Number 94 - Doom by Job For A Cowboy

 Number 94: Doom by Job For A Cowboy

Metal turned up to eleven

Release: December 6th, 2005
Genre: Deathcore
Favorite Tracks: Entombment of a Machine, Knee Deep, Suspended by the Throat

 

Where I heard it: 

Middle school was an exploratory period for my music taste with the blessing of an iPod Nano and a certain citrus-based peer-to-peer site, which helped guide my listening habits away from only what I heard on the radio. I listened to the entire who's who of rock royalty during this period, from AC/DC to ZZ Top and everything in between. My desire to dig as deep into the genre as I could began, which only led further down the rabbit hole to the great titans of metal like Metallica and Slayer. I was immediately drawn to the evil themes of these kind of songs, paired with thrashing instrumentals and blazing guitar solos typically heard from metal music. I never knew music like this was possible before then. Naturally, my teenage curiosity only brought me further down the iceberg. Just how extreme could metal get? Well, somewhere along that journey, I stumbled upon Job For A Cowboy, and they made a compelling case for one of the most intense metal experiences ever with their debut EP. I am here, humbly and a bit ashamedly, to present to you Doom. Strap in, this one's a doozy.

Contamination grows in the town where she lays and sleeps
She can no longer hide what she is
Her people before her beg only for forgiveness
As their flesh begins to peel from their bodies
Their flesh pile at their own feet 
~ Relinquished

What to expect:

If you've never listened to the death metal subgenre, do not start here. Doom is not for the casual listener, and it's quite likely that most won't have any interest in death metal altogether. There will be plenty of other metal albums on this top 100 list with more taste, dignity, and musicianship than Doom. For those that remain to behold this spectacle, Doom's intrigue comes from its unabashed barrage of sound it crams into a sub-30 minute production. Job For A Cowboy exhibits all the tropes typical of death metal derivatives: furious blast beats on the drums, outright incomprehensible vocals, brutal breakdowns, it's all here. What sets Doom apart from other deathcore releases as a listener is the degree to which the sensory overload washes over you immediately after the album's introduction. Each bass tone resonates impossibly low through the speakers. The range of Jonny Davy's vocal spectrum lies somewhere between demonic rumbles and torturous screeches. Even within these extremes, Doom still possesses the ability to pull together for rhythmic sections that are surprisingly progressive in their nature, not to mention the tight syncopation between instruments. It's easy to take the intimidation of this music at face value and dismiss it as mindless dribble, but closer dissection reveals a stunning amount of polish from the rhythm section during each and every segment of this album. Doom takes the adage of a train wreck you can't look away from and puts the listener in the driver's seat, forcing your subjection to every impact as a result of such a terrible accident.

 

Far from its eternal home this demon stands over my crippled anatomy
He buries his weight into my impaired lungs and spreads my ribs wide open
This cancer now inhabits my chest in complete dormancy
I lay completely paralyzed with my entirely frozen limbs
My body turns cold, my organs shut down
~ Entities

Why it's my favorite: 

It's a little embarrassing to admit that I have such a connection with Doom. Its gratuitous, over-the-top approach really scratches the itch I have for extreme metal. My decision in its inclusion on this list is based from a criteria of emotional impact, not necessarily incredible musicianship. I constantly use music as an escape to work through the emotions I feel on a day-to-day basis, among which anger and stress can be more prevalent than others. Doom for years now has allowed me a healthy channel to alleviate my rage with a quick air-drum session in the car or a solo mosh pit in my living room. Strangely, death metal evokes a sort of calming effect upon me by unwinding all the pent up energy that builds over time. The instrumental assault invites me to marvel at its technicality, especially over the multiple blast beats that occur throughout Doom. Sometimes there's so much going on during a song that I honestly just chuckle to myself at how ridiculous the concept of its existence is. The wide array of emotions felt while listening to Doom is simply too compelling to ignore on a list of my favorite albums.