Poor Job for a Cowboy. Metalheads prepared for JFAC's full-length debut, Genesis, by enduring a slew of hype that the second coming of Pantera wouldn't be able to live up to. Thanks in large part to two of the least-metal things in existence, the music press and Myspace, JFAC sold over 13,000 copies of Genesis the week that it came out. Those numbers are almost unheard of for a death metal band, especially on their first album, and since then it's been up to the band to show that they're not the metal equivalent of the Arctic Monkeys. Or worse, Dane Cook.
Job for a Cowboy recently tried to prove their worth on this year's 'Radio Rebellion' tour, which wrapped up November 18 at the Irving Plaza. The self-consciously anti-mainstream name of the tour speaks for itself; if your band is really so rebellious, you shouldn't have to tell everyone, and besides, death metal itself is already anti-mainstream by definition. As if the tour name weren't enough, JFAC co-headlined with Behemoth, established underground metal stars who haven't seen nearly the success of JFAC in a much longer career. Paired with openers Beneath the Massacre and Gojira, four very different metal bands rocked their respective asses off to win approval from the excited and somewhat skeptical crowd.
After a solid but forgettable set from Canada's Beneath the Massacre, Gojira established themselves as the stars of the evening. Their fanbase has grown considerably since they scored the opening slot for Lamb of God earlier this year, and their blend of progressive and thrash metal has earned them heaps of acclaim, as well as collaborations with Max Cavalera and the American release of their earlier albums. Easily the most versatile and musically accomplished band on the bill, Gojira pulled no punches on conceptual metal tracks 'Ocean Planet' and 'Backbone,' bringing a strong sense of melody to their storming technical metal. With their most recent album, From Mars to Sirius, becoming 2007's word-of-mouth metal success, these guys may be on the verge of a Mastodon-esque breakthrough. I bet that Job for a Cowboy are jealous.
So how were Job for a Cowboy? There's no denying that their music is authentic--this is death metal, warts and all, with enough attitude and no songs that sounded like they were aiming for KROQ. But that's where it ends--there's nothing that distinguishes them from the dime-a-dozen jokers that crowd up the Sounds of the Underground lineup and the Ozzfest second stage. They're competent performers, not particularly catchy or aggressive, and unable to leave a lasting impression. The most memorable aspect of their show was the band's jarring tendency to gob and snotrocket, which seemed like overcompensation (look at how dirty we are!). They're not bad at all, and they could potentially make some good records. Very, very few rock bands put out their best music right at the start of their career. But JFAC's current place in music is that of a death metal Matisyahu--capable, legit, but nowhere near being anything special or living up to the hype. The crowd was clearly aware of this, listening attentively and clapping politely between songs, but obviously saving their energy for Gojira and Behemoth.
Of the increasingly few corpse-paint wearing, costume-wearing death metal bands in the world, Behemoth are the one that could pass for Emperor doing their best imitation of a KISS show. Since black & death metal bands are often laughable in equal measure with how seriously they take themselves (Varg Vikernes' quotes in Lords of Chaos come to mind), it worked in Behemoth's favor that they were willing to be so goofy onstage. Had a stone-faced death metal frontman smashed a guitar or torn up an enormous bible onstage, he would have seemed childish, but Behemoth's Nergal carried himself such a great sense of humor that the most tired death metal tactics worked for him. For a power trio, Behemoth creates quite a din, and a small KISS influence can also be found in their music, which is often catchier than their peers' and just as extreme. The songs from their most recent albums, this year's The Apostasy and their breakthrough Demigod, suggested that they are as strong now as they've ever been, and I'd recommend their show to any metal fan. Recent efforts to have Behemoth banned from performing in their hometown of Poland became all the more laughable in light of Nergal's stage banter, which took on standard metal nemeses like Christianity and 'the man' in a tone that was always more poking fun at than outright attacking.
"Say fuck yeah!" Nergal bellowed, raising his fist. Fuck yeah!
"I said 'say fuck yeah!'" Fuck yeah!
"Say PRAISE JESUS!" Praise...Jesus?
"I was only kidding," shrugged Nergal.
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