Monolith of Inhumanity

California death-grinders Cattle Decapitation will never be accused of subtlety, but there are moments on the typically grotesque Monolith of Inhumanity, their seventh long-player, that are unabashedly melodic. The band's penchant for setting off relentless explosions of BPM shrapnel, while vocalist Travis Ryan swallows the microphone and uses his rib cage for a reverb tank, remains steadfast, but the occasional clean vocal in the mix, as heard on the exhilarating "Living, Breathing Piece of Defecating Meat," adds a new vintage black metal patina to the group's signature Carcass/Pig Destroyer-informed attack. Elsewhere, the brooding "The Monolith" engages with its slow-burn Fields of the Nephilim-esque build and bleak spoken word outro, "Projectile Ovulation" (the second best title after the aforementioned "Defecating Meat") is a grindcore drum classic, and epic closer "Kingdom of Tyrants," with its sludgy, anthemic midsection, offers up a montage of all of the band's filthy strengths, before slithering back into the pestilence from which it came. ~ James Christopher Monger