The Arizona band that has one of the best names in metal also has a death metal/thrash hybrid sound that is hard to resist no matter what your proclivity in extreme metal sub-genres. Demonacracy is the quintet’s third full-length for Metal Blade and a start-to-finish winner. For all the accepted history of Europe owning the dark arts, it’s nice to see American bands like this one, and most noticeably, Lamb of God adding strong documents to the evolving present state of extreme rock.

Stand-out tracks aren’t really the point here, although anyone with satellite radio has likely heard “Nourishment Through Bloodshed” already. Singer Jonny Davy is a force-of-nature. It’s almost comical that someone who puts such a strain on his voice is the group’s sole original member. There’s nothing funny about his roar though. He finds enough of his natural singing voice to temper the absolute shrieks and growls that comprise the majority of his vocal work.

The same goes for the guitar team of Al Glassman and Tony Sannicandro. Their death metal credentials will never be questioned but they also wisely choose to throw in interesting twists and turnarounds that will appease fans of thrash and progressive forms of metal. It’s probably needless to say, but the four musicians in Joy For a Cowboy move as a single and extremely strong unit. Producer Jason Suecof knows the band well at this point and being a guitarist himself, he’s got the six-stringers locked in tight.

There’s not a whole lot more to say about this strong disc other than I find myself listening to “Imperium Wolves,” “Tarnished Gluttony” (which, with its slower tempo, is perhaps the disc’s biggest departure), and “The Manipulation Stream” repeatedly.

(Metal Blade)