Demo '04

Ah, JFAC's first "album". Quite refreshing, really. The first thing to note is the blend of death metal with hardcore. I, for one, am a HUGE fan of good metalcore bands (Unearth, Shadows Fall, Machine Head, etc), so finding a good death metal band with those 'core influences was quite a turn-on. There are lots of breakdowns in the songs, but they're quite varied (well, as varied as breakdowns can be, anyhow). The riffs are very technical and, despite the detuned guitars, they pull off some pretty good rhythm sections that don't rely on chugga-chugga riffs or powerchord shuffles. The vocals are great. The vocalist really manages those gutteral growls and the high-pitched screaming well. Neither sound forced or uncomfortable. Too often do I hear a vocalist attempt to growl with nothing coming out but a deep scream, hardly a growl. The bass is very prominant. It doesn't necessarily stand out above the band nor does it vary much with the guitars, but it's solid and you can hear it well. The drums are okay. However, the blast-beats and double-bass the drummer lacks are sorely missed. But hey, overall, the musicians play their instruments well and the band is extremely solid. The production is also amazing for it being a demo. There are no issues with any single instrument overpowering another.

On to the songs. The album starts off with Dead Stale Endings which is a great song. Fast, thrashy, and heavy. It slows down shortly thereafter and becomes much chunkier. It's definitely the right track to start off the album. After that, we get What We Once Called Home. Another good song, but unfortunately, unlike the other two on the album, this song does not really stand out. It has a very good intro which is very fast, but other than that, the song is left wanting. Wanting what? I don't know. Maybe some better drums, maybe a more memorable guitar ensemble, or maybe just a tempo increase. It's fast already, but even faster would make this song much cooler. Not bad for a filler, though. It doesn't detract from the album, it simply fails to add much. The last song on the album, Day in Black, happens to be my favorite. Actually, it remains my favorite JFAC song to date (as of writing this review, I've not listened to anything off of Genesis, only this Demo and Doom). The intro is great. It's slow and melodic and just has an air about it. Sort of an epic sound. Then all becomes calm and the vocalist tears the song apart. His performance is superb. Then the intro riff gets a makeover, gets faster, higher pitched, and the whole song picks up before jumping into a bouncier rhythm section. Just overall a great song. Again, the only thing that's really missing is some outstanding drum fills which, sadly, aren't to be found anywhere.

With only three songs on the demo, it's hard to give a very full review since there is so little material to work with. Overall, I found this to be a great album. Honestly, despite it's briefness, I would rate it higher than Doom (as my review title suggests). Maybe it's because Doom has more filler or maybe it's because Day in Black is one of my favorite songs. The band is very solid, but there is definitely room for improvement. The bassist does get a few stand-out moments, but they could be a bit more embellished and the drummer is boring. He serves his purpose by keeping a beat, but this is death metal - we want MORE than a beat (thankfully, this is improved on in Doom). The vocalist is excellent and the guitarists are extremely tight with complex rhythms and chunky riffs.

If you're new to JFAC, check out this demo. It's really good and is probably better than most of their newer stuff. If you like JFAC, get this immediately. You'll love it. Or, if you're one of those haters, try this out. It's a demo, so you can probably find it for free download online (as I did), so it doesn't hurt to try it. I think you'll be surprised. Is it groundbreakingly different than their new stuff? No, not really. But, I think this album has much more to offer than their newer stuff. Sure it has less content, but that content is all the more spectacular. Let's just hope that Job for a Cowboy can look back on this and strive to put out more like it instead of more of the same.