Cattle
Decapitation - Karma. Bloody. Karma.
8 Delicious Slabs of Beef Out of 10
In the decade since their inception, Cattle Decapitation
have proven themselves to be a band to be reckoned with.
Initially gaining notoriety from their association with
The Locust (their first lineup featured several Locust
members), their reputation as a tight live act grew and
they’ve consistently pushed the envelope with every
release. Once a fairly unremarkable goregrind band, Cattle
Decapitation started mixing in more conventional death
metal sounds with 2002’s To Serve Man. Since then
their music has progressed significantly, and their new
album, Karma. Bloody. Karma., is their most unique and
exceptional release to date.
While Cattle Decapitation have always been nihilistic
towards mankind (all of the members are strict vegetarians),
they’ve moved away from gore themed lyrics with
songs like “Unintelligent Design.” What really
distinguishes this record from typical deathgrind is
the band’s experimentation. Travis Ryan’s
vocals mix his death growl with a black metal-like screech
(think Glen Benton of Deicide), while the time signatures
are noticeably more challenging than their previous records.
The final track, “Of Human Pride and Flatulence,” is
the biggest depature, with little more than Ryan shrieking
over atmospherics provided by Sunn0)))’s John Wiese.
The Locust’s Joey Karam also makes an appearance
on the album, providing backing vocals to “Total
Gore?”
I have to say, I wasn’t expecting much from this
record. Death metal and grindcore have been stagnant
for years, with bands rarely attempting to do anything
new. Some abandon the styles completely while most just
keep pumping out the same rehashed shit album after album.
In the early 90’s, grind and death metal were fucked
up, extreme and uncompromising forms of music. Most importantly,
it was all still fresh and new. 9 gazillion mediocre
albums later, those scenes lost a lot of what made them
special. While Cattle Decapitation have yet to totally
reinvent deathgrind, they’re certainly a band to
keep an eye on.
- Alan Smithee
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