Cattle Decapitation - 'The Harvest Floor'

Cattle Decapitation is not your typical extreme band. Their music is as brutal as it gets, but the band has a political and social agenda more typical of a punk band. Their pro-animal and anti-human lyrics and cover art can be outrageous, but their gore and shock focuses on different subjects than the usual death metal/grind outfit.

The Harvest Floor is Cattle Decapitation's fourth full-length, and their best CD so far. They've stepped up their songwriting a notch, which is crystal clear in the album opener "The Gardeners Of Eden." Crushingly fast death metal eases into a brief progressive interlude before the insanity resumes. Mellower sections continue to alternate with brutal ones as the band showcases both technical wizardry and restraint.

The typical song on The Harvest Floor doesn't have that obvious ebb and flow, but subtle changes of speed and intensity are evident throughout. Cattle Decapitation has raised the stakes on this one, injecting catchy riffs and a couple groovy hooks that make things much more memorable.

It features guest appearances from those you might expect, like Ross Sewage from Impaled and Dino Sommese from Dystopia. There are also a couple of unexpected additions, such as cellist Jackie Perez-Gratz from Grayceon and vocalist Jarboe (Swans).

Jarboe's dreamy style is a real departure for a death/grind band, and her contribution to the title track makes it a trippy but ominous intro into the album's devastating closer "Regret & The Grave." From beginning to end, The Harvest Floor is a step forward in both songwriting and musicianship, and Cattle Decapitation hasn't sacrificed any ferocity in return.

(released January 20, 2009 on Metal Blade Records)