Cattle Decapitation

While California-based Cattle Decapitation’s last album, Humanure, was a wildly enjoyable gore-grind and death metal affair, they’ve outdone themselves with Karma.Bloody.Karma. There’s more diversity, an overall amplified feeling of rage, and an even more antagonistic musical approach. Take "Success Is… (Hanging by the Neck),” which goes from a staggered crust-grind rhythm to speedy grindcore to a sludge-fest, or the haggard, near-awkward "Suspended in Coprolite,” which again employs a stuttering riff, some of the coolest gore-grind dive-bombing guitar riffs heard in years, and one of the greatest extreme metal build-ups of all time when the two collide. It’s those riffs that make this such a treat to listen to. With a production sound from the master of all things ugly, Billy Anderson, this disc is far more muddy and nasty sounding than the band’s last, and it works in their favour. But it’s not just the production that’s gotten more difficult, the music is seemingly heavier and more cantankerous while the lyrics are more hate-filled and ludicrously anti-human. I mean, sure, voluntary human extinction, why not? But are these guys going to back up the words by killing themselves? Probably not, but with albums as good as this, I don’t really want them to.