Cattle Decapitation - Terrasite Review

For their tenth full-length and first album in nearly four years, Cattle Decapitation return with Terrasite. This collective represents a renewed vigor, variety and the consistent intensity they are known for.

Travis Ryan has continued to vary his vocal delivery over the years with shrieks and growls being most prominent, at times using cleans for albums since 2012’s The Monolith Of Inhumanity.

“We Eat Our Young” swirls around the listener while Ryan’s trademark vocal styles are constantly transforming around you buoyed only by Dave McGraw’s drums. The dual guitar attack of Josh Elmore and Belisario Dimuzio is crushing, only pausing to allow for the initial waves to wash over you, then it starts all over again. “The Storm Upstairs” does a great job in creating a unique atmosphere as it closes in almost a cosmic sort of way, perhaps hinting at more of the new that’s soon to approach.

“Scourge of the Offspring” is a master class in double bass drumming. This helps the rest of the band build up their sound including Ryan’s first use of a more traditional vocal style on the album. The song looks to become a staple in Cattle Decap’s live setting for years to come. With “A Photic Doom” the band claims this references the sun revealing desolation to the listener’s subconscious, because the truth of the matter is often obscured by the darkness. The guitars grind, the bass plods and Ryan goes on a slow and calculated attack, creating the perfect encapsulation of a Cattle Decap track in 2023.

Ending with an epic was something the band explored with Death Atlas and it comes back again here with “Just Another Body” their first 10 minute plus song. It’s a slow burn that eventually evolves into a cavalcade of riffs and growled vocals, being long enough for all of the pieces to fall properly in place.

This album marks the next step for Cattle Decapitation, as they have continued to mature into a violet and veteran band with growth being their only option. Terrasite emerges from its chaotic chrysalis to wreak havoc on your eardrums and your ecosystem.

(released May 12, 2023 on Metal Blade Records