| Moon Healer | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 23, 2024 | |||
| Studio | Audiohammer Studios, Sanford, Florida | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 39:12 | |||
| Label | Metal Blade | |||
| Producer | Jason Suecof | |||
| Job for a Cowboy chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Moon Healer | ||||
| ||||
Moon Healer is the fifth studio album by American death metal band Job for a Cowboy. The album was released on February 23, 2024, through Metal Blade Records. It is the band's first album in over nine years, marking the longest gap between releases in the band's history.
The band's previous album, Sun Eater , was released on November 11, 2014.
In 2016 interview at the NAMM Show, bassist Nick Schendzielos announced that the band was writing new music and hoped to release it sometime in 2017. [3] However, the band would go on hiatus following 2016.
In 2019, Job for a Cowboy members Jonny Davy, Al Glassman, and Tony Sannicandro formed the deathgrind band Serpent of Gnosis with the Black Dahlia Murder bassist Max Lavelle and Deeds of Flesh drummer Darren Cesca. [4] That same year, it was hinted that Job for a Cowboy would be returning with new music and start performing live again. [5]
In May 2020, the band alluded to reunion after posting a clip from the 1995 film Mortal Kombat on Twitter. [6] [7] Around this time, producer Jason Suecof stated that "Jonny Davy just sang me the whole new album." [8] In June, Suecof announced that the band would begin recording new music, though the COVID-19 pandemic had slowed down production. [7]
On January 27, 2023, it was announced that Job for a Cowboy would be performing at the Blue Ridge Rock Festival later that year in September, marking the band's first performance in seven years. [9]
Job for a Cowboy released the song "The Agony Seeping Storm" on August 28, 2023, the band's first new song in nine years. [10] On October 24, a second single was released, "The Forever Rot", and announced that the album would be titled Moon Healer with a release date of February 23, 2024. [11] The album's third single, "Beyond the Chemical Doorway", was released on January 31, 2024. [12]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Blabbermouth.net | 8.5/10 [13] |
| Metal Hammer |   [2] |
| Metal Injection | 8/10 [1] |
| MetalSucks | [14] |
Moon Healer was praised by critics upon its release. C.C. Delorean of MetalSucks awarded the album 5 out of 5 stars and stated "Simply put, Moon Healer is one of the best, most perfectly balanced technical death metal albums I've ever heard, an instant classic all but guaranteed to stay in regular rotation for quite some time." [15] Blabbermouth writer Jay H. Gorania stated "Until now, the band's creative apex has been Sun Eater, and although at times it is too self-referential to the band's last couple of albums, Moon Healer reaches its predecessor's high-water marks in every regard." [16]
All lyrics are written by Jonny Davy; all music is composed by Job for a Cowboy.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Beyond the Chemical Doorway" | 4:10 |
| 2. | "Etched in Oblivion" | 4:14 |
| 3. | "Grinding Wheels of Ophanim" | 5:52 |
| 4. | "The Sun Gave Me Ashes So I Sought Out the Moon" | 4:03 |
| 5. | "Into the Crystalline Crypts" | 4:21 |
| 6. | "A Sorrow-Filled Moon" | 5:37 |
| 7. | "The Agony Seeping Storm" | 4:11 |
| 8. | "The Forever Rot" | 6:40 |
| Total length: | 39:12 | |
Job for a Cowboy
Additional contributors
| Chart (2024) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) [17] | 17 |
Deathcore is an extreme metal subgenre that combines death metal with metalcore. The genre consists of death metal guitar riffs, blast beats, and metalcore breakdowns. While there are some precursors to the concept of death metal fused with metalcore/hardcore elements seen in the 1990s, deathcore itself emerged in the early 2000s and gained prominence beginning in the mid-2000s within the southwestern United States, especially Arizona and inland southern California, which are home to many notable bands and various festivals.
Job for a Cowboy is an American death metal band from Glendale, Arizona. Formed in 2003, the band's debut album Genesis was released in 2007, peaking at No. 54 on the US Billboard 200 and selling 13,000 copies in its first week of release. The second album, 2009's Ruination, sold 10,600 copies in the United States in its first week to debut at position No. 42 on the Billboard 200 chart. The band comprises vocalist Jonny Davy, guitarists Tony Sannicandro and Al Glassman and bassist Nick Schendzielos. Davy is the only remaining founding member.
Jason Suecof is an American record producer and audio engineer best known for his work with heavy metal bands such as Trivium, Battlecross, Death Angel, All That Remains, Bury Your Dead, The Black Dahlia Murder, and The Autumn Offering. In addition, Suecof also has been the guitarist for heavy metal bands Capharnaum and Charred Walls of the Damned.
