Job for a Cowboy appears to be one of those bands that ends up judged purely by its fans. Just like The Black Dahlia Murder, they seem to be constantly accused of being an awful deathcore band. Well, unfortunately in the case of Job for a Cowboy, they once were an awful deathcore band. But the band in question has made a huge effort to disassociate itself with that scene, moving steadily into more vicious, musically challenging grounds. I was extremely tentative about picking up Demonocracy. I had heard last year’s ep, Gloom, and was pretty impressed and decided to give the band a chance, though I didn’t have high expectations. That changed when they released “Nourishment Through Bloodshed” as a single. I was blown away. I had never imagined that a band with such a shaky start could unleash such a defiantly technical sound. After that, I decided that I really wanted this album. [1]
The record kicks off with the visceral “Children of Deceit”. Jonny Davy’s vocals are the immediate focus of the song, but he doesn’t dominate it at all. Quite the opposite, really. Straight from the starting gun, the album is musically driven. I couldn’t quite believe that they’d really broken through into full-on technical death metal. The riffs are challenging and confrontational, but never aimless and are the perfect blend of melodic playing and musical complexity. That was until the solos arrived. [1]
Ever since the Genesis album, people wanted to hear them make more of the type of grind/death metal they did on Doom EP, which they answered with the Gloom EP. One could guess that it may have leaked into their playing style on their full lengths after checking out Demonocracy. Although you can’t say it’s like the two EP’s, the death metal has definitely gotten more brutal, almost transcending into the grind territory. [2]
It’s damn near impossible for a single instrument to stand out on this album. The drums seem to take the cake in the beginning of “Imperium Wolves,” with The Charn spanning the entire kit within forty seconds while keeping a constant tempo. But Al and Tony just barge in and steal the show by throwing in some black metal-style riffs and speeding along with an impressive trade off solo… and all this takes place before the two minute mark in the song. With two minutes and forty eight seconds to go, the imagination can take you places on where they go from here. [2]
I’m sure a lot of people are already poking this album to pieces, accusing it of being nothing more than musical gloating. But let’s remember, this is technical death metal. This is a genre built on musical gloating. This is a genre that focuses entirely on excessive guitar work and complexity above catchiness. This is a genre that is meant to be technical. [1]
Demonocracy delivers the technical death metal thrills by the truckload. The band is at the top of its form and has created a truly brilliant piece of music that took me completely by surprise. Though I’m sure it’s going to receive an onslaught of hatred from elitists who still dismiss them as a deathcore band, I believe that Job for a Cowboy have cemented themselves as the technical death metal band to watch this decade. [1]
Tracks
- Children of Deceit
- Nourishment Through Bloodshed
- Imperium Wolves
- Tongueless and Bound
- Black Discharge
- The Manipulation Stream
- The Deity Misconception
- Fearmonger
- Tarnished Gluttony
If you like it, please buy it on their official website/merchandise.
These reviews are written by terrorandhubris and RidgeDeadite on Metallum
1. terrorandhubris, A Complete And Awesome Surprise, www.metal-archives.com
2. RidgeDeadite, Metal-Army.com, www.metal-archives.com
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