Cattle Decapitation’s Karma, Bloody Karma is an absolutely amazing piece of art.
Take, for example, the vocals and lyrics of singer/songwriter Travis Ryan. The sheer range of Ryan’s talent recalls classical singer Josh Groban, and indeed, Grobanites can find common ground with metalheads on many fronts while listening to his beautiful words.
The musical prowess of the rest of the band is of equal quality, with the exception of the drummer, who doesn’t stop pounding the double kicks for the entire fucking album. This is a small caveat, however, given the unbridled talent the rest of the band exhibits. One listen will have even the staunchest unbeliever, uh, believing Josh Elmore is the next Frederic Chopin–except with guitars distorted to the point where they sound like dying animals. The bass is similarily spot-on, though this may be due entirely to not being able to hear anything over the fetal alcohol syndrome baby smashing away on the drums like they had candy in them.
Like a single cherry tree blossom silently falling to the snow, Cattle Decapitation’s latest is delicate, subtle, and, most definitely haiku-worthy. Josh’d be proud.