A death metal album so misanthropic, even my veganism felt seen.
Cattle Decapitation—Charming name. Really sets the mood for my gentle, plant-based sensibilities. I'd clocked them before — the name floated past now and then while I was reading about other bands, usually followed by a mental note that read something like "Absolutely not."
Turns out?
Cattle Decapitation are about as pro-vegan as it gets in extreme metal. The twist? None of them are actually vegan. I know. My soul made a weird little noise at that too. But their lyrics are full of fire and fury at animal exploitation, factory farming, and the human condition in general. So, spiritual allies, if not dietary ones.
The Line-Up: No Founding Members, Still Founding New Trauma
Formed in San Diego in 1996, Cattle Decapitation have coughed up eight studio albums so far. There are no founding members left, which feels incredibly on-brand for a band this misanthropic—but vocalist Travis Ryan has been screaming into the abyss since 1997, which is basically forever in extreme metal years. The current line-up: Travis Ryan (vocals), Olivier Pinard (bass), Dave McGraw (drums), and Josh Elmore plus Belisario Dimuzio on guitars.
Extreme Metal That Even Your Existential Crisis Recommends
Their most recent release, Terrasite (2023), has been popping up on all the "Best Metal Albums of the Year" lists. Naturally, my curiosity finally caved after reading Stefan Nordström’s blog post Why Do People Stop Listening to Extreme Metal? — in which he praised Cattle Decapitation for still managing to slap, where others fizzled out. If that’s not a glowing endorsement, I don’t know what is.
Full disclosure:
I’ve barely dipped my toes into death metal. And I doubt I’ll ever move in full-time. Guttural vocals across an entire album tend to leave me feeling like I’ve been shouted at by a swamp monster for 45 minutes — and not in the sexy way.
Travis Ryan: Goblin King of Vocal Range
But this is where Cattle Decapitation pulled me in.
Because Travis Ryan? The man is an absolute freak of nature. In the best way. He doesn’t just grunt or growl — he performs. One minute it’s textbook death growls (which, yes, still make me giggle), the next it’s banshee shrieks, deranged snarls, and these unhinged “clean-adjacent” passages that somehow work?? The vocal layering on Terrasite makes every song feel alive and twitching. The range is honestly ridiculous. Like, are you okay, sir?
Ten Songs, Fifty-Two Minutes, and One Spiralling Sense of Doom
The album runs just over 52 minutes, with ten tracks in total. Most clock in at a punchy four to five minutes, except for the closer, Just Another Body, which stretches out into a ten-minute spiral of dread and despair. As it should.
Lyrically? Misanthropy. Top to bottom.
Overpopulation. Climate collapse. The endless, stupid horror of humanity tripping over its own ego while setting everything on fire. It’s bleak. It’s furious. It’s—weirdly relatable?
It's Brutal, It's Beautiful, It's... Weirdly Catchy?
Musically, Terrasite is exhausting.
And I mean that as a compliment. It’s fast. It’s violent. It’s death metal with a bat to the head. But then—there are these moments. Synths. Melodies. Twists you don’t expect. The band never lets a song sit still long enough to go stale. Even when your brain starts to melt, there's always some little sonic surprise waiting to slap you across the face.
And yes—some choruses are actually catchy.
Like, disturbingly so. Case in point:
| What a wondrous life this would have been // But I'm outnumbered // Like the stars at night // There's so many of us // That need to die // Like a swarm of flies // There's too many of us
(Scourge of the Offspring, which is also a banger of a song title.)
Favourite Tracks, Ranked by How Much They Emotionally Ruined Me
Scourge of the Offspring might be my favourite, but honestly? Picking favourites here is like choosing which apocalypse flavour you prefer.
A Photic Doom opens with Dave McGraw’s absurdly fast blast beats before descending into goblin shrieks and those wonderfully rolled 'r’s I’m now slightly obsessed with. The guitars? Groovy. Filthy. Perfect.
The Insignificants — specifically the last two minutes, where synths kick in, Travis starts doing vocal acrobatics, and suddenly it’s him singing against himself. Existential meltdown mode: activated.
...And the World Will Go On Without You"slows down around the 2:39 mark, pulling you into this haunting prog section that feels like you're sinking into tar—slowly, beautifully.
Just Another Body starts with a piano. A damn piano. Delicate, fragile, and deeply wrong—which makes it perfect. The whole song builds like a slow-motion collapse. Melancholy. Hopeless. Beautiful. Mission absolutely accomplished.
The Void Is Calling, But So Is the Back Catalogue
I’m genuinely curious now to dig deeper into their back catalogue—Monolith of Inhumanity (2012), The Anthropocene Extinction (2015), and Death Atlas (2019) all come highly recommended. Though I hear Death Atlas caused a bit of a stir. Excellent. I love a bit of drama.
But starting with Terrasite? Felt like the right call. It sounds like everything they’ve been building toward—polished, precise, and completely deranged.
Will Report Back After Seeing This Madness Live
I enjoyed this album way more than I expected to. And once again, I’m grateful to be on this weird, winding metal journey—always one unexpected discovery away from a new obsession. Can’t wait to see McGraw destroy the drums live on March 30th in Hamburg. See you at the Logo.
(Bring earplugs. And existential dread.)