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.
No Future
Cattle Decapitation Lyrics
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No hope, no hope at all.
Nobody wins. No future.
Nobody lives. No hope at all.
Nobody cares. No Future.
We just go on and let suffering reign.
I crawled along the harvest floor
In my enemies shadow, last kicks of life
The brain is dead. Neurons have stopped.
Nobody wins. No future.
(no hope, no hope at all)
Nobody wins. No hope at all.
(no hope, no hope at all)
The lyrics to Cattle Decapitation's song No Future paint a bleak picture of the human condition. The song seems to comment on the fact that humanity is self-destructive and has no hope for its future. The repetition of the phrase "no hope" reinforces the idea that there is no way out of our current predicament.
Throughout the song, there is a sense of hopelessness and despair. The line "nobody wins" suggests that there are no winners in this game of life, and the line "nobody cares" highlights the apathy and indifference that can lead to our downfall. The chorus "we just go on and let suffering reign" suggests that we are complicit in our own misery and that we are unable or unwilling to stop it.
The second verse is particularly compelling. The line "I crawled along the harvest floor" suggests a sense of desperation or submission. The phrase "in my enemies shadow" implies someone or something that is always looming over us. The line "last kicks of life" reinforces the idea that the end is near for humanity. Finally, the line "out of the pale, into the night" suggests a journey into the unknown and a feeling of uncertainty.
Line by Line Meaning
Get set to self destruct [x3]
Prepare to destroy ourselves, repeating it thrice for emphasis.
No hope, no hope at all.
There is absolutely no expectation of a favorable outcome.
Nobody wins. No future.
There can never be any victors, and consequently there is no potential.
Nobody lives. No hope at all.
There is no enduring, living existence, and accordingly there is no positive outlook.
Nobody cares. No Future.
There is no concern, and thereby no possibility of anything better.
We just go on and let suffering reign.
We continue enduring, allowing suffering to control our existence.
I crawled along the harvest floor
I made my way on hands and knees amidst the crop that would eventually feed the world.
In my enemies shadow, last kicks of life
In the shade of my adversary and existing with my finite capacity.
Out of the pale, into the night.
Departing beyond the fringes and into the unknown darkness.
The brain is dead. Neurons have stopped.
The operational capacity of the mind has come to a halt, leaving nothing behind.
Nobody wins. No future.
There can never be any victors, and consequently there is no potential.
(no hope, no hope at all)
Still no expectation of a favorable outcome.
Nobody wins. No hope at all.
There can never be any victors, and consequently there is no potential.
(no hope, no hope at all)
Still no expectation of a favorable outcome.
Contributed by Matthew R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.