Cattle Decapitation is a band that has always intrigued me. While grindcore is not something I listen to extensively, Cattle Decapitation’s gory lyrical themes, anti-human message, and blistering song structures have kept me coming back for more. Their newest album, Monolith of Inhumanity, is rife with all of the aforementioned elements and is probably their finest work to date. Before I begin to praise this album, I’d like to discuss the one aspect that I did not enjoy. While Travis Ryan’s vocal delivery is generally fantastic, there are several points on Monolith of Inhumanity where these somewhat high-pitched, scratchy shrieks (honestly, I’m not even sure how to articulate what they sound like; they’re prevalent on A Living, Breathing Piece of Defecating Meat, for example) are employed. I found these vocals to be incredibly odd and I feel as if the album would have benefited if Ryan had simply stuck with his outstanding low growls and mids.
Now that that bit of mild unpleasantness is out of the way, I can begin to shower my praises upon Cattle Decapitation and Monolith of Inhumanity. Cattle Decapitation does a very good job of fusing death metal and grindcore to create their own blistering form of deathgrind. The album, for the most part, follows a break-neck pace and assaults the listening with forty-three minutes of pure aggression and hatred. The anti-human lyrical themes, unsurprisingly, make a return on Monolith of Inhumanity, with A Living, Breathing Piece of Defecating Meat being the most obvious example.
One thing about Cattle Decapitation that I have always somewhat admired is their strong beliefs in animal rights. They incorporate these beliefs into their lyrics and I think they should be applauded for attempting to raise awareness for a relevant social issue, despite doing so through an unconventional medium. Many bands these days do not seek to convey a meaningful message and it is nice to see one that does every now and then.
Monolith of Inhumanity is a fantastic album with only one minor flaw. Cattle Decapitation has created one of the most aggressive and brutal records that I have heard so far this year and it won’t be easy to top. This is, in my opinion, the best Cattle Decapitation record to date and a fine example of what deathgrind should sound like. If you’re looking for an absolutely punishing, hate-filled, gore-ridden, blistering aural assault, then look no further than Cattle Decapitation’s Monolith of Inhumanity.
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