Compromise is not a concept Cattle Decapitation are willing to entertain. Ever. Over the course of nineteen years and six full-lengths the San Diego quartet have more than proven this, defining themselves as one of the most vital, brutal, and relentless forces in extreme music, and with The Anthropocene Extinction they have delivered a volatile, apocalyptic beast that is as hideous as it is compelling. "I feel that something rare happens with our band in that we get better and better with each release rather than going in the opposite direction, which happens to a lot of bands," states vocalist Travis Ryan. "As we get older we feel we have less and less to lose, which is freeing, and we really want to go as far out on a limb as we can without losing the extremity that has always driven us."   With 2012's Monolith Of Inhumanity Ryan, guitarist Josh Elmore, bassist Derek Engemann and drummer Dave McGraw delivered a sledgehammer blow, maintaining their position at the most violent end of the death metal spectrum yet expanding their sound, allowing a little more melody in without losing any of their intensity. As always tied together by a central concept, Ryan's bleak lyrics bluntly illustrated the fate of the human race if allowed to continue pillaging and destroying the planet. With The Anthropocene Extinction he extrapolates on this subject, looking back at the world in the aftermath of such ecological and environmental devastation, with its focus largely centered on the Pacific Ocean. "The Anthropocene Era is the time period where humankind has had the most profound negative effect on the Earth and its ecosystems and the record focuses on how we have managed to bring that era to an end. From even before the Industrial Revolution and into the present day, humankind's inexhaustible need for resources and explosive population growth have accelerated us towards a future world where we will have either consumed or polluted ourselves out of existence. When you look to the oceans the footprint we have left comes in the form of all the junk and plastic that has made it out there because we let that happen, and the effect that has, because when you start breaking down eco-systems it's a domino effect and will one day end up doing us in. The Anthropocene Extinction is set in the world that we destroyed, and lyrically, it's certainly the most depressing record I've written."   Of course, rather than taking such themes and applying them to introspective, navel-gazing music they weld them onto a soundtrack of all out savagery. Dominated by their blistering death-grind attack, shades of caustic black metal seep in across the record, and they further expand on the more epic and melodic aspects of its predecessor, at the same time making for a far more cohesive listening experience. "We've never actively said "let's do a black metal part" or "let's do a brutal blastbeat part!" We base everything on feeling, but we definitely focused much more on fluidity within the songs and making the record flow much more than on some of our earlier releases." With doom drenched opener "Manufactured Extinct" they set the scene, the monstrous "Clandestine Ways (Krokodil Rot)" - which turns the tables on the vivisectionists working in the cosmetic industry - and "Not Suitable For Life" perhaps the most intense and violent music the band have yet put their name to. Alongside these sit brooding instrumental "The Burden Of Seven Billion" and the melancholic "Ave Exitium", and across the record Ryan's mutated, high pitched melodic shriek - which could never be mistaken for 'clean' vocals - gets more space to breathe. This provides The Anthropocene Extinction with its catchiest parts, though dispensed sparingly and never forced, taking "Mammals In Babylon", "Apex Blasphemy" and closer "Pacific Grim" into somewhat tragic, desperate territory. "I think we came out with something pretty damn catchy, which I know isn't a common trait of this kind of music, but then again we're not trying to be like everybody else, or anybody else. When you have four drastically different opinions in a band that's where I think actual magic happens. We're all into very different things, and sometimes that can lead to conflicts, sometimes that can lead to greatness."   