11

Spring loaded

Job for a cowboy (JFAC) have released an album here that is like a laser guided bomb, surgical and precise but with a payload that'll decimate anything near it. Straight off I have to mention Jon Rice's drumming, the guy must get through four pairs of ankles a year. Either that or he's had them replaced with industrial springs, the man plays like a demon.

The rest of the band are no slouches either, the singer ranges from cookie monster to Danni Filth without managing to go anywhere near a clean vocal along the way and I can almost see the guitarists fingers flying up and down the fret board leaving bloody streaks along the way. Let's see anyone cover this stuff in the pub.

JFAC are extreme metal, that doesn't narrow it down I suppose as there are lots of bands with that label but I can't think of anything else to call them for extreme they are, young and full of mad energy they have somehow managed to capture it in the studio, this is no mean feat and you're left in no doubt they'll blow the live stage apart. They get a good forum for that when they play download later this year, my only concern is that if they don't get brilliant sound they may come over as a wall of noise, which is something they're not.

This album for all its chaotic riffage has some thoughtful bits that show a maturity underlying the full on assault, this is showcased in 'The Divine Falsehood' a slower yet no less powerful doom laden offering that serves to show they can still dish it out with the best of them even when they slow down from their usual headlong rush. It has a background keyboard that ladles on the atmosphere almost subliminally.

This is death metal speeded up and cleaned till it shines, the production is first rate as you would expect when Andy Sneap is involved (Opeth, Megadeth) it is metal for the 21st century and yet it retains something from the 20th century that I can't quite put my finger on, whatever it is it's a good thing, maybe it's the odd riff that wouldn't have been out of place on a nineties thrash album if it weren't for the singing and hypersonic drumming. Nurse new ankles please.

Odd band name, great album.