Doom is an EP and the debut release by Arizonan death metal group Job for a Cowboy. It was released in 2005 through the independent Arizona label King of the Monsters, and later reissued in 2006 by Metal Blade Records. The EP is noted for being Job for a Cowboy's only deathcore release, as the band would later abandon the genre in favor for a pure death metal sound proceeding this release. This is the only release to feature guitarist Andrew Arcurio.
Background
This EP was released on December 6, 2005 through the King of the Monsters label. It was then re-released on major record label, Metal Blade Records in 2006. The intro track "Catharsis for the Buried" features a distorted sample from the 1999 filmOxygen. A music video was created for the song "Entombment of a Machine" in which an elderly man is shown burying machines into the ground along with clips in between of the band performing in a desert-like atmosphere. It debuted as the band's first ever music video and was directed by Richie Valdez. This is the only Job for a Cowboy release to feature their notorious "pig squeal" vocals.
Critical reception
Despite the EP's overall popularity, the release garnered generally mixed to negative reception from critics. Much of the reviewers did however make note of the band being at the forefront of the deathcore genre, which at the time was taking off in great numbers. Allmusic reviewer Cosmo Lee stated: "Doom is competent, but trades in sounds, not songs." in which Lee was referring to the fact, that Job for a Cowboy has changed their musical style with their follow-up release Genesis, which is a purist death metal-sound oriented album, Lee then ended the review stating: "Almost overnight, hordes of MySpace copycats sprang up, even lifting the band's logo font. This is where it all started - or ended, depending on your perspective." Reviewer Kobak of Tiny Mix Tapes noted "Job for a Cowboy are incredibly talented musicians. Their songs typically go through many tempo changes, ranging from the standard cruising metal yelp to the double-bass-drum, full-on Speedy Gonzales thrash. The problem lies in their reliance on well-worn metal clichés." The track "Knee Deep" was central to a popular YouTube video in which the track was synchronized to a clip of the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Band Geeks". The clip features various members of the SpongeBob SquarePants cast playing instruments along with "Knee Deep" overlaid to it.
