Job for a Cowboy
Encyclopedia
Job for a Cowboy is a American death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....

 band from Glendale
Glendale, Arizona
Glendale is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, located about nine miles northwest from Downtown Phoenix. According to 2010 Census Bureau, the population of the city is 226,721....

, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

. Formed in 2003, the band's debut album Genesis
Genesis (Job for a Cowboy album)
Genesis is the debut full-length 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...

was released in 2007, peaking at #54 on the US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

 and selling 13,000 copies in its first week of release. The second album, 2009's Ruination
Ruination (album)
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 at AudioHammer studios in Sanford, Florida with producer Jason Suecof and was mixed by Fredrik Nordström. It was released July 7, 2009...

, 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, bassist Nick Schendzielos, and drummer Jon "The Charn" Rice, with Davy being the only remaining founding member.

The band has played in international music festivals, including Download Festival
Download Festival
The Download Festival is a three day rock music festival held annually at Donington Park, England . It usually takes place in June...

, Mayhem Festival
Mayhem festival
The Mayhem Festival is a touring metal festival that takes place during the summer. The inaugural iteration took place in 2008; the festival has since become an annual event across the United States and Quebec, Canada. The tour has been sponsored by the Rockstar Energy Company since the time of its...

 and Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air is a summer open air heavy metal music festival. It takes place annually in the small town of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany...

.

Formation and Doom (2003–2006)

Job for a Cowboy was founded in Glendale
Glendale, Arizona
Glendale is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, located about nine miles northwest from Downtown Phoenix. According to 2010 Census Bureau, the population of the city is 226,721....

, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

 during December 2003 by vocalist Jonny Davy, guitarists Ravi Bhadriraju and Andrew Arcurio, bassist Chad Staples, and drummer Andy Rysdam. In 2004, they created a MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....

 profile, posted songs online, and immediately began to connect with several worldwide fans. Later that year, Staples and Rysdam left Job for a Cowboy and were replaced by Brent Riggs and Elliott Sellers respectively as bassist and drummer. Traffic to the band's MySpace profile increased exponentially in late 2005 when the band released their first EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

, entitled Doom. The EP attracted the attention of Arizona independent label King of the Monsters, who distributed the disc after an initial self-released pressing by the band.

Job for a Cowboy extensively promoted their EP, including three performances on the Sounds of the Underground
Sounds of the Underground
The Sounds of the Underground tour was a festival-like tour that rivaled Ozzfest in its first year of existence .The tour features extreme metal and metalcore, and hardcore bands. The existence of this tour, which was held in national arenas, was to attract the rising interest of metal, hardcore,...

 tour. By the end of the year, the band obtained professional management and signed a deal with Metal Blade Records
Metal Blade Records
Metal Blade Records is a record label which was founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The U.S. corporate office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Arizona, Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distributed in the U.S. by Sony BMG Music...

, who reissued Doom with a bonus track. During the same year (2006), Arcurio left the band, and Bobby Thompson joined the group. While Job for a Cowboy was writing material for their first full-length album, Sellers announced that he would be leaving the band to go back to school immediately after recording the album. In search of a permanent drummer, the band then posted a bulletin on Blabbermouth.net
Blabbermouth.net
Blabbermouth.net is a website dedicated to heavy metal and hard rock news, as well as album and music DVD reviews. Blabbermouth.net was founded and is run by Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was officially launched in March 2001...

, which was seen by Jon "The Charn" Rice. He made a video of himself, posted it on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

, and sent the link to the band. Soon after, Rice was incepted into the band.

Genesis (2007–2008)

In March 2007, Job for a Cowboy completed their debut full-length album, Genesis
Genesis (Job for a Cowboy album)
Genesis is the debut full-length 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...

. The album was recorded at Blue Light Audio Media in Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...

, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

 with producer Cory Spotts
Cory Spotts
Cory Spotts is a record producer from Phoenix, Arizona. Spotts runs BLUElight Audio|Media, a recording studio in Phoenix. In 2005 it was said that he was one of the most sought after producers in Arizona...

