Death Atlas

Cattle Decapitation released their eighth studio album, Death Atlas, on November 25, 2019. The album finishes the story of the end of humanity on Earth. The concept was started in the band’s two prior albums, The Anthropocene Extinction and Monolith of Inhumanity.

The primary motivation of Death Atlas is the Earth’s sixth mass extinction. The album depicts causes and solutions to humanity’s self-inflicted extinction.

The band’s previous albums, The Anthropocene Extinction and Monolith of Inhumanity, describe our pathway to extinction. Death Atlas provides finality in a world were there is no time left. Humanity has committed to destroying itself and the planet.

Instrumentally speaking, Death Atlas is a unique blend of influences throughout metal. There are certainly more traditional death influences, but Cattle Decapitation brings in elements that are melodic, groovy, and even atmospheric.

What’s really special is the delivery of vocalist Travis Ryan. Ryan has a seemingly endless supply of vocal tools that he uses throughout this album. What’s even more interesting is his use of a technique that’s closer to singing than screaming. It’s certainly not clean singing, but it enables melody to be properly hit in the vocals. It’s a unique style that’s hard to imagine anyone pull off properly except for Ryan.

Cattle Decapitation is:

Travis Ryan – vocals, keyboards

Josh Elmore – guitars

Dave McGraw – drums

Belisario Dimuzio – guitars

Olivier Pinard – bass

According to a Pop Fan

But what does our resident pop fan, Danielle, have to say about the album? We think Death Atlas is a great album absolutely worth your time, but it’s very intense. This album is the most extreme album we have featured on According to a Pop Fan.

Hear our more detailed discussion by playing the episode above as we discuss the album track-by-track, and be sure to check out more episodes of According to a Pop Fan!