Who’d have thought that a deathgrind band named Cattle Decapitation (famed for their macabre album artwork) would become one of the most thoughtful and acclaimed metal bands of recent years?
The San Diego group’s two previous studio releases (2015’s ‘The Anthropocene Extinction’ and 2019’s ‘Death Atlas’) were warmly received by both the metal and wider music community.
In an era defined by climate anxiety, Cattle Decapitation’s ecological themes have touched plenty of nerves. Beyond their alarmingly-prescient visions of a decaying planet, the band’s take on deathgrind is also relatively accessible, as strange as that is to say.
Their songwriting is varied and nuanced, while the production style employed across this recent hot streak has been hyper-modern and piercingly clear.
Much of what’s so great about ‘Terrasite’ is what was also great about those previous releases. There are few surprises or internal boundary-pushing here, which makes the album a touch less startling that its predecessors, though no less entertaining.
Various Cattle Decapitation trademarks receive a run out: the resplendent blastbeats that close out We Eat Our Young, the eerie clean vocals of The Storm Upstairs. The most complete track, though, is ...and the World Will Go on Without You, which nails everything the band are capable of in four minutes.
It’s the concept behind ‘Terrasite’ that perhaps sets it apart from earlier works. As its love it or hate it artwork exemplifies, this one looks beyond the ecological apocalypse, towards a speculative new future for humanity. This is reflected in the lyrics, which broach new thematic territory, unlike a lot of the album’s music.
Regardless of whether or not ‘Terrasite’ is a musical leap forward for Cattle Decapitation, it’s another accomplished, thrilling and visceral cultural response to the very real catastrophe our planet is creeping towards.
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