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.
Pacific Grim
Cattle Decapitation Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Vomits into the ocean
An island of garbage
Forged by the discarded
The constant trawling
Modifying habitats
What the fuck are we doing?
The nets don't discriminate unforgiving in this throwaway living
As the coves exsanguinate the bodies, now gluttonous commodities
Purging more than they need for the unwitting public and corporate greed
Paralyzed in fear, until all pods are eradicated
They never stood a chance
Against this sick romance
We have with every living being
We have with every fucking thing
Long lining baited hooks, pelagic thievery, gluttonous crooks
Discarded secondary bycatch rendered useless, thrown overboard
Bottom trawling thus reveals the destroyed habitats - wiped off the map
The life support of the ecosystems is pulled leaving only victims
Living in misery the ways of fisheries
One of life's mysteries soon we'll all be history
Nobody's listening classic conditioning
This is the christening extinction quickening
We never stood a chance
Against this sick romance
We have with our demise
We have with all of life
With mouths open wide
Our footprint steps inside
And when there's nowhere to hide
Death comes with the tide
The lyrics of Cattle Decapitation's song "Pacific Grim" highlight the devastating impact of human activities on the environment and marine life. The song begins by depicting a nuclear accident that contaminates the ocean, leading to the creation of an island of garbage composed of discarded waste. The constant trawling, or dragging of nets through the water, and modification of habitats further contribute to the destruction. The lyrics question the absurdity of these actions, asking, "What the fuck are we doing?"
The song then discusses the loss of biodiversity, as deceased inhabitants are replaced by a monoculture. The nets used in fishing operations indiscriminately capture and kill marine life, representing a throwaway culture where nothing is valued. The lyrics suggest that this is driven by both public demand and corporate greed. The bodies of the creatures are considered "gluttonous commodities," purged more than necessary, while paralyzed in fear until all life is eradicated.
The song portrays a sense of despair, observing that the living conditions for marine life are becoming increasingly miserable due to human activities. It implies that the ways of fisheries and society's behavior are a mystery, leading to our own self-destruction. The lyrics depict a sick romance humanity has with every living being and everything else, ultimately leading to a grim future where death comes with the tide and we are all part of our own demise.
Line by Line Meaning
A nuclear accident
The occurrence of a catastrophic incident involving nuclear materials
Vomits into the ocean
Releases harmful substances or waste materials into the marine environment
An island of garbage
A location in the ocean where large amounts of discarded waste accumulate
Forged by the discarded
Formed as a result of the things that have been thrown away or abandoned
The constant trawling
The continuous process of fishing using a trawl net
Modifying habitats
Causing changes to the natural environments where organisms live
What the fuck are we doing?
Expressing disbelief and questioning the actions and choices being made
Biodiversity now monoculture of deceased inhabitants
The variety of life forms has been reduced to a single type of organisms which are all dead
The nets don't discriminate unforgiving in this throwaway living
The fishing nets do not distinguish and are relentless in capturing anything in this disposable lifestyle
As the coves exsanguinate the bodies, now gluttonous commodities
As the coastal areas drain the blood from the bodies, now these lifeless beings are viewed as excessive commodities
Purging more than they need for the unwitting public and corporate greed
Disposing of an excessive amount of resources to fulfill the desires of the unaware general public and the insatiable greed of corporations
Paralyzed in fear, until all pods are eradicated
Immobile and filled with terror, until all groups or communities are completely eliminated
They never stood a chance
They were never given an opportunity for survival or success
Against this sick romance
Against this twisted infatuation or obsession
We have with every living being
We possess an intimate connection with every organism alive
We have with every fucking thing
We possess an intimate connection with every single object or entity
Long lining baited hooks, pelagic thievery, gluttonous crooks
