Amongst the die hard Deathcore fans, Job for a Cowboy has always been a band they rabbidly adored. Many bands in the style, for some reason, feel it necessary to copy this band right down to the way they change from Deathcore to Death Metal. In some cases this proves to be a good thing, as some of these bands actually wind up putting out a decent album. This is why when a new Job for a Cowboy album hits, it leaves me almost paralyzed with fear. What will be the next step for this group? Gloom marks the breaking of silence in about two years, a four song EP that becomes the next release after Ruination, and it shows yet another dynamic change for the group, and one that will ready the Deathcore masses to invade once more. But, who is copying who now?
This shift doesn't really shock me considering the push Century Media Records and fans of Deathcore have been giving Winds of Plague. So, with what feels like a push to knock them off their thrown, let's welcome the next evolutionary step of Job for a Cowboy, which is to essentially take Cradle of Filth and give it a bit of a Death Metal touch. Yes, that's right. Picture restrained Dani Filth vocals against a Cradle of Filth musical approach and atmosphere riddled with what sounds like Blackened Death Metal ideas from Behemoth, though dwarfed greatly by the other band they are ripping off, and a Deathcore-like breakdown that appears on the song "Execution Parade". In other words, there's pretty much nothing original about it.
Fans of the band will probably find some enjoyable elements, such as the lack of boring music and lack of trying to sound technical at times, or incorporate some chords that are like Meshuggah without the Groove Metal sound, or what came off as the Death metal version of earlier Whitechapel. The songs are solid and, honestly, they don't sound bad at all. If you can try to look past the lack of originality, you will find a band that put a good deal of effort into crafting the songs. However, the only song that truly stands out on the recording is the closing track "Signature of Starving Power", which really has a decent amount of energy behind it, as well as a bit of a more original Death Metal approach to it then just trying to emulate Cradle of Filth into their music from point a until point b.
Other then that, "Misery Reformatory" to "Execution Parade" are good songs, but again nothing original or that special. Immediately the cloned sound becomes apparent on "Misery Reformatory", which isn't the worst song under the sun. Like "Signature of Starving Power", it has a good amount of energy to it, and the music itself has elements where you'll want to headbanh along to it. The guitar solos on this EP are also something worth taking note of, and suit the music very well in a more traditional Heavy Metal fashion, but still act in a manner that suits the rather gothic atmosphere of the release. The same can be said about the solo on "Execution Parade", another decent track with some energy behind it. "Plastic Idols" is worth taking note of, but mostly because of the speed to the music that makes it sound a little more intense then the rest of the material, though in no way void of the unoriginal sound. This track also features a Deathcore-like breakdown, but it's not too bad as it does have a little more meat on it's bones. "Execution Parade" closes with a breakdown as well, though it's masked and at first if you don't pay close enough attention you won't notice it, then it just slows down to a sudden halt and it becomes rather apparent. It's not the greatest, but it's strong enough to end the song with and feel somewhat content.
Basically, Job for a Cowboy has called for a change, and that change just so happens to be ripping off a well established band. This isn't to say they do a bad job at it. In fact, Gloom's atmosphere lives up to that reputation, and the songs on here are solid and well done. Why the band decided to change their sound after the success of Ruination and it's showing great promise for the band in the Death Metal world if baffling, especially to literally plagiarize another band entirely. But, they did it, and the outcome is an unoriginal album of good material that will simply make you want to slap in a Cradle of Filth CD. Of course, if you can't stand those high falsetto screams of that band, then maybe you'll get more enjoyment out of this one.
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Digital review copy of this release provided by:
Metal Blade Records. |
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