Cattle Decapitation – The Anthropocene Extinction (2015)

Delivering the most brutal release of 2015, today we have Cattle Decapitation and their seventh opus “The Anthropocene Extinction”. Nearly putting Anaal Nathrakh to shame in terms of sheer brutality, this release features twelve tracks of in your face riffs, crushing vocals and inhuman drums. With over 45 minutes of devastating music, this album will leave you sore just by listening to it.

Slowly warming up with the melodic opening of “Manufactured Extinct”, the band suddenly busts out the Death Metal riffs and before you even know it, Grindcore and Brutal Death Metal elements have arrived. This level of intensity is perfectly continued by the neck snapping “The Prophets of Loss”, which features Phil Anselmo as guest vocalist. Using Author and Punisher’s intro in “Plagueborne”, the band has managed to deliver a huge opening trio of tracks that only scratch the surface in terms of brutality.

Not only relying on extreme elements, the band crafts some killer Thrashy riffs in songs like “Clandestine Ways”, and managed to perfectly blend them with their raw power. Ranging from melodic passages to hyper fast blast-beats, the band has tracks like “Circo Inhumanitas” which constantly evolve and are full of surprises. The only thing that we find sometimes disconcerting is the use of clean vocals here and there through the album. While they add an interesting dimension to the music, we believe they also distract the listener.

After a nice little interlude, the aggression continues with our favorite track “Mammals in Babylon” and its very melodic sound. This song comes close second to “Apex Blasphemy”, another very solid track that focuses more on melodic guitar riffs and vocal melodies. For those of you looking for sheer destruction, “Mutual Assured Destruction” and “Not Suitable for Life” will satisfy your cravings of powerful blast beats and crushing riffs.

Things take a turn for the weird with the very unique “Ave Exitium”, an avenue that the band should definitely explore more. However, they band sends the listeners off with yet another brilliant excecise in brutality with “Pacific Grim”, which features Bartsch from Bethlehem providing some extra creepiness to this song. Overall, “The Anthropocene Extinction” is one hell of a musical ride full of brutality and madness. The band’s sound is completely insane and intense, making them one of the most brutal bands in Metal. If you like Brutal Death Metal, Grindcore and don’t mind a bit of Progressive elements thrown into the mix, this is one release you can’t afford to miss in 2015.

Label: Metal Blade Records

Release: August 7th, 2015

Genre: Extreme Metal

Country: USA