cowboy burst upon the scene a few years ago on a wave of MySpace hype and underground buzz. Their sound transformed from deathcore to death metal, and on their new CD Ruination, that transformation is complete. The band has had some personnel changes since their full-length debut, with former Despised Icon guitarist Al Glassman and drummer Jon Rice joining the band after the departures of Ravi Bhadriraju and Elliott Sellers.

Between honing their chops on high profile tours and the new members, Job For A Cowboy has upped the ante on both musicianship and songwriting. Ruination is potent and intense death metal, very technical with some grind elements. Songs like “Regurgitated Disinformation” are fast and dense, but also have enough melody and groove to be memorable.

No matter the tempo, Job For A Cowboy rarely lets up on the brutality. They let the intensity build up to near suffocation, then ease up or insert enough of a groove to grab a breath of air before diving back into the extremity. The album closer, the title track, begins with a slower, almost mainstream sounding intro with some catchy guitar parts, and maintains that tempo throughout, showing they can also keep things interesting at a less breakneck pace.

Even though the song titles sound like typical gory death metal (“Butchering The Enlightened” and “Lords Of Chaos”), the lyrics on Ruination are more on the political side of the spectrum, with songs addressing topics like North Korea and government propaganda. Jonny Davy delivers those lyrics in a mix of throat shredding growls and piercing yells.

It’s taken some time, traveling all over the world playing countless shows and improving their craft, but with Ruination, Job For A Cowboy’s musical prowess has caught up with the hype.

(released July 7, 2009 on Metal Blade Records)