Cattle Decapitation – “The Anthropocene Extinction” [Album Review]

If ever there was a soundtrack to accompany the destructive ways of a good percentage of the population of this planet then The Anthropocene Extinction, the new album from grindcore heavyweights Cattle Decapitation, would surely be high up on the list.

Pulling no punches, Cattle Decapitation leave you in no doubts as to the message behind this album as, even before you’ve hit play, the bleak, horrific artwork sets the mood perfectly. Unsurprisingly then, The Anthropocene Extinction finds Cattle Decapitation in an unforgiving mood. Delivering track after track of hellish rage, The Anthropocene Extinction is as filthy and disgusting a sounding album as you could want from a band of this ilk. Each track is a horrifying mix of black metal fury, grindcore chaos and almost industrial-like precision, with frontman Travis Ryan laying his guttural vocals over the top of this cacophony of fury to create something utterly devastating.

While on paper music delivered at this unrelenting pace can sometimes sound like a complete mess, in the case of The Anthropocene Extinction nothing could be further from the truth. Thanks to a production which is top drawer, every nasty note and every brutal blast beat can be felt right through the core of your stomach. It’s not just the feel of the music which creates a suffocating, unpleasant feeling as tracks like “Not Suitable For Life” and “Mutual Assured Destruction” see frontman Ryan deliver his brutally honest outlook on the state of the planet in an equally inhuman style.

Throughout their career, Cattle Decapitation have been a band who’ve always been at the top of their game but, on this album, the band appear to have found another level for their rage. Be prepared when you put on The Anthropocene Extinction as this isn’t an album that should be treated lightly on any level. Frightening stuff.

Track Listing:

01. Manufactured Extinct
02. Prophets Of Loss
03. Plagueborn
04. Clandestine Ways (Krokodil Rot)
05. Circo Inhumanitas
06. The Burden of Seven Billion
07. Mammals In Babylon
08. Mutual Assured Destruction
09. Not Suitable For Life
10. Apex Blasphemy
11. Ave Exitium
12. Pacific Grim

Run Time: 46:21
Release Date: August 7, 2015

Check out the song “Manufactured Extinct” here.