The week of February 23rd saw a significant release as Arizona death metal band, Job for a Cowboy dropped their first album in ten years. The former deathcore scene kings turned tech-death virtuosos brought us Moon Healer, a truly bizarre but enthralling listening experience.
To better understand the release, one must understand the history of the band. Job for a Cowboy 2003 in Glendale, Arizona. In 2005, Job for a Cowboy released their debut EP, Doom; this point in time was approaching the peak of the scene era, and Job for a Cowboy fit right in. With Doom, Job for a Cowboy established themselves as a leading force in Myspace deathcore alongside bands like Suicide Silence and Bring Me the Horizon. This earned them the love of the scenesters and, of course, the hatred of the metalheads. By the time Job for a Cowboy’s debut album Genesis was released, they were already ditching deathcore for a more straightforward death metal sound. Over the course of seven years, Job for a Cowboy would release three more albums, whilst becoming more technical in their approach. This culminated with Sun Eater in 2014, Job for a Cowboy’s last album for an entire decade.
In the period they were writing new material, Job for a Cowboy had all but broken up. There was news of recordings happening as early as 2016, but nothing would come of it for another seven years. But the payoff was certainly worth it because Moon Healer is easily a contender for album of the year so far. Moon Healer is very reminiscent of the progressive and highly technical death metal of Cynic and Human-era Death, while still retaining some of Job for a Cowboy’s signature sound. A true highlight of Moon Healer is the basswork, there is an abundance of slap riffs and overall technical playing. In fact, the musicianship all over the album is truly magnificent. Moon Healer is at once elegant yet also crushingly heavy, finding a way to fuse snaking melodies and crystal clear production with moments of extreme brutality. There aren’t many metal bands who can make highly technical and chaotic music that doesn’t sound like pretentious nonsense. Luckily, Job for a Cowboy knows how to do it right.
To say the least, Job for a Cowboy knows how to make a comeback. Moon Healer is a dark and winding journey through methodical brutality.