Genesis is the debut studio album by American death metal band Job for a Cowboy. Released on May 15, 2007 through Metal Blade Records, it is their first concept album and is based on possible consequences of the VeriChip, along with the Book of Revelation and apocalyptic theories. It also sees Job for a Cowboy's change into a more straightforward death metal based sound with their previous release, Doom being within the deathcore genre.
Ruination is the second studio album by American death metal band Job for a Cowboy. The follow-up to their first studio album Genesis, Ruination was recorded and mixed at AudioHammer studios in Sanford, Florida with producer Jason Suecof. It was released July 7, 2009, through Metal Blade Records. 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 Davis Stine and the last to feature guitarist Bobby Thompson, guitarist Ravi Bhadriraju and bassist Brent Riggs.
Veil of Maya is an American metalcore band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 2004. The group consists of guitarist Marc Okubo, drummer Sam Applebaum, bassist Danny Hauser and vocalist Lukas Magyar. They are currently signed to Sumerian Records and have released seven studio albums. Their seventh studio album, Mother, was released on May 12, 2023.
Live Ruination is the second EP by Job for a Cowboy. It was released on November 23, 2010, by Metal Blade Records as a digital EP on iTunes. It contains the band's live performance from a live music video shoot on June 6, 2009, at the First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia. Despite the album's title, only two songs from Ruination are on it, not including "The Matter of Splatter," which is a cover of Exhumed and a bonus track on certain versions of Ruination.
Gloom is the third EP by American death metal band Job for a Cowboy. It became available digitally and physically via mail order only on June 7, 2011. The EP was limited to only 2,500 physical copies, which vocalist Jonny Davy explained, "I feel like we're the type of band where so many people simply illegally download our records in the first place. So why not have the die hards have something to get excited about to get their hands on?" This is the first studio recording to feature bassist Nick Schendzielos and guitarist Tony Sannicandro after former members Bobby Thompson and Brent Riggs departed from the band in 2010, therefore all of Thompson's performance on the EP was replaced by Sannicandro's.
Pathology is an American death metal band from San Diego, California, formed in 2006 by drummer Dave Astor. Known for their brutal and aggressive sound, the band has released several albums and gained a dedicated following within the death metal community. Their lyrics often revolve around themes of gore, violence, and medical pathology. The band's lineup has changed over the years, but they continue to create intense and uncompromising music.
Demonocracy is the third studio album by American death metal band Job for a Cowboy. It was released on April 10, 2012. It is the band's first studio album to feature guitarist Tony Sannicandro and bassist Nick Schendzielos, the second with former Despised Icon guitarist Al Glassman, and the last album to feature drummer Jon Rice.
Monolith of Inhumanity is the fifth studio album by American death metal band Cattle Decapitation, released on May 8, 2012. Upon its release, it was met with positive reviews praising the addition of melody into their sound.
Havok is an American thrash metal band from Denver, Colorado, formed in 2004. As of 2024, their current lineup consists of frontman David Sanchez, drummer Pete Webber, and bassist Nick Schendzielos. They have gone through a number of personnel changes, with each album featuring a different lineup, and leaving Sanchez as the only remaining original member left in the band.
Fleshwrought is an American technical death metal band formed in 2003 by Navene Koperweis. They released their debut album, Dementia/Dyslexia in 2010, and in 2014 were in the process of recording their second album. The band is noted for its founder Navene Koperweis, a multi-instrumentalist who engineers, produces, and plays all the instruments for the band's recordings.
Sun Eater is the fourth studio album by American death metal band Job for a Cowboy. It was released on November 11, 2014, by Metal Blade Records. The album features session musician Danny Walker on drums, and Cannibal Corpse vocalist George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher guested on the song "The Synthetic Sea".
Absolute Hope Absolute Hell is the third studio album by American deathcore band Fit for an Autopsy. The album was released on October 2, 2015 through eOne Music and was produced by the band's guitarist Will Putney. It is the first album to feature vocalist Joe Badolato after previous vocalists Nate Johnson and Greg Wilburn both departed the band in 2014.
This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in the year 2019.
This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in the year 2021.
Aggression Continuum is the tenth studio album by American industrial metal band Fear Factory, released on June 18, 2021. An instrumental version titled Aggression Continuum: The Instrumentals was released on September 17, 2021. A remixed version titled Recoded was released on October 28, 2022, featuring a compilation of remixes of the songs from the album.
The Wretched; the Ruinous is the eighth studio album by American metalcore band Unearth. The album was released on May 5, 2023, through Century Media Records and was produced by Will Putney.
Ihsahn is the eighth studio album by Norwegian black metal musician Ihsahn. It was released on 16 February 2024 through Candlelight Records and was self-produced by Ihsahn.