Ten years? Ten years since Sun Eater? It’s hard to believe that Job for A Cowboy have been absent for so long, the band having made a strong start from their 2003 inception, generating a considerable buzz with their misleadingly titled Doom EP, and cementing it with a run of albums that included the exceptionally well received Ruination (2009) and the deeply impressive Democracy (2012). Nevertheless, with line-up changes dogging the band (Jonny Davy is the only remaining founding member), and Covid throwing a spanner in the works of every major artist, the band’s much anticipated fifth album has been a long time coming. But oh has it been worth the wait.
Continuing the progressive trajectory the band began back on Sun Eater, Moon Healer opens with the airy Beyond the Chemical Doorway, which showcases a very different set of dynamics to the band’s early material, incorporating elements of jazz and prog into their still devastatingly heavy sound. It makes for an engaging opening number, and full marks to bassist Nick Schendzielos in particular, whose playing is nothing short of exemplary throughout the album. Progressive though the band’s current incarnation may be, they still keep things relatively short, with the majority of tracks rarely stretching past the five-minute-mark. As such, we’re plunged into the dense Etched in Oblivion with little warning, the band once again displaying a jazz-infused versatility that sits surprisingly well with the death metal elements that have long been their stock in trade. Nevertheless, where the band do allow things to stretch out, as on Grinding Wheels of Ophanim, we get a masterclass in progressive death metal. With a lengthier opening once again demonstrating Nick’s ferocious skills on bass, the band adopt a darker posture that provides rather more space for Jonny’s increasingly versatile vocals, while the second half of the track traverses a surprising range of sonic territory, suggesting the band’s downtime has not been spent idly. Then there’s the potent The Sun Gave Me Ashes So I Sought Out the Moon, which slips deftly between death metal ferocity and elastic jazz groove, without missing a beat. It speaks to the immense power of the band that they have interpolated their myriad influences with such skill, and it makes for an endlessly engaging listen. It ends on a knife edge, concluding the album’s first act and leaving the listener to pick their jaw up from the floor just in time to engage with the album’s second half.
First up, Into The Crystalline Crypts, sets the senses reeling all over again, with the band unleashing a beautifully arranged death-jazz fusion that ably showcases the breadth of the ideas on display. Keeping things memorable, the band cleverly inject melody through an array of dizzying solos, flawlessly delivered by Tony Sannicandro. A Sorrow Filled Moon is a relentless assault Jonny’s withered rasp sidestepping into black metal territory at times, while the band deliver a masterclass in multi-layered metal thast falls somewhere between Cradle of Filth and Cynic in the chain of inspiration. In contrast, The Agony Seeping Storm is relatively straight forward, the band hitting the listener where it hurst with an impressive blast of melodeath, before bringing the curtain down with The Forever Rot. Another surprisingly varied track that allows a subtle melodic edge to creep in amidst the bristling riffs and quake-inducing percussive blasts, it rounds out this insanely impressive album in style, leaving the listener anxious to see where this talented and charismatic band will go next.
Job For A Cowboy always had a precocious talent, but Moon Healer is on another level. With astonishing musicianship throughout, a towering performance from Jonny Davy, and songs that push at the boundaries of conventional death metal wisdom, it is nothing short of a masterclass in extremity. A most welcome return, Job For A Cowboy have just unleashed the album of their career, and you can expect to see it topping album of the year lists everywhere. 9.5/10
