JOB FOR A COWBOY's JONNY DAVY: 'We Don't Wanna Put Out The Same Record Twice'

Extreme experimental death metallers JOB FOR A COWBOY will release their first album in 10 years, "Moon Healer", on February 23 via Metal Blade. The follow-up to 2014's "Sun Eater" was produced by Jason Suecof, who has previously worked with TRIVIUM, AUGUST BURNS RED, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, ALL THAT REMAINS, WHITECHAPEL and DEVILDRIVER, among others, and marks the band's first release with new drummer Navene Koperweis, who previously played with JOB FOR A COWBOY vocalist Jonny Davy in the side project FLESHWROUGHT.

In a new interview with Australia's Heavy, Davy stated about JOB FOR A COWBOY's musical progression (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The band has evolved quite a bit since its origins. We kind of started off as pretty much a cookie-cutter deathcore band and then we kind of progressed into a more modern death metal and we kind of… After the release of [JOB FOR A COWBOY's debut album, 2007's] 'Genesis', we've kind of been sprinkling in genres, technical death metal and now even some progressive elements. I think a lot of people recognize that our band is kind of a cauldron of an evolution of sound. And that's just kind of our motto right now. We like the challenge, and we're the type of band that just don't wanna put out the same record twice. So that's just kind of our mindset with everything."

Asked if it was tempting to repeat the songwriting formula that made "Sun Eater" such a success, Jonny said: "Well, after we put out 'Sun Eater', the band pretty much took a very strong hiatus. Our real lives got put in the forefront around that time. I found out I was gonna become a father. That definitely put the brakes on the band. We were touring relentlessly non-stop, and at that point we were the type of band that kind of burned the candle at both ends — we were just non-stop. And I think it was a good collection of being very burnt out, a bit sick of each other, a bit sick of being on the road, plus real life getting in the way, so we kind of had to take our different paths. The fork hit the road. Tony [Sannicandro], our lead guitar player, he moved to Ireland and got his doctorates in the medical field. He's doing a lot of medical research in Ireland right now. I went back to college and worked on my degree in computer programming and software engineering. So I do a lot of just automation type work today… So because we fell off face [of the earth] — we didn't do any press; we didn't do any touring — it felt like we had some unfinished business after that record. And also just conceptually in the theme of the record, there just felt like there was so much more on the bone that we could work with. That, and we just enjoyed the record so much; I think it was by far our proudest achievement as a band, to avoid sounding as pretentious as possible. But because of that, we just decided, 'Let's just pick up where we left off,' and I think it worked out. We had all this time to look at that record and consider our weaknesses and our strong points and we just tried to focus more at the things that were good on that record and we tried to bring that out more on this new one."

Originally based in Arizona, JOB FOR A COWBOY's long-awaited new album is a vivid illustration of what happens when creativity, aggression, and volatility tangle for the first time in years. Like "Sun Eater", "Moon Healer" is musically multifaceted, unabashedly brutal, and compellingly conceptual. The first single, "The Agony Seeping Storm", is a mathematically mind-blowing hybrid of bludgeoning death metal specializing in unconventional riffing that echoes the resemblance of legendary experimentalists like CYNIC, ATHEIST and GORGUTS. A newly refreshed and reinspired lineup — Davy, guitarists Tony Sannicandro and Al Glassman, bassist Nick Schendzielos and Koperweis — all seamlessly pick up the mantle where "Sun Eater" left off. "The Agony Seeping Storm" unequivocally signifies JOB FOR A COWBOY's triumphant return. "The Forever Rot" stands in stark contrast, delving into a lonesome and haunting guitar melody, then evolving into shimmering reflections of OBITUARY, CORONER, VOIVOD and even hints of NEUROSIS. In other words, forget about your preconceived perceptions of what this band was. This twists vocal tropes, chord forms, and melodies into loops of razor wire.

JOB FOR A COWBOY delved deeply into the music of "Moon Healer", as Davy did for the vocals and lyrics. The band traveled to Sanford, Florida to record with Suecof at his Audiohammer Studios. Having already collaborated on three previous records with JOB FOR A COWBOY, the band had developed a strong rapport with Suecof, establishing a level of trust and familiarity.

You can pre-order "Moon Healer" at MetalBlade.com.

JOB FOR A COWBOY is:

Jonny Davy: Vocals
Al Glassman: Guitar
Tony Sannicandro: Lead Guitar
Nick Schendzielos: Bass
Navene Koperweis: Drums

Photo credit: Chris Klumpp (courtesy of Metal Blade Records)