TRAVIS RYAN STICKS HIS TONGUE OUT, MAKES FUNNY FACES, DELIVERS AWESOME VOCALS

Lettuce be cereal for a moment: people who think death metal vocals are “just screaming” can be excused for feeling thusly. Even avowed metal fans make this mistake from time to time; even if the vocalist is often the most recognizable face of the band, at the end of the day, it can’t be too hard to find one dude who can scream his gizzard out as well as another, right?

This isn’t really true, of course, as evidenced by Travis Ryan’s vocals on the new Cattle Decapitation album, Monolith of Inhumanity. Ryan delivers one of the most expressive death metal vocal performances in recent memory; his work is diverse and distinctive, bursting with personality at all times. It’s not just screaming; it kicks the quality of the entire record up a notch.

Which is why it’s worth watching this new behind-the-scenes footage of Ryan in the studio. It’s only a small glimpse into the mind of the madmen and I’m a little sad that there’s nothing on Ryan’s extremely bizarre ability to make hocking a loogie sound catchy, but it’s always entertaining, and hopefully will make you appreciate Ryan’s contributions to Monolith that much more. Watch:

Monolith of Inhumanity is out now on Metal Blade. Cattle Decapitation are just wrapping up a tour with Origin, Decrepit Birth, Aborted, Rings of Saturn, and Battlecross; you can get remaining dates here. They’ll also be a part of this summer’s Shockwave Festival along with Fear Factory, Voivod, Misery Index, Revocation, Havok, Last Chance to Reason, Vildhjarta, The Browning, and Forged in Flame; you can get dates for that tour here.

-AR