Job for a Cowboy’s ‘Ruiniation’ Reissue Is a ‘Raw Representation’ of the Band

Job for a Cowboy will cap off the fall with a headlining tour and a vinyl box set re-release of 'Ruination,' which is due out Nov. 22.

"I think it was a natural progression in regards to our album cycle and where we are with the actual music with 'Ruination,'" drummer Jon "The Charn" Rice told Noisecreep. "Our fans have really had a lot of time -- almost a year and a half -- to digest the CD, and we definitely get questions about releasing new music quite ofte. So to put this out on a more collectible medium just makes sense."

The box set isn't just a rehash on a different medium, either. "It's not just a colored vinyl with the same artwork and tunes, there's a lot of bonuses in getting this vinyl as well," Charn said. "There are quite a few live tracks, a cover of 'Matter of Splatter' by Exhumed, fantastic artwork and the nostalgia and warmth that generally comes along with a vinyl pressing. We're all extremely excited to see how it turns out and how the fans react to the live tracks along with all of the other extras that come with a pressing like this."

Rice deemed the live tracks as his favorite thing about the box set. "We've never released anything like this -- aside from video on New England Hardcore and Metal Festival -- so to have the fans see how we perform live when put to tape is really important to us," Rice admitted. "It's a very raw representation of what we do and our live performances are some of our strongest assets when it comes to being a cohesive unit. You can also hear improvement as a group when it comes to the older songs and the progression to the newer and more recent recordings."

Job for a Cowboy will be touring this fall, and you can expect a few surprises in the set list. "I think we're going to be a throwing a cover into the mix. It's not the Exhumed cover as previously mentioned, but something a little bit different. We've been tossing around quite a few ideas as to what cover we'd like to do -- anything from Bloodbath to the Crown to Napalm Death -- but I don't think I'll divulge which one we're actually going to throw in there. We feel it's a definite salute to some of the bands who have shaped our sound and our musical tastes, and we sort of feel that we can throw a little bit different spin on some of these classic bands' tunes."

They also realize that they have to bring their 'A' game, which teems with intensity and rawness, because the fans deserve it. "It's just how we feel we should be as a band and what we should do for the people who work and pay their hard-earned money to come out and see us play," Rice said.

After the upcoming tour dates, Rice -- who spent his birthday this summer in Sao Paolo, Brazil since the band was touring South America at the time -- said Job for a Cowboy will commence writing for "a couple of releases." The band also has a spring tour in the works, but Rice can't divulge details yet.

Rice has also spent his downtime filling in for other bands and participating in his first-ever drum clinic, which turned out to be a success. The band has been busy dealing with their lives outside of music, but the Job for a Cowboy tour dates beckon. "While we have been working and enjoying the down time from the road." Rice said. "All in all, though we're itching to go back out and have a damn good time with all of the bands we're touring with as well as all of the fans. Come out and have a beer and a shot with us! Rage!"