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Death Atlas

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Death Atlas
a skeleton with a scythe holds up the world like Atlas
Studio album by
Cattle Decapitation
ReleasedNovember 29, 2019 (2019-11-29)
RecordedMay 2019
StudioFlatline Audio, Westminster, Colorado
GenreTechnical death metal, deathgrind
Length54:58
LabelMetal Blade
ProducerDave Otero
Cattle Decapitation chronology
The Anthropocene Extinction
(2015) 		Death Atlas
(2019) 		Terrasite
(2023)
Singles from Death Atlas
  1. "One Day Closer to the End of the World"
    Released: September 5, 2019[1]
  2. "Bring Back the Plague"
    Released: October 3, 2019
  3. "Death Atlas"
    Released: November 21, 2019
  4. "Finish Them"
    Released: January 19, 2021

Death Atlas is the seventh studio album by American death metal band Cattle Decapitation. It was released on November 29, 2019, via Metal Blade Records. Its release coincided with Black Friday and came more than four years after their previous studio album, 2015's The Anthropocene Extinction.

It is the band's first album to feature second guitarist Belisario Dimuzio and new bassist Olivier Pinard. At just under 55 minutes, it is also their longest album to date. The album debuted at number 116 on the US Billboard 200 and at number 56 in Germany.

Background

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Death Atlas was recorded at Denver's Flatline Audio with producer Dave Otero. Album artwork was by Wes Benscoter.[2] Vocalist Travis Ryan comments: "We have crafted what we feel is our strongest album to date",[3] (...) "Musically and lyrically, there is a lot of grief, anger, hate, passion, and emotion poured into this one".[4] Prior to the album release, the band co-headlined the 2019 Summer Slaughter Tour.[3]

The opening track "Anthropogenic: End Transmission" samples the Greetings in 55 Languages from the Voyager Golden Record.

During the production of Terrasite, vocalist Travis Ryan called Death Atlas his "favorite Cattle record to date" and referred to the album as the band's magnum opus.[5]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Blabbermouth.net9/10[7]
Consequence of Sound10/10[8]
Distorted Sound9/10[9]
Exclaim!6/10[10]
No Clean Singingfavorable[11]
Metal Storm8.1/10[12]

Loudwire named it one of the 50 best metal albums of 2019.[13] Decibel magazine named it the 20th best album of 2019.

Track listing

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No.TitleLength
1."Anthropogenic: End Transmission"2:15
2."The Geocide"3:43
3."Be Still Our Bleeding Hearts"3:54
4."Vulturous"4:59
5."The Great Dying"1:12
6."One Day Closer to the End of the World"3:47
7."Bring Back the Plague"4:28
8."Absolute Destitute"4:35
9."The Great Dying II"1:05
10."Finish Them"2:55
11."With All Disrespect"4:31
12."Time's Cruel Curtain"5:31
13."The Unerasable Past"2:50
14."Death Atlas"9:14
Total length:54:58
Bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
15."In the Kingdom of the Blind, the One-Eyed Are Kings" (Dead Can Dance cover)4:10
16."An Extreme Indifference to Human Life"3:15
Total length:62:23

Personnel

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Cattle Decapitation

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  • Travis Ryan – vocals, keyboards (track 5, 9)
  • Josh Elmore – guitars
  • Dave McGraw – drums
  • Belisario Dimuzio – guitars
  • Olivier Pinard – bass

Additional personnel

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  • Jon Fishman – narration (track 13)[14]
  • Riccardo Conforti – keyboards (track 1)
  • Laure Le Prunenec – vocals (track 14)
  • Tony Parker – keyboards (track 13)
  • Ottone Pesante – horns (track 16)
  • Melissa Lucas-Harlow – narration (track 5)

Production

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  • Dave Otero – production, engineering, mixing[3]
  • Wes Benscoter – artwork[3]
  • Gautier Serre – additional engineering (track 1)

Charts

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Chart (2019) Peak
position
Australian Digital Albums (ARIA)[15] 10
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16] 56
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[17] 97
US Billboard 200[18] 116
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[19] 3
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[20] 12

References

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  1. ^ Joe Divita (September 5, 2019). "Cattle Decapitation Debut Cinematic New 'Death Atlas' Song". Loudwire. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
  2. ^ Cattle Decapitation reveals details for new album. Metal Blade Records.
  3. ^ a b c d CATTLE DECAPITATION: 'Death Atlas' Cover Artwork Unveiled. Blabbermouth.net. July 18, 2019.
  4. ^ Cattle Decapitation Share First Tease Of New Music From Upcoming Album "Death Atlas". theprp.com. JUL 18TH, 2019.
  5. ^ Cattle Decapitation (May 12, 2025). "From This Flesh" - A Cattle Decapitation Story (Official Terrasite Studio Documentary). Retrieved May 16, 2025 – via YouTube. Timestamp: 00:34:29 and 00:38:00
  6. ^ "Cattle Decapitation - Death Atlas". AllMusic. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  7. ^ "Cattle Decapitation Death Atlas". December 21, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  8. ^ "Album Review: Cattle Decapitation Deliver an Apocalyptic Tour de Force with Death Atlas". November 27, 2019.
  9. ^ "Album review: Death Atlas – Cattle Decapitation". November 25, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  10. ^ "Cattle Decapitation Death Atlas | Exclaim!".
  11. ^ "Cattle Decapitation Death Atlas". November 20, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  12. ^ "Cattle Decapitation – Death Atlas review". Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  13. ^ "The 50 Best Metal Albums of 2019". Loudwire. Townsquare Media. December 3, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  14. ^ Sacher, Andrew (September 5, 2019). "Cattle Decapitation Share First Single From "Death Atlas," Reveal More Album Details". Invisible Oranges. Archived from the original on September 6, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  15. ^ "ARIA Australian Top 50 Digital Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. December 9, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  16. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Cattle Decapitation – Death Atlas" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  17. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Cattle Decapitation – Death Atlas". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  18. ^ "Cattle Decapitation Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  19. ^ "Cattle Decapitation Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  20. ^ "Cattle Decapitation Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
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External videos
video icon Cattle Decapitation Presents: "The Unerasable Past" A Short Film by Wes Benscoter on YouTube
video icon Cattle Decapitation "Bring Back the Plague" (OFFICIAL VIDEO) on YouTube
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