. It was mixed by Sabbat
Sabbat (band)
Sabbat are a thrash metal band from Nottingham, England, currently consisting of Martin Walkyier , Andy Sneap , Simon Jones , Gizz Butt and Simon Negus . Over the years Sabbat have released three studio albums, four demos, two split singles/compilation albums, two singles and a live VHS...

 guitarist Andy Sneap
Andy Sneap
Andy "Undie" Sneap is an English record producer, recording engineer, mixer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is best known for producing and mixing many acclaimed heavy metal albums.-Musician:...

; released on May 15, the album peaked at #54 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

, and sold nearly 13,000 copies in its first week, which made Genesis the best-selling heavy metal debut since Slipknot
Slipknot (band)
Slipknot is an American heavy metal band from Des Moines, Iowa. Formed in 1995, the group was founded by percussionist Shawn Crahan and bassist Paul Gray...

's 1999 debut album
Slipknot (album)
Slipknot is the debut album by American heavy metal band Slipknot. It was released on June 29, 1999 through Roadrunner Records, after a demo containing a few of the songs had been released in 1998, and was reissued in December 1999 with a slightly altered track listing and mastering, as a result of...

. The album received generally positive reviews, with Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...

magazine saying, "an album that quite literally obliterates everyone else currently residing within the death and grind scenes" and "one of the year's most essential metal purchases".

In June 2007, the band performed at the Download Festival
Download Festival
The Download Festival is a three day rock music festival held annually at Donington Park, England . It usually takes place in June...

 in Donington Park
Donington Park
Donington Park is a motorsport circuit near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England.Originally part of the Donington Hall estate, it was created as a racing circuit during the pre-war period when the German Silver Arrows were battling for the European Championship...

, England. The group also played at the Sounds of the Underground
Sounds of the Underground
The Sounds of the Underground tour was a festival-like tour that rivaled Ozzfest in its first year of existence .The tour features extreme metal and metalcore, and hardcore bands. The existence of this tour, which was held in national arenas, was to attract the rising interest of metal, hardcore,...

 festival along with Amon Amarth
Amon Amarth
Amon Amarth is a Swedish viking metal band from Tumba, Sweden founded in 1992, and takes its name from the Sindarin translation of Mount Doom, a location in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. The band comprises vocalist Johan Hegg, guitarists Olavi Mikkonen and Johan Söderberg, bassist Ted Lundström...

, Chimaira
Chimaira
Chimaira is an American heavy metal band from Cleveland, Ohio. Formed in 1998, the group is a notable member of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal scene. The band's name is derived from the word Chimera, a monstrous creature in Greek mythology...

, Gwar
Gwar
Gwar is a satirical heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia, United States, in 1984. The band is best known for its elaborate science fiction/horror film inspired costumes, obscene lyrics and graphic stage performances, which feature humorous enactments of politically and morally taboo...

, and Shadows Fall
Shadows Fall
Shadows Fall is an American heavy metal band from Springfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. They are one of the few contemporary metal bands who take their lyrical influence from Eastern philosophy and some references to the Rastafari culture...

. In October, Job for a Cowboy co-headlined the 2007 Radio Rebellion Tour, teaming up with Behemoth
Behemoth (band)
Behemoth is a Polish blackened death metal band from Gdańsk, formed in 1991. They are considered to have played an important role in establishing the Polish extreme metal underground, alongside bands such as Vader, Decapitated, Vesania and Hate....

, Gojira
Gojira
Gojira is a heavy metal band formed in 1996 in Bayonne, France. The band was known as Godzilla until 2001. Gojira is composed of Joe Duplantier on vocals and guitar, his brother Mario Duplantier on drums, Christian Andreu on guitar and Jean-Michel Labadie on bass...

 and Beneath the Massacre
Beneath the Massacre
Beneath the Massacre is a Canadian death metal band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Their debut album, Evidence of Inequity, was released in 2005, under Galy Records. In early 2006, the band signed with Prosthetic Records and has since released their first full-length album, Mechanics of...

. The band featured on the 2008's Gigantour
Gigantour
Gigantour is the name of a sporadically organised traveling heavy metal music festival organized by Megadeth's Dave Mustaine. The tour was founded in 2005 with dates across North America, and the 2006 and 2007 line-ups also traveled to Australia...

 with headliners Megadeth
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...

, Children of Bodom
Children of Bodom
Children of Bodom is a Finnish heavy metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993, the group currently consists of Alexi Laiho , Roope Latvala , Janne Wirman , Henkka Seppälä , and Jaska Raatikainen...

