To Serve Man (album)

To Serve Man
To Serve Man
Studio album by Cattle Decapitation
Released	July 30, 2002
Recorded	Trident Studios
Genre	Deathgrind, grindcore, goregrind, crust punk
Length	34:59
Label	Metal Blade
Producer	Juan Urteaga
Cattle Decapitation chronology

To Serve Man is the debut studio album by American deathgrind band Cattle Decapitation, released in 2002 through Metal Blade Records.^[4]^[5] The title is a reference to the Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man".

Style

The tracks on To Serve Man have been described as "speedy and short bursts of dissonant grindcore" that also contain elements of death metal and crust punk. The album has been noted for its raw, stripped-down sound, which has been characterized as a "monotonous belch," drawing comparisons to Cannibal Corpse. Some of the album's guitar riffs have been likened to 1980s thrash metal acts such as Sadus and Kreator. Unlike many other bands in the genre, the Cattle Decaptiatopn did not make use of vocal effects (such as pitch shifting) or downtuned guitars. The album has also been noted for its clear production, relative to other bands in the genre such as Exhumed or Impaled. According to Blabbermouth, drummer Dave Astor "pushes the speed with a frantic tightness that will remind some of the first time they heard the Sadus D.T.P. demo." Lyrically, the album uses "gore imagery" as a metaphor for the consumption of animals, drawing comparisons to Carcass.^[6]^[7]^[8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[9]
Blabbermouth.net	8/10^[10]
Chronicles of Chaos	6.5/10^[11]
Exclaim!	favorable^[12]

In a positive review, Exclaim! praised the album's raw producion and omission of pitch shifting effects, calling Cattle Decaptiation an "earthy, organic counterpart to some of their more unimaginative goregrinding pals."^[13] Brian O'Neill of AllMusic was not as positive, calling the band a "caricature of the grindy gore-core bands they hope to emulate", and criticizing what he perceived as the band's reliance on the genre's formula and unwillingness to innovate.^[14]

Track listing

All tracks are written by David Astor, Troy Oftedal, and Travis Ryan

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Testicular Manslaughter"	2:50
2.	"I Eat Your Skin"	1:54
3.	"Writhe in Putrescence"	3:16
4.	"Land of the Severed Meatus"	2:22
5.	"The Regurgitation of Corpses"	2:02
6.	"Everyone Deserves to Die"	2:36
7.	"To Serve Man"	3:07
8.	"Colonic Villus Biopsy Performed on the Gastro-intestinally Incapable"	2:56
9.	"Pedeadstrians"	3:26
10.	"Long-Pig Chef and the Hairless Goat"	2:09
11.	"Hypogastric Combustion by C-4 Plastique"	2:36
12.	"Deadmeal"	2:34
13.	"Chunk Blower"	3:06
Total length:		34:59

Personnel

Cattle Decapitation

Travis Ryan – vocals
Josh Elmore – guitar
Troy Oftedal – bass
David Astor – drums

Production

Juan Urteage – engineering, mastering
Mike Blanchard – assistant engineering
Wes Benscoter – cover art
Brian Ames – graphic design
Ryan Loyko – photography
Myke Miazio – band logo

References

^ https://blabbermouth.net/reviews/to-serve-man
^ https://blabbermouth.net/reviews/to-serve-man
^ "Cattle Decapitation "To Serve Man" | Metal Blade Records".
^ Miller, Andrew (February 9, 2005). "Cooking With Cattle Decapitation". Cleveland Scene. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
^ Sharpe-Young, Garry (August 17, 2007). Metal: The Definitive Guide : Heavy, NWOBH, Progressive, Thrash, Death, Black, Gothic, Doom, Nu. Jawbone Press. p. 169. ISBN 9781906002015 – via Google Books.
^ To Serve Man - Cattle Decapitation | Album | AllMusic, retrieved 2024-12-31
^ Blabbermouth (2002-08-04). "To Serve Man". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved 2024-12-31.
^ "Cattle Decapitation │ Exclaim!". Cattle Decapitation │ Exclaim!. Retrieved 2024-12-31.
^ O'Neill, Brian. "To Serve Man–Review". Retrieved March 22, 2021.
^ Wagner, Jeff. "Cattle Decapitation – To Serve Man". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
^ Smit, Jackie (May 27, 2003). "To Serve Man, Review". Chronicles of Chaos. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
^ Pratt, Greg (November 1, 2002). "Cattle Decapitation To Serve Man". Exclaim!. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
^ Pratt, Greg (November 1, 2002). "Cattle Decapitation To Serve Man". Exclaim!.
^ To Serve Man - Cattle Decapitation | Album | AllMusic, retrieved 2024-12-31

[1] ttps://blabbermouth.net/reviews/to-serve-man

[2] ttps://blabbermouth.net/reviews/to-serve-man

[3] "Cattle Decapitation "To Serve Man" | Metal Blade Records".

[4] Miller, Andrew (February 9, 2005). "Cooking With Cattle Decapitation". Cleveland Scene. Retrieved March 22, 2021.

[5] Sharpe-Young, Garry (August 17, 2007). Metal: The Definitive Guide : Heavy, NWOBH, Progressive, Thrash, Death, Black, Gothic, Doom, Nu. Jawbone Press. p. 169. ISBN 9781906002015 – via Google Books.

[6] To Serve Man - Cattle Decapitation | Album | AllMusic, retrieved 2024-12-31

[7] Blabbermouth (2002-08-04). "To Serve Man". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved 2024-12-31.

[8] "Cattle Decapitation │ Exclaim!". Cattle Decapitation │ Exclaim!. Retrieved 2024-12-31.

[9] O'Neill, Brian. "To Serve Man–Review". Retrieved March 22, 2021.

[10] Wagner, Jeff. "Cattle Decapitation – To Serve Man". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved March 22, 2021.

[11] Smit, Jackie (May 27, 2003). "To Serve Man, Review". Chronicles of Chaos. Retrieved March 22, 2021.

[12] Pratt, Greg (November 1, 2002). "Cattle Decapitation To Serve Man". Exclaim!. Retrieved August 25, 2022.

[13] Pratt, Greg (November 1, 2002). "Cattle Decapitation To Serve Man". Exclaim!.

[14] To Serve Man - Cattle Decapitation | Album | AllMusic, retrieved 2024-12-31

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v t e Cattle Decapitation
Travis Ryan Josh Elmore Dave McGraw Belisario Dimuzio Olivier Pinard Scott Miller Gabe Serbian Dave Astor Michael Laughlin Troy Oftedal Derek Engemann
Studio albums	To Serve Man (2002) Humanure (2004) Karma.Bloody.Karma (2006) The Harvest Floor (2009) Monolith of Inhumanity (2012) The Anthropocene Extinction (2015) Death Atlas (2019) Terrasite (2023)