Job for a Cowboy's career has been one of constantly avoiding getting stuck in one place. When Doom placed them in the burgeoning deathcore category, the group jumped the "core" ship and rebranded themselves as a pure death band, which they've continued pushing technically up until now, when they took it even more literally; Sun Eater is pure Death, as in the brainchild of Chuck Schuldiner.
Unfortunately, progressive doesn't always mean progress, as the opening two-part "Eating the Visions of God" and "Sun of Nihility" make clear. There are positive elements, such as the mesmerizing warm tone of the meandering bass that, in tandem with Jonny Davy's varied vocal delivery, keep the moody metal from getting too stale. But that's the main problem with the opening duo; they're moody and not really moving anywhere (aside from the melody-drenched solos). The band make good on this on latter tracks such as "The Stone Cross," which proves the opening tracks would be better when mixed with death metal's rabidity, and "The Synthetic Sea" and "A Global Shift," which are seemingly foaming from the mouth. Unfortunately, the band dip in and out of mid-paced mediocrity throughout, though the Decrepit Birth-esque "Buried Monuments" redeems it some.
Job For a Cowboy's problem has always been that they're a competent though not consistently compelling death metal band. Sun Eater, like all their efforts, has moments where the group stand on the podium with the genre's greats, but overall, it doesn't do much to stick out from the herd.
(Metal Blade)Unfortunately, progressive doesn't always mean progress, as the opening two-part "Eating the Visions of God" and "Sun of Nihility" make clear. There are positive elements, such as the mesmerizing warm tone of the meandering bass that, in tandem with Jonny Davy's varied vocal delivery, keep the moody metal from getting too stale. But that's the main problem with the opening duo; they're moody and not really moving anywhere (aside from the melody-drenched solos). The band make good on this on latter tracks such as "The Stone Cross," which proves the opening tracks would be better when mixed with death metal's rabidity, and "The Synthetic Sea" and "A Global Shift," which are seemingly foaming from the mouth. Unfortunately, the band dip in and out of mid-paced mediocrity throughout, though the Decrepit Birth-esque "Buried Monuments" redeems it some.
Job For a Cowboy's problem has always been that they're a competent though not consistently compelling death metal band. Sun Eater, like all their efforts, has moments where the group stand on the podium with the genre's greats, but overall, it doesn't do much to stick out from the herd.
