Job For A Cowboy

Hey, thanks for your time. Firstly then, How are the Mayhem fest dates going? 

The mayhem fest is going great! This tour has been a lot of fun and it’s an honor to be on tour with the mighty Slayer. 

You’ve had a couple of major line up changes since the release of Genesis in 07, with Ravi (Bhadriraju, guitar) leaving last year to continue his medical studies. What’s the mood like in the JFAC camp at the moment, and did it feel at any point that the future of the band was in doubt? 

We were never in doubt really about the bands future. We knew we could pull through and find someone that we could work well with. It was hard when Ravi left because he's one of our brothers and we were going to miss him. But he did what he had to do and he's doing awesome in school. We’re all really happy for him. 

Ruination has gone a long way towards equalling the massive success of its predecessor, hitting the US Billboard chart at position 42, no small feat. What are your thoughts on taking extreme metal to the upper echelons of the US music scene, along with dealing with the pressure you may or may not have felt before the album’s release? 

I think it’s great that extreme music is getting a lot more attention these days. There’s so many great bands out there. There was definitely a bit of pressure going into the writing process of Ruination. We wanted to take the band to a new level musically and not repeat the same mistakes we made with Genesis. I’m still proud of Genesis I think it was a good stepping stone for the band but as a musician I’m constantly picking our music apart trying to incorporate more influences and progress as a band. 

How did you find the experience of recording with Jason Suecof (producer, engineer, all round evil genius) for the new album? 

Evil genius is right. Jason is one of the most talented people I know. Working with him was awesome. He’s so creative he definitely brought a lot of great ideas and input to the table. I couldn't think of anyone I’d rather make a record with. 

Ruination seems to mark an increasing shift toward the realms of classic death metal, rather than adhering to the ‘deathcore’ tag that you were often initially branded with. Did this development come from a conscious collective decision, or has it happened more spontaneously? 

We just wrote the songs we wanted to play. I think it was kind of a conscious effort to stray away from the deathcore thing. Not as a sign of disrespect to the scene or anything we just wanted to take our music in another direction. 

Was there anything in particular that you have been able to do on the new album which you wouldn’t or couldn’t have done in the past, be it stylistically, lyrically or otherwise? 

I think we've grown as musicians a lot since genesis. Outside of actual ability Jason had a lot of input on harmonies for riffs that I think helped the riffs a lot. 

Since breaking through to the global scene around 2006, you’ve toured with a wide range of bands, playing a number of major festivals along the way. Would you say that that any of these experiences have stood out as particularly memorable or significant, and if so why? 

Wacken was definitely the most significant to me. We got to see carcass and At the Gates play in front of thousands of people. It was incredible. Hove festival in Norway was also incredible. The venue was in the middle of a forest next to a lake. It was an awesome experience. 

I expect that you’ll be heading out for a substantial round of worldwide touring over the next year or so; have any of the new tracks been marked out as potential crowd favourites from the tour so far, or are you looking forward to getting out any particular tracks in a live setting sometime in the near future? 

It seems that the new songs are going over pretty well. I’m definitely looking forward to incorporating more new songs into the set. I think I’d like to play march to global enslavement live. It’s more of a mid paced song so it’d be cool to have in the set to break it up a little. 

Do you regularly experience the backlash from your popularity on a personal level (abusive reviews, persistent hecklers, etc) and if so what would you say is your attitude toward those people’s small-mindedness? 

I don’t mind the abusive reviews. I like hearing any type of feedback whether it be positive or negative. 

Have you any plans to visit the UK any time soon? 

As of now nothing is locked down and confirmed but I hope to get there soon! 

Can you see yourselves initiating the writing process for your third album before long, or is the prospect of a follow up to Ruination far from your minds at present? 

We probably won't start officially working on a new record for some time. I’ll record some ideas randomly so maybe when it comes time to write again we'll have a stockpile of riffs. 

To finish then, what message would you like to tell your fans about the future of JFAC as a whole, and where you think the band is heading? 

I'd like to tell our fans thank you so much for the support! We wouldn't be able to do it without you.