Review: Cattle Decapitation – The Anthropocene Extinction

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Cattle Decapitation are a band that I’ve been following for some time now. Having thoroughly enjoyed their previous two album, The Harvest Floor and The Monolith of Inhumanity, I was suitably excited for this album.

Production wise, it’s very similar to the previous album and in my opinion sounds a little more polished. Clear drums, clarity in the guitar parts, audible bass and vocals sitting nicely on top. It’s a recipe for a masterpiece. Top marks Mr Otero.

Click for bigness
Click for bigness

Opening up the album is the first single of the album, “Manufactured Extinct”. Opening with the sounds of the wind and a coastal sea before adding in all the instruments makes for a nice touch and sets the whole tone of the album. Fast paced drums, speedy riffs and technical playing on both guitar and bass. Coupled with Travis’ vocals it creates a suitably enjoyable masterpiece.

The rest of the album continues in a similar fashion with all the tracks following a similar theme until the track ‘The Burden of Seven Billion” comes on. A very dark track with what sounds like cellos playing a drone note and suspended synths in the background creating a whole area of mystery and despair. Very different from any other track on the album and one the standouts for being so different.

This then leads nicely into the next single from the album, “Mammals in Babylon”. The little more melodic outings around 1:04 and 3:21 really make this track something special and it’s quite possibly the best track I’ve ever heard from them. For that reason alone, It’s a standout track for me.

The rest of the album then continues as before with the usual formula present in every track. That’s not to say this album is samey. Far from it. However, there is a lot of commonality between the tracks which helps keep things consistent and reminds you that this is Cattle Decap. Yet every track has it own little signature part which makes the whole album varied. That’s what makes it one of the best albums I’ve heard this year.

In terms of a recommendation, I’d recommend it to fans of grindcore and death metal. I’m not one to say whether you’ll enjoy it or not, but I advise you to have a listen to it. It’s a very good album and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it.

In case you missed it, you can read my recent interview with Travis here.

Track List:

  1. Manufactured Extinct
  2. The Prophets of Loss
  3. Plagueborne
  4. Clandestine Ways (Krokodil Rot)
  5. Circo Inhumanitas
  6. The Burden of Seven Billion
  7. Mammals in Babylon
  8. Mutualy Assured Destruction
  9. Not Suitable for Life
  10. Apex Blasphemy
  11. Ave Exitium
  12. Pacific Grim

Stand out tracks: “Manufactured Extinct”, “Plagueborne”, “The Burden of Seven Billion”,  “Mammals in Babylon”, “Pacific Grim”.

The Anthropocene Extinction will be released on August 7th via Metal Blade Records.

Cattle Decapitation: official | facebook | twitter | metal blade

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