Job For A Cowboy — Ruination

intothewellsabyss
Jul 6, 2023
3 min read

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…

13 years ago today, “The Lords of Chaos” were “Butchering the Enlightened”!

On this day (July 6) in 2009, Job For A Cowboy released their second full-length studio album “Ruination” via Metal Blade Records.

The follow-up to their first studio album “Genesis”, “Ruination” was recorded and mixed at AudioHammer studios in Sanford, Florida with producer Jason Suecof.

The album sold around 10,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 42 on the Billboard 200 chart. It was the group's first album to feature drummer Jon Rice and guitarist Al Glassman and the last to feature guitarist Bobby Thompson, guitarist Ravi Bhadriraju and bassist Brent Riggs.

Background:

Following the departure of guitarist Ravi Bhadriraju, who left Job for a Cowboy to go back to medical school—being replaced by former Despised Icon guitarist Al Glassman, the band recorded demo tracks with producer Jason Suecof. Vocalist Jonny Davy stated in an interview with Way Too Loud!, that this material differs from the band's first full-length, to have "a bit of an old-school [Death Metal] touch." Davy also explained when interviewed by MetalSucks.net, before the release of the album, that Job for a Cowboy are "in with new influences with the next record", but not going to be a drastic shift in comparison with “Genesis”. He also said, "We’re just learning from our mistakes and nit picking everything and evolving as a band."

According to frontman Jonny Davy, the ideas involved with “Ruination” branch off from 2007's “Genesis”, but are more politically based. The topics addressed by the album's schema revolve around modern-day worldwide dilemmas and controversial issues including "propaganda in the mainstream media and television, human rights in North Korea, the modern genocidal government of Nubia, the use of torture in American military tactics, consequences of nuclear war, and overruling by world governments and police states/martial law." “Ruination” is politically based, but not a concept album as its predecessor “Genesis”.

Critical Reception:

In his review for AllMusic, Phil Freeman stated;

“The songs on “Ruination” seem less disjointed than those on 2007's “Genesis”, functioning as fully formed compositions rather than mere collections of riffs. Match that to their general concision -- seven of the album's ten tracks come in under the four-minute mark -- and you've got an exhilarating album that'll make you want to speed down the highway with the windows open and the top down. Not something one usually hears about a Death Metal record, but as their extensive touring in support of the last album proved, Job for a Cowboy are all about pleasing their audience. Maybe that's why the screwfaced diehards on Death Metal message boards hate them so much.”

Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:

Click this link to listen to “Ruination” via Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/ruination-bonus-track-version/318493703

Click this link to listen to “Ruination” via Spotify: Ruination https://open.spotify.com/album/7bZVnmBrzINGXLUBSxByZB

Click this link to watch the official music video for “Unfurling A Darkened Gospel”: https://youtu.be/S54U3vpmuoY

Click this link to watch the official music video for “Ruination”: https://youtu.be/q8QgImg2TEs

Click this link to follow Job For A Cowboy on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jobforacowboy

Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells

Job For A Cowboy — Ruination

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