Carnifex’s latest LP, Slow Death, is nothing if not about getting down to brass tacks. Quick off the blocks, the San Diego natives jump into the two strongest bangers of the batch, ‘Dark Heart Ceremony’ and ‘Slow Death.’ While doing so, they also set the template of what else to come in the remaining 29 minutes; Carnifex gonna be Carnifex.Continue reading
The countdown to the Official Ghost Cult Magazine Album of the Year for 2014 continues. Please consume and enjoy the results of our 2014 Writers’ Poll. We hope it will introduce you to some of the incredible works of art you may have missed that we have had the immense pleasure of listening to and writing about this year.
In our second installment we bring you albums 40 through to 31
40. JOB FOR A COWBOY – Sun Eater (Metal Blade)
“Evolution from deathcore to a more compact, yet technical, death metal… complex and melodic structures accompany a diversified approach” DIOGO FERREIRA 7/10 Full review here
39. AGELESS OBLIVION – Pethos (Siege of Amida / Century Media)
Marrying both technical and atmospheric forms of Death Metal, Ageless Oblivion create their own brand of chilling yet punishing aggression, presented in a show of impressive progression.
38. KILLER BE KILLED – Killer Be Killed (Nuclear Blast)
“Cavalera, Puciato, Sanders, and Elitch put their stamp on this recording, making a memorable, political-flavored, heavy album that certainly lives up to the hype” KEITH ‘KEEFY’ CHACHKES 8.5/10 Full review here
37. AEVANGELIST – Writhes In The Murk (Debemur Morti)
“If you’re able to get past the initial disorientation and look inside, you’ll find an album that follows its own perverse ambition flawlessly, with not a shred of compromise, dilution or failure” RICHIE HR 10/10 Full review here
36. FEN – Carrion Skies (Code666)
“Fen are the rawer, rockier, more achingly human cousin to Tombs’ Neurosis-driven thunder, and among the richest and most emotionally expressive Metal albums of 2014” RICHIE HR 9/10 Full review here
35. JUDAS PRIEST – Redeemer of Souls (Epic/Columbia)
“Judas Priest has released a retrospective that nods to their career, recalling everything that has made them genuine legends of our metal world, Redeemer Of Souls has a beautifully warm and classic Priest feel”. STEVE TOVEY 8.5/10 Full review here
34. COFFINWORM – IV.I.VIII (Profound Lore)
The phrase “Doom” doesn’t do justice to the ugly, polluted, measured sludgy bludgeon of IV.I.VIII; a beautifully horrible record of nihilistic malevolence, that dissolves doom, death, black and sludge in its fetid path.
33. TRAP THEM – Blissfucker (Prosthetic)
“My advice? If you have never listened to Trap Them, get on this bandwagon before these guys run you over with it”. TIM LEDIN 8/10 Full review here
32. YOUNG AND IN THE WAY – When Life Comes To Death (Deathwish Inc)
The hardest of hardcore punk fused with the blackest of Darkthrone’s black metal offspring, creating a crusty hell in aural format.
31. AGAINST ME! – Transgender Dysphoria Blues (Total Treble)
The gutsy pop-punk outfit release a cathartic biographical concept album of frontwoman Laura Jane Grace’s experiences for their sixth album.
Ghost Cult ‘Albums Of The Year’ 50-41 here
Compiled by Steve Tovey
Job For A Cowboy will release their new album Sun Eater this November from Metal Blade Records. The band has spent over a year writing and recording the new death metal opus. Since the departure of Jon Rice, the band has been working with extreme drumming virtuoso Danny Walker (Exhumed, Murder Construct, Intronaut) who laid down the drums for Sun Eater. The band promised a new sound and even more growth from the band that began as a tech death sensation, and morphed from death core to true death metal over time. The new album was produced by Jason Suecof who has a long history with the band. You can hear the new song ‘Sun of Nihility’ now:
From The Press Release:
Job for a Cowboy have wrapped up music and art on their fourth full length album, “Sun Eater.” Along with producer Jason Suecof, vocalist Jonny Davy, guitarists Al Glassman and Tony Sannicandro, bassist Nick Schendzielos, and session drummer Danny Walker have crafted a cerebral and accomplished piece of technical death metal. Job for a Cowboy wrapped up touring in 2013 as part of the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival that summer. Following that performance, the band collectively decided to sharpen their focus and set an intent on cooking up a record that encompassed their full dynamic range of talent. The group had all agreed on the main course being a desire for futuristic tones, a wider spectrum of textures and tempos, and an emphasis on slightly more ancestral song construction. The result, “Sun Eater,” does not just sound like a new record, it sounds like an entirely new band.
Listen to “Sun of Nihility” and pre-order the album now at metalblade.com/jobforacowboy.
Following the departure of long time skins-man Jon Rice, Job for a Cowboy, cognizant of the size of shoes that needed to be filled, in addition to the depth and versatility demanded by the new material, enlisted the services of Danny Walker (Intronaut, Murder Construct, Exhumed, etc). Walker’s mastery of his craft, coupled with his creativity and enthusiasm for the material, strongly influenced the outcome of the record, and it only takes a few minutes of listening to hear this is Job for a Cowboy at their finest.
Regarding composition, guitarist Tony Sannicandro recalled: “This album came together very smoothly. We had the concept before hand and I took it upon myself to try and portray that concept through the music. I took a much more melodic approach than “Demonocracy”: focusing on the structuring and the layering that would complement the story to my ears.” The other half of the guitar duo, Al Glassman, continued to be a driving force behind the band’s sound. Bassist Nick Schendzielos added that “Al riffs long and hard for greater the good of everyone involved. He really used a lot of foresight in his revisions during the writing process, creating ample room for me to mood-out the tracks with bass that you can actually hear. in the end I think we really brought the character out in each and every song.” Indeed, composition and songwriting was the focus here. With this new album, the band had the luxury of relative longevity in the core of their songwriting lineup. This led to a far stronger vibe and a much more realized final product.
Audiohammer producer Jason Suecof, whose first bout with the band was 2009’s “Ruination,” has now worked with the band for over six years. Few are more familiar with how Job for a Cowboy operates in the studio than Suecof, and he was also feeling the “vibe” on “Sun Eater“: “This band is composed entirely of top notch musicians all the way around and they are clearly at the top of their game. This new album is a stellar combination of everyone’s efforts and what we have now is something that conveys everyone’s musicianship without being techy for the sake of being tech. This album has got feeling and it is fucking brutal!“
Sun Eater will be available via Metal Blade Records on November 11th in North America and November 7th/10th in Europe/UK
Follow Job for a Cowboy online:
http://www.facebook.com/jobforacowboy