Cattle Decapitation at Koenji High, February 29th 2020

I’m not sure if ironic is the right word to describe what it was to listen to someone on stage singing “bring back the plague, to rid of everyone tomorrow, end of days” in the midst of the current coronavirus crisis. Seeing most of the audience with their face masks on rocking out to this nihilist sentiment could also be interpreted as an act of defiance and it encapsulates what Cattle Decapitation is all about.

I mentioned nihilism, another word that comes to mind is misanthropy. It’s true that most bands in the realm of extreme metal embrace these ideals, but only a few express them in such a hard hitting way. Cattle Decap doesn’t rely on spirituality or fantasy, their views are 100% grounded on problems that our species is facing today. I’ve red comments on sites like rateyourmusic.com in which even the most seasoned death metal fans will candidly recount  their disturbed reaction to what Travis Ryan says in his lyrics.

Musically they are also an extremely ambitious band. Ryan employs several singing techniques, ranging from deep guttural growls à la Demilich to unique high pitch melodic and somewhat “clean” voice that some critics have linked to the squealing of pigs at the slaughterhouse (it makes absolute sense, given that they started as a militant vegan anti-meat consumption band). To my ears that tone sounds more like how King Diamond would sound in a death metal context. They run the gamut of metal influences and reinterpret them in an extremely original and forward thinking package. Their last years offering Death Atlas was to me easily a 2019 top 5 album. I was really looking forward to this show.

Once it was confirmed that it was not cancelled, unlike many other shows around this time, I headed out there early to secure a spot near the front on the side. T-shirts were looking kind of meh, so I skipped the march table. The first two bands were pretty good. Remission went on first. I especially liked their closer tune which got an epic feel with shifting tempos and longer length. The second band was Death Rattle, they got the audience pumped with their thrash influenced sound. Their drummer was going for those Latin cymbal patterns that Mgla’s drummer uses; really tasty stuff.

Revocation is a band that I’m aware of but not too familiar with. Before the show I listened to a couple of their albums and I got to admit that they didn’t resonate with me that much. Live they were a whole different story. I was surprised by how they started the show with this mellow out jazz guitar tone that immediately hooked me in. I saw them with different eyes from that moment on. David Davidson on lead vocals and lead guitar kept adding that jazz phrasing throughout the show in his solos and the chord structure of their songs. They were awesome and got me hyped for my favorite band of the evening that was coming out next.

Unfortunately things didn’t pan out as expected. Cattle Decapitation played for only 45 minutes. Delivering a festival set for headline show prices was a weak move. I understand that we’re in the middle of a health crisis, but what difference would’ve made an extra thirty minutes of music? It’s actually disrespectful to the people who made an effort to be there. Unlike Revocation’s sound which was pristine and clear, Cattle Decap’s was a muddy mess. I mentioned Bring Back the Plague before ,I couldn’t even recognize it at first, I couldn’t tell what they were playing like if I was in a Dylan show. The vocals were buried, all I heard were guitars. It’s a shame especially because Travis Ryan is one of the best singers in metal. Maybe I was spoiled by their album’s super clear production, this was a huge contrast with that. The last song of this brief set without encores was the title track from their latest album and I got to admit that was epic. It improved the whole experience, but the balance was definitely not positive. I got such high expectations and left disappointed. Maybe next time.
  
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