Monolith of Inhumanity

I must say, this is a fucking phenomenal album and I would even say it is one of the best I've ever heard. Honestly though, I find it hard to believe that Cattle Decapitation originally played grindcore when they first started. I am not insulting grindcore at all, but it is hard to believe they have since developed a sound so uniquely their own, I would dare say their musical talent and capability would have been wasted as an all grindcore band. This though, is a landmark album for the band. It displays a complete and perfected sound that they were definitely experimenting with on "The Harvest Floor".

Without further ado, let's talk about the music. I think it must be mentioned that it is truly amazing how far the guitarist, Josh Elmore has progressed with his playing. You could hear how he further progressed on each album from "To Serve Man" and on onward. Sure, he isn't the most technical guitarist but he is damn good at crafting and making the music he creates-which is rather chaotic, sound oddly charming. An example of this would be "Dead Set On Suicide". The main riff is rather punky and upbeat but when the solo comes in man, it is just beautiful. Also with the first song "The Carbon Stampede" you hear that odd sound, then the main riff fades in and it wows, then Travis' deep ass vocals,then a pause, a slide and from there on out it is just a thunderous punch in the face.

Now, something I always look for when viewing an album is the bass. The bass is just such a majestic instrument, and when your hear its beauty in a genre as extreme as death metal/deathgrind it adds a touch that though small, still important. Let me tell you Derek, the bassist does not let down. On a song like "Forced Gender Reassignment" which is also, straightforward chaos however, it adds darkness to the song which fits well considering that song's subject matter. Then, on a song like "Lifestalker" it fits beautifully especially with the emotional vocal delivery from Travis Ryan.

Then, there's the drumming. Holy shit, Dave McGraw is definitely one of the best modern death metal drummers that there is. Honestly, his fills are so damn fast in a song like "A Living, Breathing Piece Of Defecating Meat" or "Do Not Resuscitate" or really all songs for that matter. He's just so damn fast and good at what he does, it's incredible. Also, the parts where there are gravity blasts in most songs, add a lot of intensity. Of Course, gravity blasts are nothing new to extreme metal but I think the thing with some extreme metal bands is that they just add them in there and seem misplaced. The thing with Dave's drumming is they are placed properly in the parts where the vocal delivery or the riffing is intensely delivered.

Last, but certainly not least would be the vocals. I think Travis Ryan is easily one of the most recognizable death metal vocalists that there is. From his highs to his lows or to his "cleans" as some people have been referring to them as, which are actually just raspy-very raspy highs. Still though, Travis' delivery is unique and from my standpoint, he seems to really be one of the only death metal vocalists doing their own thing. Sure, a lot of death metal vocalists have memorable growls but they are just doing standard death growls or what have you. Travis has growls, highs and that unique "clean" style.

One more thing I would like to address is something is that since "The Harvest Floor" they have been doing. There has been a song before the final one that is very mellowed out from the rest of what is on the album. Now obviously I don't see a problem with that I just think it's another thing that makes Cattle Decapitation a unique and incredible band.They go from playing "Your Disposal" one of the best and maybe even the most barbaric songs on the whole album to "The Monolith" a, like aforementioned, mellowed out piece. Not only that, but I think that Monolith of Inhumanity is definitely a modern death metal/deathgrind classic that will not be forgotten by metalheads anytime soon.