“Moon Healer” by Job For A Cowboy is Incredible

Last time Job for a Cowboy dropped an album was 2014. I was in college, focused on school and had shifted more of my attention to Hip Hop than Metal. That album, Sun Eater, was a solid album and my main takeaway was something like “another solid album from the boys”. Little did I know it would be a whole decade before we would hear another project from them…

I grew up on the Doom EP like any other metalhead my age. I’m a vocalist and drummer and could recite and play the whole EP front to back. At the time, I had an older friend who was pretentious about Deathcore, which was unusual. Job for a Cowboy had basically invented the Deathcore genre but immediately with their next album “Genesis” they pivoted to Death Metal. My friend hated it.

Personally, I loved Genesis and was in the minority of my peers but the band would never quite reach the same impact as they had with their trailblazing into Deathcore.

Over these past ten years since their last release, of all the death metal bands I grew up with, Job for a Cowboy is the one band I consistently come back to. After some years I began wondering if they had broken up. Thankfully, new music was around the corner and after a 6 month roll out, here we are.

“Moon Healer” is incredible front to back. JFAC has not missed a step even after 10 years. Compositionally, this project is interesting and dynamic the entire way through. Bass lines from Nick Schendzielos are a stand out as they were with Sun Eater. Jonny Davy is still my favorite death vocalist of all time. The best low-mid range vox in the game and always with a natural instinct for layering and lyrical ability to match. Al Glassman and Tony Sannicandro are as good on guitar as ever as well. No notes on drums either… idk if I have a bad word for this album.

If tight, complex, death metal with melodic guitar flairs, tasteful bass licks and lyrics is not your thing, then maybe this won’t be for you! However, I think metal heads everywhere should be giving Job for a Cowboy a fair shake. This band was BUILT to make death metal. The fact they invented a subgenre and then dipped right after is a flex, not a blight.

 

Peak Death Metal‼️