Extreme Sound, “Extreme” Lifestyle? Investigating Cattle Decapitation’s Stance on the Human Impact on the Environment and Animal Rights

Abstract

With insight into the lyrics and lifestyle choices of some of the members of the Californian deathgrind band Cattle Decapitation, this article explores the connection between their extreme sound and the “extreme” messages in their work. Namely, the band’s current and former members have been vocal about their stance on animal cruelty and human impact on the environment, also reflected in the band’s lyrics and imagery. Their positions are supported by, to use the terms coined by Keith Kahn- Harris, the utilization of discursive, bodily, as well as sonic transgressions. With that in mind, the goal of this paper is to examine the ways in which these transgressions, or rather, forms of “extremism,” collaborate, reinforce, and strengthen each other. This will be achieved by questioning the points of contact among the movements concerning political/environmental/ animal rights and the sounds deemed extreme in contemporary society.

Keywords

• extreme metal
• Cattle Decapitation
• environmental impact
• animal rights
• vegetarianism/veganism