Artist Profile: Jon Rice

Metal drummers are unlike all other drummers, throwing body, mind and soul into driving rhythms that can outlast and upstage even the most intuitive drum machine. For these artists, drumming is a commitment to music, to the art of thrashing, and a genre of entertainment that forces pop-flavored, auto-tuned radio peeps to cower, awe-struck and maybe a little jealous.

Jon “The Charn” Rice of Job for a Cowboy knows the power and endurance required from metal drummers. Fast hands and extreme double bass footwork give this man the reputation as one of the best new drummers in metal, with accolades for his incredible speed and accuracy. Born in 1978, Rice began drumming at age 12 and found a home with Job for a Cowboy, touring with them in 2008 and releasing Ruination in 2009. 2011 marks the release of “Gloom,” an EP available for purchase through download or mail order.

Rice knows metal drumming; he knows speed and articulation as well as equipment. His drum kit includes “tons of cymbals to make for a truly ridiculous metal drum set,” including the aggressive and trashy Generation X China Crash. His drumming takes on a whole new level while playing before an audience, feeding off the energy eagerly provided by mutual admiration between artist and fans. The show, and Rice, are unrelenting; a serious musical experience, even for those without an appreciation for metal music and drumming.

Metal drumming takes the heart of a pirate, the soul of a chainsaw and the drive of a caffeinated toddler to fully achieve success through its unstoppable rhythms. As the "straightforwardly brutal act" described by by Rolling Stone magazine, Jon Rice and Job for a Cowboy have little choice about the expansive musical voyage ahead, one filled with hard-hitting blast beats, brute force drum attacks and unstoppable demand for full musical submission.