Reenlisting Monolith Of Inhumanity producer Dave Otero (Allegaeon, Cephalic Carnage), the band returned to Flatline Audio in Denver, CO, eager to revisit the close collaboration that helped bring that record to life. "Dave is a bonafide producer, he's got a lot of great ideas and this time we heard him out pretty religiously because making Monolith had worked out so well. We've always kind of co-produced our records with whoever we brought in, but these last two we did a lot more listening to what he had to say rather than just sticking with what we were saying. Sometimes we shot down his ideas and vice versa, but that discussion was always beneficial. He basically becomes the fifth member of the band at that point, and I think that kind of relationship is the best way to get anything out of anybody." The Anthropocene Extinction also features contributions from some notable guests, with Tristan Shone (AKA Author & Punisher) contributing to "Plagueborne", Bethlehem's Jürgen Bartsch providing a spoken word part - in his native German tongue - for "Pacific Grim", and Phil Anselmo lends his sandblasted larynx to "The Prophets Of Loss". "We originally didn't plan on having any guest appearances, but when the opportunities presented themselves while we were in the studio, they just seemed to fit perfectly and it was great we were able to actually get them involved. We had played the Housecore Horror Film Fest in Austin and we shot the shit with Phil,who is a very cool guy, but it was our friend John Jarvis (Pig Destroyer, Fulgora) who reached out to him - without telling us - and then told us he wanted to be on the record!" Ryan laughs. "The part you hear him do on that song is exactly what popped into my head as soon as we learned he was going to do something with us, and really all of those guys contributed something so cool to the finished product."   The Anthropocene Extinction also sees the band extending their collaboration with Wes Benscoter, who has handled the artwork for every release since 2002's To Serve Man. "As with the case of Dave Otero, when we work with Wes he becomes a member of the band, and this also applies to Mitch Massie [who directed the notoriously NSFW video clip for Monolith Of Inhumanity's "Forced Gender Reassignment"]. I care about their opinions just as much as my own, and it's about putting the ball in the court of these guys as much as possible without sacrificing our artistic integrity." As usual, Benscoter formulated striking imagery that conveyed the record's themes in unflinching style, the cover featuring a bloated and distorted corpse washed up on a beach, its torn abdomen disgorging a mass of waste plastic. "It harkens back to what's going on with the albatrosses they have been finding on Midway Island for years. They're mistaking plastic for krill, ingesting this and dropping dead on the island, and as they decay the plastic inside them spills out. It paints a vivid picture of what's going on out there, and we're taking that and putting that within a human context, because, as I said before, it's a domino effect that ultimately leads back to our own downfall."

Brought forth in 1988, BROKEN HOPE was the brainchild of guitarist/chief-lyricist-songwriter, Jeremy Wagner. Though Jeremy was still attending High School, his passion and drive for bringing the band out of obscurity was apparent from the start. In 1989 and 1990, BROKEN HOPE recorded two demo tapes which landed them a deal with the underground label, Grind Core records. In 1991, BROKEN HOPE spewed forth their debut album, Swamped In Gore, which subsequently launched the band out of the underground and into the mainstream. Swamped In Gore was not only ahead of its time musically but it was also the first digitally-recorded death-metal album yet again showing the forward thinking of the then fledgling act.    By 1993, BROKEN HOPE broke away from their first record label and quickly was immediately approached by Metal Blade Records. BROKEN HOPE released four albums with Metal Blade Records: The Bowels of Repugnance, Repulsive Conception, Loathing, and the re-release of Swamped In Gore. 1995's Repulsive Conception, reached CMJ New Music Monthly's Metal Top 25 chart, as did the follow-up, 1997's Loathing.    The first four albums are stellar examples of the fury and sheer brutality possessed by BROKEN HOPE, and is also the albums that etched BROKEN HOPE’s place in death-metal history. The first decade for the band was filled with non-stop writing, touring, and constant visibility with each album. BROKEN HOPE’s music has received praise from bands such as SLIPKNOT, DEVILDRIVER, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, DYING FETUS and many more.  By the end of the ‘90’s, BROKEN HOPE produced and released their fifth album: 1999’s, Grotesque Blessings. After North American and European, BH founder—Jeremy Wagner—cleaned house and put Broken Hope into “metal hibernation” in 2002.    