, In Flames
In Flames
In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1990. Since the band's inception in 1993, they have released ten studio albums and one live DVD...

 and High on Fire
High on Fire
High on Fire is a stoner metal band from Oakland, California, that was formed in 1998. Matt Pike, the band's frontman and founder, previously played guitar for the influential stoner doom band Sleep.-History:...

. In addition, they have been confirmed for a number of festivals during 2008, including Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air is a summer open air heavy metal music festival. It takes place annually in the small town of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany...

 in Germany and a second appearance at England's Download Festival. Job for a Cowboy have embarked on a U.S. headlining tour in November and December 2008 with supporting acts Hate Eternal
Hate Eternal
-Biography:Hate Eternal was formed in 1997. The group's original line-up included Erik Rutan - guitars/vocals, bassist and co-vocalist Jared Anderson, drummer Tim Yeung, and guitarist Doug Cerrito of the band Suffocation...

 and All Shall Perish
All Shall Perish
All Shall Perish is an American deathcore band from Oakland, California, formed in 2002. Currently, the band is signed to Nuclear Blast and have released four full-length albums through the label. Their latest record, This Is Where It Ends was released on July 26, 2011...

. In late-2008 guitarist Ravi Bhadriraju left Job for a Cowboy to return to school because he wanted to pursue a more rewarding career in the medical field, in his words "reinvent the pacemaker"; he was replaced with former Despised Icon
Despised Icon
Despised Icon was a Canadian deathcore band from Montreal, Quebec. Formed in 2002, the band is notable for the use of two vocalists; Alexandre Erian, takes use of a mid-range screaming technique, and Steve Marois for the low growling vocals, and high pitched screamed vocals...

 guitarist, Al Glassman.

Ruination and Gloom (2009–present)

On May 1, 2009, the band announced that they completed recording their second studio album, Ruination
Ruination (album)
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 at AudioHammer studios in Sanford, Florida with producer Jason Suecof and was mixed by Fredrik Nordström. It was released July 7, 2009...

, at AudioHammer studios in Sanford, Florida
Sanford, Florida
Sanford is a city in, and the county seat of, Seminole County, Florida, United States. The population was 38,291 at the 2000 census. As of 2009, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 50,998...

 with producer Jason Suecof
Jason Suecof
-Career:Jason is best known for his production and song-writing with the band Trivium. He produces most of his albums at his own Orlando, Florida based studio, Audio Hammer...

. The album marks the debut of drummer Jon "the Charn" Rice, who has actually been with the band since the tour for Genesis, and also of guitarist Al Glassman. Ruination, was then released on July 7, 2009 worldwide through Metal Blade Records
Metal Blade Records
Metal Blade Records is a record label which was founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The U.S. corporate office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Arizona, Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distributed in the U.S. by Sony BMG Music...

. 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. Job for a Cowboy participated in the second Mayhem Festival
Mayhem festival
The Mayhem Festival is a touring metal festival that takes place during the summer. The inaugural iteration took place in 2008; the festival has since become an annual event across the United States and Quebec, Canada. The tour has been sponsored by the Rockstar Energy Company since the time of its...

, playing on the Hot Topic
Hot Topic
Hot Topic is an American retail chain specializing in music and pop culture-related clothing and accessories, as well as licensed music on CD. The majority of the stores are located in regional shopping malls. The first Hot Topic store was opened in 1988 by Orv Madden, who retired as CEO in 2000...

 stage along with bands such as Cannibal Corpse
Cannibal Corpse
Cannibal Corpse is an American death metal band from Buffalo, New York. Formed in 1988, the band has released eleven studio albums, one box set, and one live album...

 and Whitechapel
Whitechapel (band)
Whitechapel is an American deathcore band from Knoxville, Tennessee. The group comprises vocalist Phil Bozeman, guitarists Ben Savage, Alex Wade, Zach Householder; bassist Gabe Crisp and drummer Ben Harclerode. Their band name is derived from a district in the built-up inner city of London, known...

.

