Cattle Decapitation

Cattle Decapitation was formed in 1996 by Scott Miller on vocals and guitar, Gabe Serbian on drums, and Dave Astor on bass.^[5] The band put out their first material in 1996 with a demo called Ten Torments of the Damned. Scott Miller left the band in circa 1997, Gabe Serbian assumed the guitar and also shared drums duties with Dave Astor, and Travis Ryan joined the band as the new vocalist. In 1999 their first EP, Human Jerky, was recorded and in 2000 their second EP Homovore was recorded. The two EPs were both recorded at Double Time Studios with recording engineer Jeff Forrest. Gabe Serbian ended up leaving the band 2001 to focus on The Locust. Guitarist Josh Elmore and bassist Troy Oftedal joined the band right after, so Dave Astor focused only on the drums.^{[citation needed]}

Cattle Decapitation's first album, To Serve Man, came out in 2002 and saw controversy in Germany, where distribution company SPV refused to handle the album due to its graphic cover.^[6] Drummer Dave Astor left the band the following year and was replaced by Michael Laughlin, who stayed in the band until 2008, when Dave McGraw took over the drummer position. 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.^[7]

In August 2009, Cattle Decapitation parted ways with long-time bassist Troy Oftedal because of "musical and personal differences".^[8] Cattle Decapitation's album Monolith of Inhumanity was released in 2012. It received positive reviews upon release.^[9][10]

Cattle Decapitation has toured with extreme metal acts including Suffocation, Cryptopsy, The Black Dahlia Murder, Deicide, Behemoth, Hate Eternal, Krisiun, Revocation, and Job for a Cowboy.^[11] The band also participated in Metal Blade Records' Scion A/V Showcase in late 2012.^[12]

The band spent the majority of 2014 writing The Anthropocene Extinction.^[13] Alongside the announcement of the album title in May 2015, the band released the first song of the record, titled "Manufactured Extinct".^[14] It was released through Metal Blade on August 7, 2015.^[15]

On April 30, 2018, two Native American teens were pulled out of a Colorado State University tour by the police for being "too quiet" and wearing "dark clothing."^[16] When the band found out that one of the brothers was wearing Cattle Decapitation T-shirts, they offered the brothers "free guest list spots for life."^[17][18]

In August 2018, the band announced the addition of Cryptopsy bass player Olivier Pinard, as well as the promotion of touring rhythm guitarist Belisario Dimuzio to being a full time member,^[19] thus making the group a five-piece for the first time. The recording of the seventh studio album Death Atlas began in May 2019,^[20] and was released on November 29, 2019.^[21]

In November 2022, the band announced at a concert in Las Vegas that they planned on releasing a new album in May 2023. At the show, they played the new song "We Eat Our Young" from the upcoming, then unnamed album.^[22]

The band released their eighth album, Terrasite, on May 12, 2023.^[23]

In mid-April 2025, Oliver Pinard announced his departure from the band in order to focus on Cryptopsy and his personal life.^[24]

In May 2025, Metal Blade Records and NJV Media released the feature-length documentary From This Flesh: A Cattle Decapitation Story. The documentary was filmed during the recording sessions for Terrasite and focuses on the production of the album, as well as the history of the band.^[25][26]

Cattle Decapitation are scheduled to tour in 2026.^[27] The band was confirmed to be performing at the 2026 Sonic Temple music festival in Columbus, Ohio.^[28] They will also appear at Welcome to Rockville, which will take place in Daytona Beach, Florida in May 2026.^[29]

Loudwire called Cattle Decapitation technical death metal.^[30] 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".^[6]

Lyrical themes explored by the band include decapitation, dissection, mutilation, animal rights, and veganism.^[31]