In 2007, BROKEN HOPE’s original Loathing lineup sat down face-to-face to discuss reuniting and doing a world tour. Due to personal scheduling conflicts, the guys were unable to make anything happen after this special meeting.  On January 20, 2010, original BROKEN HOPE vocalist Joe Ptacek committed suicide. He was only 37 years old. Before his death, Ptacek met with Jeremy Wagner and Shaun Glass and discussed the resurrection of BROKEN HOPE. With Ptacek’s death, Wagner and Glass took time off to reconsider their next moves.    In 2012, Jeremy Wagner resurrected BROKEN HOPE and vowed to make the band a full-time monster—forever. BROKEN HOPE made their long awaited return to the realm of Death Metal on the highly successful Carnival of Death tour. BH’s high-intensity COD live offerings received top-praise, and confirmed that not only was BROKEN HOPE back, they were also more rabid than ever.  The band went on to perform at the 2013 editions of Extremefest (Germany) and Maryland Death Fest to stellar reviews which leads us to a new chapter in the annals of BROKEN HOPE.    In 2013, BROKEN HOPE put pen to paper and signed a worldwide deal with Century Media Records. Their sixth album, OMEN of DISEASE, released in October 2013 release. OMEN of DISEASE opened with a big first week, hitting #2 most-added at US radio, nearly breaking into the top 10 at CMJ, and with the track “Womb Of Horrors” added as a Flavor Track at Music Choice. OMEN of DISEASE also dropped with nearly 1,100 copies sold in its first week of release.    Trevor Strnad of THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER makes a guest appearance on backing vocals for the track, “Rendered Into Lard,” and OMEN of DISEASE also features the artwork and return of BROKEN HOPES’s former (and brilliant) album cover artist, Wes Benscoter (SLAYER, KREATOR, MORTICIAN plus many more).    BROKEN HOPE has supported OMEN of DISEASE with non-stop touring over the last year-and-a-half with tours including DEICIDE, IMMOLATION, OCEANO, and festival appearances at BRUTAL ASSAULT, NEUROTIC DEATHFEST, OBSCENE EXTREME, and more.    BROKEN HOPE recently overhauled their lineup with the addition of Matt Szlachta (ex-CHIMAIRA) on lead-guitars, and bassist, Diego Soria (Disgorge).    BROKEN HOPE finished their FIRST-EVER “HEADLINE” TOUR across EUROPE last April (2015) and appeared at the OBSCENE EXTREME CZECH and MONTREAL editions.    In September, BROKEN HOPE released their first-ever Live Concert Blu-Ray DVD and Live Album package via CENTURY MEDIA RECORDS. Directed by Tommy Jones (SLAYER, LAMB of GOD, DEATH ANGEL), this Live Concert combo titled, “LIVE DISEASE at BRUTAL ASSAULT,” the Live Blu-Ray and CD capture BROKEN HOPE’s intense and bludgeoning headline set in front of 25,000 fans. The Live CD hit #5 on CMJ’s LOUD ROCK/METAL charts the first week of release with DJ’s and reviewers collectively praising “LIVE DISEASE” as one of the greatest sounding Live CD’s and greatest visual Concert DVD’s in extreme metal.     

HIDEOUS DIVINITY's music starts taking form in January 2007 between Oslo (Enrico, former founding member of HOUR OF PENANCE now living in Norway) and Rome (Synder & Mauro, both members and ex-members of HOUR OF PENANCE and EYECONOCLAST). The aim is to come out with some real, straight-in-your-face unholy death metal: in other words, the only music in the world that deserves to be played.   The two songs featuring the "Sinful Star Necrolatry" were written and arranged by Enrico during 2007 and finally recorded by Enrico, Synder and Mauro in September, 2007 at the 16th Cellar Studios by the sound-engineer and long-time friend Stefano "Saul" Morabito (who also took care of the mixing).   After a long period of silence due to Enrico's relocation in Italy in early 2009 and his subsequent rejoining with HOUR OF PENANCE (from which he will part ways again in fall 2009), the band is finally back on tracks with a new lineup featuring master vocalist Enrico H., Flavio and Fabio respectively shredding bass and guitar, while "Mad Horse" Mizio takes care of keeping tornado beats.   A new song, "Cerebral Code Of Obeisance", sublimates the regained state of health of HIDEOUS DIVINITY that gains a multi albums deal with UNIQUE LEADER and a partecipation to INFERNO FESTIVAL 2011 in Oslo, ready to release their first full-length of their career in spring 2012.    "Obeisance Rising", a concept album based on John Carpenter's masterstroke "They Live" is out, great reviews worldwide, the band parts ways with Flavio, Mizio and Fabio. Giulio Galati on drums, Stefano Franceschini on bass and Antonio Poletti on guitar join what becomes the best HIDEOUS DIVINITY's lineup ever. Get ready to be torn to shred!