Cattle Decapitation – The Harvest Floor
Curb stomping, hatred for humanity, and the hypocrisy of public pools are the topics of discussion on Cattle Decapitation’s latest album, The Harvest Floor. The California death metal/grind band has evolved throughout their career. In Cattle Decapitation’s early days, songs were somewhere around the 30 second marker, but along the way, the band added melodic and technical aspects to their sound. The Harvest Floor is Cattle Decapitation’s most mature release to date, a juggernaut of an album that perfectly showcases the band’s contempt for everything and everyone.
Such despise and bile needs to be supported by strong music, and The Harvest Floor doesn’t disappoint in this category. From the opening bass solo on “The Gardeners Of Eden” to the pummeling wall of sound at the conclusion of epic closer “Regret & The Grave,” Cattle Decapitation straps the listener in for a ride that they won’t soon forget. The Harvest Floor is the definitive classification of the phrase “controlled chaos.” The anger and frustration that comes across in the lyrics doesn’t do them enough justice with a simple read-through; that’s what Cattle Decapitation has vocalist Travis Ryan for.
Ryan is an absolute madman on The Harvest Floor, with a varied range that goes from everything to a deep growl to a low bellow to a screech that could deafen a charging, ravenous lion. When he spits lines out like “god hates this world-left his son tied to a stick?” and “mandible and glottis now raw and pulsating in a jellied heap,” there is no doubt the sincerity in his voice. The rest of the band makes sure to stand toe to toe with the madness, as guitarist Josh Elmore plays insane solos and fast-picked riffs like his hands are close to falling off, bassist Troy Oftedal up front in the mix supporting his fellow axe player, and drummer David McGraw providing the steady hand to keep everything moving at a brisk, if wild, pace.
Several guest musicians are scattered throughout The Harvest Floor, with the highlights being former Swans vocalist Jarboe providing a beautifully morbid performance on the haunting instrumental title track and cellist Jackie Perez Gratz lending her talent to “Regret & The Grave,” one of the strongest tracks on the album. There are no weak moments on The Harvest Floor; the only slight misstep is the plodding “In Axestasy,” which goes on for about two minutes too long.
The Harvest Floor is one of the best Cattle Decapitation albums to date, a powerful collection of tracks that is swimming with nothing but aggression and loathing of the human race. There are no upbeat moments, no short interludes to break up the flow of the album; just forty minutes of fantastic death metal. The Harvest Floor is an early contender for a top spot on the “Album of the Year” list, an album that will leave the listener in a state of pure satisfaction by its conclusion.
Rating: 8.5/10
Label: Metal Blade
Website: http://www.myspace.com/cattledecapitation
By Dan Marsicano
(+64 rating, 17 votes)
“Such despise and bile needs to be supported by strong music…”
“..is the definitive classification of the phrase ““controlled chaos.”
“stand toe to toe with the madness”
…
This is easily one of the worst reviews I’ve ever read. Between the “wall of sound” and guitar = axe comment, this thing reads less like a review and much more like a compendium of metal clichés.
Terrible.
Horrible review…
Sorry, complaining bitches up there! Although this disc has the same production values as “Karma” (”To Serve” still has the best production values for this band so far), the songwriting and overall progression/experimentation is the biggest step the band has EVER had. When I started spinning this disc, I couldn’t believe that this was Cattle. An amazing effort and one that’s ALREADY hard to top in 2009 Death Metal releases. GOOD FUCKING JOB, BOYS!
This album is so fucking amazing.
Definitely my fave C.D. album now.
This album just has something more to it the others don’t.
*eats baconator*
To serve man has the best production? Someone hit the crack pipe.
The best line of the whole review:
…l to a low bellow to a screech that could deafen a charging, ravenous lion.
Soooo epic.
def turned up the brutal factor
eh… can we say shitty band name, meaning shitty music without ever listening to it??? i think so.
maybe if you’re gay and like U2 you could say that.
How could this get a better rating than All Hope is Gone????