Album review: Cattle Decapitation – Terracite

By DAN SOUTHALL

CATTLE Decapitation have always been good at tracking the destruction of humanity, and across the arc of a couple of albums have plotted our downfall through our own ignorance.

Previous album Death Atlas left humanity on the brink after war and general environmental ignorance. Terrasite sees humanity rise from the ashes like a cockroach, as shown on the album cover… but to hell with the story. This isn’t a book report, let’s get into the metal of it all.

If you have followed the rise and rise of this band from underground deathgrind freaks to where they are now, you should have a very good idea what you are in for. If you haven’t, dig in – you are in for a ride.

Here they have followed on from Death Atlas and made what was once completely inaccessible easy to digest for the sake of they story they are telling. That certainly haven’t gone soft, just learnt how to better channel all the hyper dynamic they have always had. Vocalist Travis Ryan has come leaps and bounds as across the span of the band’s albums, slowly changing from his very heavy distinct style to a range that also includes what I refer to as a witch cackle and an almost clean vocal that is used to great effect here.

If I have one celery stick to pick with this album, it is the length of it. Like it’s companion and predecessor, the chaos eventually makes the ears tired and with a run time of nearly an hour, it isn’t difficult to tire a bit from a constant onslaught only abated with the closing track and it’s absolutely hopeless view of humanity and our inability to get out of our own way for our own sake. Standard Cattle Decap fare, then, all round.