Cattle Decapitation – To Serve Man
Unfortunately for Cattle Decapitation, generally death/grind bands are only as good as their drummer. And I don’t know if it’s the horrible triggered snare sound, the fact that said sound is mixed way too loud, or if it’s just the overall non-creative nature of his drumming, but David Astor really ruins this band for me. And since he and bassist write all the music, I guess that’s unlikely to change in the future. To Serve Man does have some cool riffs and vocals – almost like a more straightforward/oldschool Cephalic Carnage meets Suffocation and Cannibal Corpse, but the whole affair just stinks of mediocrity. Track five “The Regurgitation of Corpses” is the highlight, with some tight triplet rhythms and stops culminating at a short two minutes. Maybe I’m looking for too much here, but next to bands like Corpse Vomit, Exuviate or Mortal Decay, this stuff sounds safe and sterile. Cattle Decapitation have nothing really new to offer but they do what they do well for the most part. One of their biggest weaknesses as with many bands of their ilk is that their vocal patterns are sometimes too predictable. Another common problem of theirs is formulaic, uninspired drumming that sounds like it was touched up in the studio. It’s a shame their music is so run of the mill because their lyrics are really interesting and mostly well-written. They seem inspired by the bemused, educated observer lyrics pioneered by Carcass and philosophized by Exit-13. This is pretty good stuff, just nothing new and with a sketchy production that isn’t raw enough to capture the crazed vibe death metal requires. -Aaron J. Klamer
METAL BLADE
Worm Gear 