Barbaric In Nature

Band: Cattle Decapitation

Album: Monolith of Inhumanity (2012)

Genre: Progressive Death Metal/Grindcore

So, if you haven't noticed, it's been a pretty fucking good year for metal, thus far.  It seems like pretty much every band is finding a way to completely transcend their previews works (Meshuggah, High on Fire, Spawn of Possession, etc.).  Cattle Decapitation is in the same boat.  Monolith of Inhumanity, being their fifth effort to date, is a full display of what this band is really made of.  

Cattle Decap. seems like one of those bands that you either love or hate.  With their anti-meat "agenda," (f you will) some people shy away from the band.  Regardless of what the band preaches, the number one thing I've heard people bitch about is the song writing.  I'd agree with these people if we were still talking about To Serve Man, the bands first full-length release.  The fact of the matter is, Cattle Decap. has come a long way since then, and their musical structure is impeccable on this album.  The album has it's own solid, slamming pace, while still allowing every song to have it's own particular sound and pace of its own.  

As far as the music itself is concerned, it sounds fucking brutal.  The band takes a more solid death metal sound, leaving a lot of their previous grind elements behind.  That's not to say the album doesn't grind as well as slam (that's right, there are actual slams).  It's just that as a whole, the album sounds far more death metal then grindcore.  Returning to the slams, I was rather impressed.  Not being a huge Cattle Decap. fan, I'm not sure that slamming has always been their thing, but the slams on this album add a heightened sense of brutality to the album.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, the technicality displayed on this album is the most extreme I've ever heard the band get.  The songs "A Living Breathing Piece of Defecating Meat," and "Gristle Licker" come to mind.

The sound of the album is crystal-clear.  The production makes the technicality of the album shine through perfectly, and it adds a new sense of brutality to it's slamming slower tempos.  The guttural vocals sound even deeper and more evil, yet, I had a somewhat hard time hearing the bass at times.  It's definitely audible throughout the album, just not as much as I would have hoped for.

True fans of Cattle Decapitation need to get their hands on this album.  And, to all of the nay-sayers of the band, I'd recommend you give this album a listen. The band is not what they once were, and they have built themselves into titans of the genre with this release.  Get off the internet and go get your hands on this album, you damned dirty apes!

Score: 8.5/10

Lets Get Stoned and Bang Our Heads

Band: Dopethrone

Album Dark Foil (2011)

Genre: Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal

Hailing from Montreal, Quebec (CA), and taking their name from arguably one of the heaviest and influential doom/sludge releases of all time, Dopethrone aims to raise the bar of expectation from said genre with their sophomore release, entitled Dark Foil - And they succeed!

Brazenly heavy, and unapologetically evil sounding, almost everything about this album kicks major ass.  I guess I'll just start with the basics.  Dark Foil is a rather simple album that works to salvage something atmospherically higher (huh, huh).  Right from the very beginning of the album, when the film sample plays and the distorted groove of the first song kicks in, a chill will creep up your spine, moving up your neck, possessing you to bang you head in compliance with Satan.  Basically, this album sounds fucking evil!  As much as I dig the greats such as Eyehategod, Sourvein, Grief, etc., and their misanthropic spin they engrain in the sloppy grooves of sludge, I can't help but blow a big fan-boy load in my pants, in regards to the overall "smoke weed, and worship Satan" sound that these guys create on this album.  Various psychedelic solos like the one that can be found in the albums longest, and easily most groovy song "Zombi Powder," add a taste of ambiguity as they pull you through the song, which basically sounds like some trance-inducing mind-spell.

As far as the music goes, the band held very true to the genre of sludge and stoner metal alike.  Crushingly slow and groovy riffs pave the way for the album while slowing down at points to display the more psychedelic aspect via guitar solo.  The vocals are where the album gets a lot of it's evil sound and are rather reminiscent of black metal vocals.  The slowed-down, drawn-out pacing of the album allows for some very epic, lasting screams.  My ears were very pleased.  The bass guitar isn't as heavily and fuzzily distorted as I would have hoped for, but that's just me being picky.  At least I can say I hear the bass at all, which isn't always the case.

The production of the album is damn-near flawless.  Everything sounds very crisp and clean on the recording.  Some people can't get into this as much.  They prefer the sloppy, "recorded in a basement" quality.  I can't stress enough how much the production helps amplify the overall tone of the album.  You can hear every groove, feel every distorted strum, and become engrossed completely in the album.  The overall atmosphere thrives and lives through the production on this album.  It sounds like Satan himself wrote it, and shit it out unto Earth.

If you are a fan of doom, sludge or stoner metal of any kind (Especially Electric Wizard, Weedeater, Bongzilla, etc.) I highly (huh, huh) recommend you finding this album. I'm not one to usually say this, but I do dare say that Dark Foil may be up there with the album the band got it's name from, and other great releases of the genre.  Don't let this album slip past you.  If so, I will find you, and eat you.

Score: 9/10