Originally founded in 1996, Cattle Decapitation's songs protest the mistreatment and consumption of animals as well as the abuse of the environment. Lyrics may also focus on subjects such as misanthropy and genocide of the human race. Much of their music is based on putting humans in the situations that animals are subjected to (animal testing, slaughter, etc).
Their 2002 album To Serve Man saw controversy in Germany, where distribution company SPV refused to handle the album due to its graphic cover. The cover of the 2004 album Humanure, featuring a cow excreting human remains, was reportedly censored without permission from the label in some outlets. Record store owners did not display the album, making it difficult for customers to find and buy it.
Former member Gabe Serbian is a member of the band The Locust.
Metal author and journalist Garry Sharpe-Young once acknowledged the band as "one of the few metal bands whose message hits as hard as their music."
Cattle Decapitation has toured with many death metal bands including Suffocation, Cryptopsy, The Black Dahlia Murder, Deicide, Behemoth, Hate Eternal, Krisiun, and Job For A Cowboy. Their album The Harvest Floor was released in 2009.
The band has been cited repeatedly for being an early influence to bands such as Job For A Cowboy, The Black Dahlia Murder as well as a legion of "deathcore" hopefuls.
In August 2009, Cattle Decapitation parted ways with long-time bassist Troy Oftedal because of musical and personal differences.
Their 2012 album, Monolith of Inhumanity, was met with positive reviews upon release for introducing a more melodic tone - ultimately skyrocketing the band's influence and engaging a new audience. Their latest album, The Anthropocene Extinction, received the same feedback, with Metacritic giving it an 86/100. The Anthropocene Extinctions's lyrical content follows their normal style of the effects of mankind's influence on the environment, such as the Great Pacific garbage patch.
Ave Exitium
Cattle Decapitation Lyrics
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We cracked the hourglass
Left paradise behind
Out of sight out of mind
We never stood a chance
Against this sick romance
We have with our demise
With mouths open wide
Our footprint steps inside
And when there's nowhere to hide
Death comes with the tide
The lyrics to "Ave Exitium" by Cattle Decapitation convey a theme of human destruction and the inevitable consequences of our actions. The song begins by stating how our detrimental impact on the world has reached a critical point, symbolized by cracking the hourglass. Leaving paradise, the perfect state of nature, behind is a metaphor for our detachment from the beauty and harmony of the natural world. We have become so focused on our own desires and immediate gains that we have pushed the consequences of our actions out of our minds, choosing to ignore the damage we are causing.
The lyrics suggest a sense of inevitability and hopelessness, as if we never had a chance to avoid this destructive path we are on. The phrase "sick romance" implies a twisted and unhealthy relationship with our own demise and the destruction of life in general. It highlights the paradoxical nature of our actions, as we are ultimately causing harm to ourselves as well. The lyrics also mention our "mouths open wide," which can be interpreted as a symbol of our insatiable greed and consumption. We are stepping into our own destructive path, unable to find a place to hide from the consequences. The closing line, "Death comes with the tide," emphasizes the omnipresence and inescapability of death, which will eventually engulf us all as the tide does to the shore.
Overall, "Ave Exitium" serves as a critique of human behavior and the detrimental impact we have on the world. It reminds us of the interconnectedness of all life and the consequences we face when we choose to ignore or exploit it.
Line by Line Meaning
And then it came to pass
After a series of events, it finally occurred
We cracked the hourglass
We disrupted the balance of time
Left paradise behind
We abandoned the perfect state of existence
Out of sight out of mind
If something is not seen, it is easily forgotten
We never stood a chance
We were never able to succeed
Against this sick romance
Against this twisted relationship
We have with our demise
We inevitably bring about our own destruction
We have with all of life
We have a destructive influence on all living beings
With mouths open wide
With our mouths agape
Our footprint steps inside
Our impact infiltrates
And when there's nowhere to hide
When there is no escape
Death comes with the tide
Death arrives inexorably
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: JOSH ELMORE, DEREK PAUL ENGEMANN, DAVID MCGRAW, TRAVIS RYAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind