Sunday, December 7, 2014

JFAC: The art of dropping a notch (& still sounding in-your-face)

This is perhaps 2014's best metal release, well at least for dweebs like me who demand an above-average instrument technicalities in addition to a crushing delivery. There is no doubting the technicalities here, everyone in the band wielding an instrument is beyond good; they showcased their introversions with good taste- well done. All this without sacrificing what Job For A Cowboy stands for- intensity & not relenting to any current hype; a rare breed these days considering everyone's interested in jumping into the bandwagon & getting recognized. 

If you're an ardent fan, the first thing that hits you is the tempo here- no, the band didn't wimp out but speed isn't necessarily the order for everything. You'd hear very commanding, slower passages (Sun of Nihility), akin to what a doom outfit would churn out. The other thing that would hit you is how heavy things are in whole, that's right, it's not about a mad rush from beginning to end but the guitar dudes especially, took their time to craft out some heavy palm-muted passages. So putting these two considerations together, we get a very deserving JFAC release. All this with a touch of prog-esque passages every now & then.

After listening to this album a few times, I seriously have no idea what the future would be like (music-wise) when one grabs a JFAC release. However, one thing's for sure, with every new album, the guys in this band-despite numerous line-up changes since Doom-are not about to let their guards down when it comes to aggressive potency. This is definitely my lift-me-up album for 2014, especially so when I went deep into the dumps after listening to Cynic's Kindly Bent to Free Us.

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