At the beginning of 2011, the band started work on an EP which was recorded in February at the Audiohammer Studios in Sanford, Florida with producer Jason Suecof. Just before the recording process began, bassist Brent Riggs and guitarist Bobby Thompson departed from the band and were replaced by Nick Schendzielos of Cephalic Carnage
Cephalic Carnage
Cephalic Carnage is an American grindcore band formed in 1992 in Denver, Colorado. The band comprises vocalist Lenzig Leal, guitarists Steve Goldberg and Brian Hopp, drummer John Merryman and bassist Nick Schendzielos...

 and Tony Sannicandro, respectively. On April 13, 2011, a video appeared on the internet of drummer Jon Rice performing a new song in the studio. Job for a Cowboy issued their new EP on June 7, 2011, entitled Gloom, which was only made available for purchase through mail order and digital download.

Job for a Cowboy have entered Audio Hammer Studios to begin recording their next effort. The group are working with the production team of Jason Suecof
Jason Suecof
-Career:Jason is best known for his production and song-writing with the band Trivium. He produces most of his albums at his own Orlando, Florida based studio, Audio Hammer...

, Eyal Levi
Eyal Levi
Eyal Levi was born on May 22, 1979 in Cleveland, Ohio. Levi is the guitarist and co-writer for Roadrunner Records industrial/death metal band, Dååth...

 of Dååth
Dååth
Dååth is an American heavy metal band from Atlanta, Georgia. Their music incorporates styles such as thrash metal, death metal, industrial metal, grunge and some traces of gypsy jazz.-History:...

, and Ronn Miller on the project.

Musical style

Job for a Cowboy started as a deathcore
Deathcore
Deathcore is an extreme metal music genre that combines elements of death metal with elements of metalcore or hardcore punk, or both. It is defined by an "excessive" use of death metal riffs, blast beats and use of hardcore punk breakdowns...

 group, and evolved into a predominantly death metal sound with their full-length debut Genesis. They have been described by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

as "an Arizona band with a guttural, brute-force sound descended (indirectly) from hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...

"
and "straightforwardly brutal act" by Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

magazine.

Band members

Current members
  • Jonny Davy – lead vocals
    Lead vocalist
    The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...

     (2003–present)
  • Jon "The Charn" Rice – drums
    Drum kit
    A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

     (2007–present)
  • Al Glassman – guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

     (2008–present)
  • Tony Sannicandro – guitar, backing vocals
    Backing vocalist
    A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...

     (2011–present)
  • Nick Schendzielos - bass guitar
    Bass guitar
    The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

     (2011–present)


Former members
  • Brent Riggs - bass guitar, backing vocals (2004–2011)
  • Bobby Thompson - rhythm guitar (2006–2011)
  • Ravi Bhadriraju – lead guitar (2003–2008)
  • Andrew Arcurio – rhythm guitar (2003–2006)
  • Chad Staples – bass guitar (2003–2004)
  • Andy Rysdam – drums (2003–2004)
  • Elliott Sellers – drums (2004–2007)


Discography

Studio albums
  • Genesis
    Genesis (Job for a Cowboy album)
    Genesis is the debut full-length 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...

    (2007)
  • Ruination
    Ruination (album)
    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 at AudioHammer studios in Sanford, Florida with producer Jason Suecof and was mixed by Fredrik Nordström. It was released July 7, 2009...

    (2009)


Extended plays
  • Doom (2005)
  • Live Ruination
    Live Ruination
    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 in iTunes. It contains the band's live performance from 2007 New England Metal and Hardcore Festival...

    (2010)
  • Gloom
    Gloom (EP)
    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, and when asked why this was, vocalist Jonny Davy said "I feel like we're the type of band where so...

    (2011)

Demos
  • Demo '04 (2004)


Singles
  • "Unfurling a Darkened Gospel" (2009, from Ruination)
  • "Misery Reformatory" (2011, from Gloom)


Videography

Music videos
Year Title From the album Director
2006 "Entombment of a Machine" Doom Richie Valdez
2007 "Embedded" Genesis
Genesis (Job for a Cowboy album)
Genesis is the debut full-length 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...

Popcore
2008 "Altered from Catechization" Doug Spangenberg
2009 "Unfurling a Darkened Gospel" Ruination
Ruination (album)
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 at AudioHammer studios in Sanford, Florida with producer Jason Suecof and was mixed by Fredrik Nordström. It was released July 7, 2009...

2010 "Ruination" Kevin McVey

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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