Genesis (Job For A Cowboy Album)
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''Genesis'' is the debut studio album by American
death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...
band Job for a Cowboy. Released on May 15, 2007 through
Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records (often shortened to Metal Blade) is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982 based in the U.S. state of California. The label primarily focuses on heavy metal. History Metal Blade Records was ...
, it is their first
concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
and is based on possible consequences of the VeriChip, along with the
Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation, also known as the Book of the Apocalypse or the Apocalypse of John, is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore the final book of the Bible#Christian Bible, Christian Bible. Written in Greek language, Greek, ...
and apocalyptic theories. It also sees Job for a Cowboy's change into a more straightforward death metal based sound with their previous release, '' Doom'' being within the
deathcore Deathcore is an extreme metal subgenre that combines death metal with metalcore. The genre consists of death metal guitar riffs, blast beats, and metalcore Breakdown (music)#Heavy metal and punk rock, breakdowns. While there are some precursors ...
genre. Those who pre-ordered the album received signed copies in the days preceding its official release date of May 15, 2007. ''Genesis'' is the final release by Job for a Cowboy to feature founding member Ravi Bhadriraju. This album also marked the last time the band would work with drummer Elliot Sellers, who announced that he would be leaving the band immediately after recording to go back to school. He was replaced by Jon Rice for the following tour and remained with the band until October 2013.


Lyrical themes

''Genesis'' is a
concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
in which mentions the VeriChip,Job for a Cowboy speaks on origins, new album - A & E
an implantable microchip, that is embedded under human skin. The device has generated controversy among certain religious groups, which have become against the possible use of it, as there is a Biblical prophecy where all persons must receive the Mark of the Beast "on their right hand or on their foreheads", described in
Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation, also known as the Book of the Apocalypse or the Apocalypse of John, is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore the final book of the Bible#Christian Bible, Christian Bible. Written in Greek language, Greek, ...
13: 16–18, to participate in economic activity under the government of the
Antichrist In Christian eschatology, Antichrist (or in broader eschatology, Anti-Messiah) refers to a kind of entity prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ and falsely substitute themselves as a savior in Christ's place before ...
. Blabbermouth explained "Even though 'Genesis''isn't being promoted as a concept effort, the songs clearly tell a story of technology, religion and corrupt government, and how they combine to lead to the end of civilization." Vocalist Jonny Davy said his interest in writing an album about the VeriChip came from his realization of being an
atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
at a young age and that "over time, I read up on a lot of religions and religious conspiracies and conspiracies in general. The record is actually about a biochip called the 'VeriChip' that's being implanted nto peopleand used for medical identification and money currency purposes. People feel it's an invasion of privacy, and the other aspect is religious leaders have come out against it for fear that this is going to be a fulfillment of a prophecy in the Book Of Revelations." He went on to say "On the religious side, you can turn on American Christian television and they'll be talking about he VeriChipon their little talk shows. Religious leaders fear that the Antichrist is going to use the chip to control every man and woman in America and later the whole world." Shortly after the release of ''Genesis'', the band was victim to some controversy for allegedly containing an anti-Christian message found on the album, but the band members have denied these accusations.


Musical style

Chad Bowar of
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described the band's musical evolution, saying: "Job for a Cowboy's sound has evolved from deathcore to straight ahead death metal." Bowar also praised the guitarists Ravi Bhadriraju and Bobby Thompson, saying that both have done a "good job at creating innovative riffs and play some quick but skillful solos."


Critical reception

On the day of the release, the album debuted at number 54 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and number 4 for
Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' mag ...
and sold nearly 13,000 copies in its first week, making ''Genesis'' the highest-charting heavy metal debut since Slipknot's self-titled record. The
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
for "Embedded" was directed by
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
nominated Popcore films. The album received generally positive reviews, with many critics praising the band's musicianship and their songwriting improvement when compared to ''Doom''. ''
Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British music webzine and quarterly magazine that primarily covers rock, punk and heavy metal music. Since 2017, the magazine has been published by Wasted Talent Ltd (the same company that owns electronic music publication ...
'' magazine said that ''Genesis'' is "an album that quite literally obliterates everyone else currently residing within the
death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...
and
grind A blade's grind is its cross-sectional shape in a plane normal to the edge. Grind differs from Blade#Knife blade profiles .28Patterns.29, blade profile, which is the blade's cross-sectional shape in the plane containing the blade's edge and ...
scenes" and "one of the year's most essential metal purchases". Scott Alisoglu of
Blabbermouth.net ''Blabbermouth.net'' is a website dedicated to metal and rock news, as well as album and music DVD reviews. It is run by the website's founder Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was launched in March 2001. In October 2001, the rec ...
, praised the album saying that ''Genesis'' "is a strong modern death metal release". Metal Injection heavily praised the guitar and bass riffs of Bhadriraju, Thompson and Riggs stating that the trio's "playing styles each other wonderfully."Metal Injection review
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PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
on the other hand was indifferent in their review, and stated that the album's best redeeming feature is that it will surely "convert young metalcore fans to death metal". The song "Embedded" is available as downloadable content for the ''
Rock Band ''Rock Band'' is a series of rhythm games first released in 2007 and developed by Harmonix. Based on their previous development work from the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series, the main ''Rock Band'' games have players use game controllers mod ...
'' series.Official song listing
for the
Rock Band series ''Rock Band'' is a series of rhythm games first released in 2007 and developed by Harmonix. Based on their previous development work from the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series, the main ''Rock Band'' games have players use game controllers mod ...
. Retrieved 2009-9-05


Track listing


Personnel

;Job for a Cowboy * Brent Riggs – bass guitar * Elliott Sellers - drums * Jonny Davy – vocals * Bobby Thompson – guitar * Ravi Bhadriraju – guitar ;Production *
Engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
and production by Cory Spotts * Mastering and mixed by Andy Sneap * Artwork and layouts by Dennis Sibeijn


Chart positions


Release history


References

{{Authority control 2007 debut albums Job for a Cowboy albums Metal Blade Records albums Albums produced by Cory Spotts 2000s concept albums Works based on the Book of Revelation