:: Cattle Decapitation - The Killing Floor

Cattle Decapitation

San Diego based death metal/goregrind act Cattle Decapitation always stuck me a good band, but not an entirely remarkable act based on their first two EPs. But with 2006’s ‘Karma. Bloody. Karma’, Cattle Decapitation finally stepped up to the plate and delivered an album that really showed a maturity in their songwriting and one that demonstrated their technical proficiency. Now returning after a lengthy three years away, Cattle Decapitation are back with their latest effort ‘The Harvest Floor’, and it’s definitely another step in the right direction. ‘The Gardeners Of Eden’ is one chaotic and complex mass of an opener, with the band throwing everything from electric sound effects (Provided by John Wiese), huge grooving melodic sections, sparse atmospheric passages, blast beats and tight/fast interludes into the mix. But while it may come across at first listen, as a sprawling mess of bits and pieces joined together for the sake of it, it does eventually make sense after a while. Both ‘A Body Farm’ and ‘Tooth Enamel And Concrete’ predominately stick to the technical death metal side of things with truly brutal results, while the slightly more experimental and catchier ‘The Product Alive’ is given an extra injection of aggression with guest Dystopia/Asunder vocalist Dino Sommese. Speaking of guests, Grayceon/Amber Asylum electric cello player Jackie Perez certainly adds some real depth to the atmospherics heard within the melodic ‘We Are Horrible People’, but it’s her efforts alongside guest ex-Swans vocalist Jarboe on the cinematic instrumental title track ‘The Killing Floor’ and the stunning and rather progressive closer ‘Regret & The Grave’ where the band really stretch beyond their proven sound. As an added bonus, the album also comes with an enhanced component titled ‘Pandemic: The Damnation Epic’, which is a twenty-three minute feature on the making of ‘The Harvest Floor’. ‘Karma. Bloody. Karma’ was a very good album, and the first real substantial release from Cattle Decapitation. But with ‘The Harvest Floor’, Cattle Decapitation has managed to take things to the next level, and offer up their first great release.