Cattle Decapitation - Terrasite (2023)

With a highly polished and equally crushing Progressive Death Metal/Grindcore sound, today we have Cattle Decapitation and their latest demoralizing release “Terrasite”. Unleashing 50+ minutes of music in 10 tracks, the band unravels their most punishing release to date. Aging like a fine wine, this outfit has constantly evolved their sound to be a great balance of brutality with technicality and atmosphere, creating some of the nicest sounding imposing releases in the scene.

Opening with the dramatic “Terrasitic Adaptation”, we get some chilling atmospheric keyboards, courtesy of Dis Pater, aka Tony Parker, alongside imposing riffs and the insanely dynamic vocals of Travis Ryan. We particularly love how the band goes from 0 to 100 in seconds, unleashing hellish drumming, diverse vocal styles and an overall sense of brutality unlike no one else. Perfect examples of this devastating style are songs like “We Eat Our Young”, the more traditional DM “The Insignificants”, to the extravagant bombasticness of “A Photic Doom”.

Balancing old-school elements, with a more modern and polished approach, tracks like “Scourge of the Offspring” and “The Storm Upstairs” are filled with staple DM moments paired with incisive guitars and gut wrenching drumming. However, it is not only brutality as there are some excellent melodic moments to headbang yourself to death on tracks like “Dead End Residents”, or alongside the Grindcore antics of “Solastalgia”.

Closing with the dramatic, 10-minute masterpiece “Just Another Body” filled with atmosphere, intense tempo changes, and a very real overall sense of doom and gloom. As a whole, “Terrasite” is one of those gripping releases that will grab you by the throat and never let go. We particularly enjoyed the balance between sheer brutality and more melodic and introspective passages. If you are a fan of the band and the genre, but want to expand your musical horizons with more temperance, look no further and get a copy of this release.

Label: Metal Blade Records

Release: May 12th, 2023

Genre: Progressive Death Metal/Grindcore

Country: USA