Cattle Decapitation - Humanure
Metal Blade records - 3984-14480-2 - July 13, 2004
By Paddy Walsh
You may not be familiar with Cattle Decapitation, and if you are it is likely to have more to do with controversies surrounding their, ahem, 'colourful' artwork than their music. It's always wise to be wary of such bands for obvious reasons, but thankfully Cattle Decapitation aren't half bad. As far as modern day death-grind goes, this is, in fact, pretty good. Yes, it's a mixture of brutal death metal of the American variety and grind of the Carcass ilk. 'Heard it before!' I hear you say. Well, that can be said about 99% of new death metal albums these days, so hear me out.
Glance above and you'll see the rather imaginative cover artwork that has apparently earned this band a banning in Germany. Cattle Decapitation are all vegetarians and the lyrics to Humanure read like some kind of uncensored version of an RSPCA manifesto. Think Reek of Putrefaction era Carcass only replace the morgue with the slaughterhouse and you get the idea. It's all quite amusing really, although I'm sure the band take their stance on the issue deadly serious.
Musically, expect the usual barrage of blast beats, overdubbed growls and screams and fast as you like riffing. Cattle Decapitation have got a good ear for songwriting, and in Humanure the standard is generally high. Memorable moments include the brilliantly titled 'Bukkake Tsunami', the title track and 'Lips and assholes'. Unfortunately the guitars sound a trite thin for my liking, and the bass is non-existent at times. With a meatier (no pun intended) production by someone like Neil Kernan this could have been great, but as it stands Humanure merely sounds adequate. Vocalist Travis Ryan does a good job for the most part, I have always given kudos to death metal vocalists who go beyond the simple monotone growl, and Ryan sounds a bit like Glen Benton minus the 'Sataaaaaaaaaaaan' screams in every song.
So if you're looking for an above average dose of death-grind then look no further than Cattle Decapitation. The music may lack originality (although no more guilty than anyone else) and the production could be a bit beefier (again I apologise), but this 'veggie-gore epic' (as put by Metalblade's PR guys, not me) delivers the goods on most other counts. Plus all you kiddies out there looking for something to piss off your parents with now have something other than old Cannibal Corpse albums to spend your pocket money on!
7/10
Cattle Decapitation's Official Website
Metal Blade Records' Official Website
Metal Blade records - 3984-14480-2 - July 13, 2004
By Paddy Walsh
You may not be familiar with Cattle Decapitation, and if you are it is likely to have more to do with controversies surrounding their, ahem, 'colourful' artwork than their music. It's always wise to be wary of such bands for obvious reasons, but thankfully Cattle Decapitation aren't half bad. As far as modern day death-grind goes, this is, in fact, pretty good. Yes, it's a mixture of brutal death metal of the American variety and grind of the Carcass ilk. 'Heard it before!' I hear you say. Well, that can be said about 99% of new death metal albums these days, so hear me out.
Glance above and you'll see the rather imaginative cover artwork that has apparently earned this band a banning in Germany. Cattle Decapitation are all vegetarians and the lyrics to Humanure read like some kind of uncensored version of an RSPCA manifesto. Think Reek of Putrefaction era Carcass only replace the morgue with the slaughterhouse and you get the idea. It's all quite amusing really, although I'm sure the band take their stance on the issue deadly serious.
Musically, expect the usual barrage of blast beats, overdubbed growls and screams and fast as you like riffing. Cattle Decapitation have got a good ear for songwriting, and in Humanure the standard is generally high. Memorable moments include the brilliantly titled 'Bukkake Tsunami', the title track and 'Lips and assholes'. Unfortunately the guitars sound a trite thin for my liking, and the bass is non-existent at times. With a meatier (no pun intended) production by someone like Neil Kernan this could have been great, but as it stands Humanure merely sounds adequate. Vocalist Travis Ryan does a good job for the most part, I have always given kudos to death metal vocalists who go beyond the simple monotone growl, and Ryan sounds a bit like Glen Benton minus the 'Sataaaaaaaaaaaan' screams in every song.
So if you're looking for an above average dose of death-grind then look no further than Cattle Decapitation. The music may lack originality (although no more guilty than anyone else) and the production could be a bit beefier (again I apologise), but this 'veggie-gore epic' (as put by Metalblade's PR guys, not me) delivers the goods on most other counts. Plus all you kiddies out there looking for something to piss off your parents with now have something other than old Cannibal Corpse albums to spend your pocket money on!
7/10
Cattle Decapitation's Official Website
Metal Blade Records' Official Website