Using fishing techniques involving long lines, baited hooks, stealing from the open ocean, and being excessively greedy
Discarded secondary bycatch rendered useless, thrown overboard
Unwanted and unintended catch of non-target species is considered worthless and discarded by being thrown into the sea
Bottom trawling thus reveals the destroyed habitats - wiped off the map
Dragging nets along the ocean floor results in exposing the devastated habitats that have been completely eradicated
The life support of the ecosystems is pulled leaving only victims
The vital systems and resources that sustain the ecosystems are extracted, leaving behind only the ones harmed or affected
Living in misery the ways of fisheries
Existing in a state of suffering due to the practices and methods employed by the fishing industry
One of life's mysteries soon we'll all be history
One of the perplexing aspects of existence is that soon we will all cease to exist or become part of the past
Nobody's listening classic conditioning
No one is paying attention or responding to the conventional patterns or behaviors
This is the christening extinction quickening
This is the ceremonial beginning of the acceleration of the process leading to the extinction of species
We never stood a chance
We were never given an opportunity for survival or success
Against this sick romance
Against this twisted infatuation or obsession
We have with our demise
We possess an intimate connection with our own downfall or destruction
We have with all of life
We possess an intimate connection with every aspect of existence
With mouths open wide
With open mouths, eagerly awaiting or consuming
Our footprint steps inside
Our impact or influence penetrates into
And when there's nowhere to hide
And when there is no place of shelter or escape
Death comes with the tide
Death arrives or is brought along with the ebb and flow of the sea
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: JOSH ELMORE, DEREK PAUL ENGEMANN, DAVID MCGRAW, TRAVIS RYAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
coma39
LYRICS:
A nuclear accident
Vomits into the ocean
An island of garbage
Forged by the discarded
The constant trawling
Modifying habitats
What the fuck are we doing?
Biodiversity - now monoculture of deceased inhabitants
The nets don't discriminate - unforgiving in this throwaway living
As the coves exsanguinate the bodies, now gluttonous commodities
Purging more than they need - for the unwitting public and corporate greed
Paralyzed in fear, until all pods are eradicated
They never stood a chance
Against this sick romance
We have with every living being
We have with every fucking thing
Long lining baited hooks, pelagic thievery, gluttonous crooks
Discarded secondary bycatch rendered useless, thrown overboard
Bottom trawling thus reveals the destroyed habitats - wiped off the map
The life support of the ecosystems is pulled leaving only victims
Living in misery - the ways of fisheries
One of life's mysteries - soon we'll all be history
Nobody's listening - classic conditioning
This is the christening - extinction quickening
We never stood a chance
Against this sick romance
We have with our demise
We have with all of life
With mouths open wide
Our footprint steps inside
And when there's nowhere to hide
Death comes with the tide....
"Was wir für uns selbst tun, stirbt mit uns.
Was wir für andere tun verbleibt und ist unsterblich."
(What we do for ourselves, dies with us. What we do for others, remains and becomes immortal)
Death comes with the tide
Dorian Bernasconi
This song makes me cry... It's so brutal then so melodic and catchy, moreover the lyrics are perfectly matched with the beautiful voice of Travis... Amazing !
Marcc Twain
lyrics are great and sadly accurate
Andy Knode
I agree, this song makes me cry as well. Tears for the sadness of the lyrics, tears for the beauty of the music, and tears for the intense emotion pouring through the song! These guys are amazing!
Ozzylep Unknown
@Marcc Twain The brutal sound aids greatly in delivering the message
Retro Renaissance
Every member of this band has a name that could double for a country singer
Jesse Ling
I googled the singers name, first thing that came up;country singer xD
Craplatte
I guess that would be the first vegan country act ever XD
James Fleisher
Today’s diluted country pop music or old school country because Hank III is metal as fuck
Xmetal FreakX
@James Fleisher Hank 3 isn't metal dude. Countries country.
James Fleisher
@Xmetal FreakX he is Country. Undoubtedly His country concoction of hardcore Punk/metal music & Country sounds like he can be pretty damn metal too though