A prolonged absence is always a hard thing to come back from, regardless of the reasons behind it. A full decade has passed since Job For A Cowboy released an album, so returning after that length of time and trying to follow up an album like Sun Eater was always going to be a challenge. It seems to have been one that the band has taken in their strides.
Moon Healer, their 5th full length album is a complex, labyrinthine master class in efficient and intelligent Death Metal. If we are being completely honest Job For A Cowboy are a band that has always been head and shoulders above their peers, while everyone else was chasing trends, they were sharpening their knives and honing their craft delivering four back to back classic albums…make that five classics now.
Eschewing many of the more grotesque elements of the genre, the emphasis instead is placed on musicality & atmosphere. Moon Healer features some of the best bass lines you are likely to hear on any album this year. Nick Schendzielos virtuoso playing is a constant throughout, but most notably on Grinding Wheels of Ophanim and album closer The Forever Rot and its extended outro.
Beyond the Chemical Doorway and Etched in Oblivion quickly remind you not only why you fell in love with Job For A Cowboy in the first place but also just how astonishingly heavy they are. Setting a frantic pace from the get go, time has certainly not dulled their edge. The Sun Gave Me Ashes So I Sought Out The Moon, juggles brutality and technicality by punctuating the song with a blistering thrash solo before the song folds back in on itself in the second half. Into the Crystalline Crypts is reminiscent of something from the band’s Demonocracy era, It’s a straight up punishing track that will pound your brain into dust.
A Sorrow Filled Moon & The Agony Seeping Storm further explore varying sonic textures. With the former weaving in and out of different pacing creating a brutal yet more soulful track, whereas the latter is a driving straightforward bruiser.
Job For A Cowboy has always been a special band. That cannot be disputed, but for them to take a leave of absence for a decade and come back and for it to feel like no time has passed is a monumental achievement. Moon Healer is the best thing they have done as a band. It Takes the roots planted by Demonocracy that were refined on Sun Eater and creates a sonically devastating yet multi-faceted album that is brutal yet emotionally succinct. This is 2024’s first essential metal album.
