Death Atlas

Alright, yes, I know this isn't strictly grindcore. But that's where the roots of this band's sound lie - and it makes for an interesting premise: that an act associated with the early goregrind scene could produce a record of such astounding beauty and depth. Cattle Decapitation have been around for nigh-on 24 years now, but their meteoric rise to respect can be narrowed down to 2012 onwards. With the release of Monolith Of Inhumanity and The Anthropocene Extinction, in 2012 and 2015 respectively, the San Diego hardcore vegetarians have expanded both their sound and their fanbase massively. The addition of melody to their grindcore foundation has allowed their songwriting chops to extend beyond normal death/grind composition - and 2019's Death Atlas lies somewhere between grindcore and progressive melodeath.

I, for one, welcome our new melodic overlords. There have been many naysayers disparaging Cattle Decapitation's more frequent use of clean vocals. To them, I must ask: is there really so much that it becomes unbearable? The grunts and screams are definitely in the limelight more, let's not devalue a band for wanting to expand their sound using an interesting new technique. That's the other point: the 'clean' vocals themselves are utterly batshit. Travis Ryan's incredible voice must have one of the biggest ranges in the genre, and his mixture of gurgled grunts, banshee shrieks and weird-ass melodic crooning quickly become the star of Death Atlas. He reaches a pinnacle on the multi-faceted "With All Disrespect", where both his cleans and screams overlap. Though I'm sure many would make a case for the doomy title-track or perhaps the 'everybody a host' section of "Bring Back The Plague" (surely one of the best verses on the album).

Elsewhere, the rest of the band are all firing on all cylinders - especially drummer David McGraw who deserves a fucking medal for sheer stamina and control. Also, guitarists Belisario and Josh brought a plentiful bag of riffs with them which remain surprisingly catchy. Even bassist Olivier gets a few moments to shine here and there - especially on the hugely melodic "Time's Curtain". On the other side of the disc, the likes of "Vulturous" and "The Geocide" see Cattle Decapitation at their most hate-fuelled and bile-infested. One cannot deny the misanthropic delight of screaming 'FUCK THE FUTURE!!' along with Ryan et al during the latter track. The production is of the highest quality. Giving an album of this extremity such a clear mix takes immense skill and I greatly respect the choice to keep the guitar tone relatively crisp and precise.

This is a beautifully structured album. The four interlude-esque tracks break up the maelstrom of extremity at just the right points. Both "The Great Dying" I & II are eerie and keep the atmosphere of dread potent. Then "The Unerasable Past" drags the mood down to previously unforeseen depths of melancholy before the 9-minute title-track tears up any remaining semblance of hope you may have had for humankind. The long fade-out seems to give the listener time to reflect on the misanthropic journey they have just undertaken. I cannot praise this album, or indeed band, enough. I always knew this would be of high quality, but my mind was still blown by the maturity and thoughtfulness put into this LP's creation. Simply put: Cattle Decapitation are one of the greatest metal bands in existence right now - and Death Atlas is a masterpiece worthy of being among the top 10 of 2019.