They keep on rolling in this year, don’t they? All those mainstream extreme metal music bands with their time-worn tropes and decade-long experience adding fodder to our list of RMR n00bs of established outfits. Bands with distinguished careers and undeniable influence on metal music that – for some reason – never made it onto the RMR ‘zine.
So, meet Cattle Decapitation and their latest lovechild Terrasite.1 Yet another established band to be gleefully butchered on the RMR Altar ov Metal Ignorance. Because the RMR review desk won’t give a damn what came before. The present is all that matters. You’ll get our best take without any fanboy juice in the mix.
Ready? Lövely! Butchering knives out, it’s time to bleed the animal and fire up the BBQ. We’re hungry.
Cattle Decapitation. Already the damned stupid name of a band of metal renown made us turn off the loudspeakers in the past.2 Rodeo on a headless bull, that kind of thing. But we always knew that metal music wasn’t populated with the brightest marketing pros. Anything to raise some outrage to get clicks and sales will do. Albeit that the band’s orc-like strategy actually worked pretty well for them so far. After all, they have been around since 1996. And that piqued our interest.
Terrasite will – for sure – serve your fair share of rotten meat. The piece wastes no second to slam your mutual heads against the next cattle byre. Terrasitic Adaptation takes off like some of Musk’s rockets that decided to work for once. A scream straight from Cradle of Filth‘s playbook and frenetic drumming will usurp your attention. And on it goes with Travis Ryan‘s elastic vocal performance that – for sure – easily grabs 3/4 of Terrasite‘s allure. Feral Death Metal growls, comfortable gurgles, high-velocity blackened rasps, and frenetic interludes of belted clears that sound like a constipated Hansi Kürsch3 under severe torture.
But that’s all good. The variety in Extreme Metal on display here for sure saves Terrasite‘s scorched bacon time and again. The band indeed throws everything they got at you. Burly and often cathedral riffing, soaring solos, breaks from high-speed crazed Death Metal to the slow-marching doom variety. You’ll also find hints of Melodic Death Metal here and there. And it’s skillfully done, too. No copycat of the overused old masters of this genre. Instead, it’s all about a brutal onslaught of a decapitated Neanderthal having a soft moment. Because right after that, the tough love dished out with a spiked club will return without mercy.
But there’s more. In all that hyperventilating madness, you’ll find progressive and almost ambient interludes that suddenly appear when there should be none. Or some subdued groove that sees the light of day in odd places. If this sounds like a devilish mix from hell’s kitchen, it kind of is. The production will only survive that multilayered bedlam if the songwriting is truly up to par and the arrangement unblemished. And that’s indeed the case here, too.
So, what can we say? Terrasite turned into the surprise of the year of sorts over at the RMR office tower. A wild mix of Neanderthal Death Metal, lighter more shiny parts, and a vocalist on too much caffeine who’s totally out of control. Together with this artillery barrage of shotgun-like drum work, the RMR crew just found one of the best slammy Extreme Metal pieces of 2023. There’s one caveat, though. Terrasite is full-immersion metal atrocity with benefits. So, all non-metalheads, beware. You shouldn’t hit play without a crash helmet, neck protection, and a CD band shirt. All others, consume without moderation. The mosh pit beckons you.
Now, where’s that damned ice pack? Gotta cool down those overheated ears.
Ed’s note: Want to hear about all other infamous n00bs? Check out The List. And – drumroll – the record’s made it onto our 2023 Top Ten list, too. Congrats!
Record Rating: 8/10 | Label: Metal Blade | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 12 May 2023
- Fancy a definition? Check out Urban Dictionary: Terrasite.-↩
- There are worse assholes out there, true. But this one’s already up with the more pungent ones. -Ed.-↩
- The main dude of Blind Guardian.-↩