Cattle Decapitation

It has been three years since Cattle Decapitation were last in London and an additional three years before that since they had last headlined the capital. Since then the American death/grinders have accumulated a swollen following, thanks in part to their notoriously gory music video for 'Forced Gender Reassignment' in 2012. Nambucca was a venue specifically selected by the band and promoter due to its intimacy. Unsurprisingly, the gig sold out in advance and with a few extremely limited tickets being sold at the door, queues were forming around the venue. For some reason, there was a lengthy delay in opening the doors which succeeding in pissing off a sizeable portion of the punters.

Sold out shows in such compacted locations like the 300-capacity Nambucca are fantastic for underground musicians and uncomfortable for the fans. To even grasp a half-decent view of the stage requires arriving there before the vast remainder of the crowd pushing your way to the front. Being a commendably warm day outside produces blazing temperatures inside, which guarantees fans struggling in the front to move further back and settle for a heavily impeded view of the band.

Cattle Decapitation arrive on stage slightly delayed but make up for it wielding 'Manufactured Instinct' from last year's 'The Anthropocene Extinction' album. Chugging riffs formulate a sinister introduction as the song erupts into a technical assault of biting grindcore-fixated death metal. In spite of the paucity of space, it does not take long for a devastating mosh pit to stampede through the venue. The opener is chased down by 'Prophets of Loss', encouraging fans to sing along with frontman Travis Ryan's more demented shouts towards the close of the album. Regrettably, the sound is in total disarray but the energy of the band is undeterred as they storm through their attack. With its piercing guitar tremolo intro, 'Your Disposal' yanks the set back to 2012's 'Monolith of Humanity' while the rhythmic stomp and progressive guitar frenzy of 'Forced Gender Reassignment' receives a tonight's most full-bodied applause.

Having been going since 1996, these Californians are proof that the hybrid of death metal and grindcore does not have to be repetitive or insipid. The band's later efforts incorporate a wild prog metal edge that contributes further insanity to the misanthropic music. Drummer David McGraw varies his battery with a range of tempos and styles, while sole guitarist Josh Elmore picks and chugs in addition to providing accomplished solos to consolidate a truly chaotic and unexpectedly atmospheric collection of songs.

Interestingly, it is the musical maturity of these last two albums exclusively that is aired tonight (out of a total of seven albums in their repertoire).  The likes of 'Clandestine Ways', 'Not Suitable for Life' and 'Pacific Grim' will satisfy any death metal fan's appetite for ferocious tracks although the muddy sound certainly negatively impacts the performance. Closer 'Kingdom of Tyants' seals the set but the four-piece return with an encore of 'Plagueborne' that leaves the fans roaring with thanks.

It must be stated that this show was far from flawless; unless you were anywhere near the front, this show would have been a struggle to get the most out of and the sound did not improve as the set whittled on. Nonetheless, those with a good view can confirm that in the live sphere, Cattle Decapitation do not deal in halves and still put on a worthy show to kick off the weekend.