Cattle Decapitation: The Belasco - Los Angeles, CA - 5/24/24
Cattle Decapitation is a deathgrind band from San Diego, California. Despite their name, the band’s lyrics deal with the exploitation and consumption of animals, abuse of the environment and genocide of the human race. The band’s original lineup consisted of all vegetarians, but now only vocalist Travis Ryan and guitarist Josh Elmore are the only remaining vegetarians remaining in the band. In 2023, they released their eighth studio album Terrasite to positive reviews from fans. Since then, Cattle Decapitation has been actively touring in support of the new album. This year, they were headlining this year’s Chaos and Carnage Tour. The second to last stop on the tour was at the Belasco in Los Angeles. A Friday at a show like this was the perfect way to end the work week. Fans were so ecstatic for this amazing show that it was packed to almost sold-out capacity.
Cattle Decapitation were the last to come out on tour and by then, fans were hot and sweaty from all the moshing they had been doing all night. Still, they had the energy to keep going for one of metal’s best bands. The lights went out and the packed venue roared with excitement as the band made their way to the stage. After the intro track finished, the band jumped into the first song “Terrasitic Adaptation,” the first track from the latest album. The brutality of the music filled the venue and, naturally, the fans continued to mosh and smash into each other. The next two songs were also from the latest album, “We Eat Our Young” and “Scourge of the Offspring.” Travis Ryan is one of metal’s best singers and he proved with every song he sang. His singing style ranges from deep guttural growls to ear-piercing shrieks. Now that some newer tracks had been played, it was time for Cattle Decapitation to play some of their classic songs. Some of those included “Your Disposal,” “Bring Back the Plague” and “Forced Gender Reassignment.” Cattle Decapitation is one of those bands that don’t need theatrics or fancy getups to make their show better. Their music alone gets you pumped up and will have you raising your horns and banging your head. The second to last song was “Manufactured Extinct.” Ryan thanked the audience for coming out and he would now leave them with one last song for the night. The last song performed was “Kingdom of Tyrants.” The fans continued to mosh and gave their last bit of energy to the band. The show came to an end, and there were nothing but smiles amongst the fans as they had been more than satisfied with the whole tour. Hopefully it’s not long before Cattle Decapitation come through again to pulverize their fans with metal.
