Cattle Decapitation! and Other Great Band Names

Metal bands have the best names. Slayer, Testament, Anthrax, Sepultura, Judas Priest, Killswitch Engage. But death metal bands have even better names! I made a list of the 10 best band names out there, ones that feel great slipping off your tongue. Be warned, this might get graphic. You are sliding down a rabbit hole, one filled with sewage and decay.
Read on at your own peril!

Abominable Putridity! Say it out loud. Go ahead. Doesn't that have a nice ring to it?

Probably the most notorious band here, Cannibal Corpse. With songs like "Icepick Lobotomy", "Submerged in Boiling Flesh", and "Gutted", you know they're not Top 40. But that's okay, because they're Cannibal Corpse! Yes, I know you C.C. fans out there are disappointed I didn't put an older album up there, but I can't foist "Butchered at Birth" on an unsuspecting audience.
Not yet.

Cattle Decapitation. Speak it. Cattle. Decap. Itation. Nice, isn't it? It makes you feel powerful just saying it. These guys are infamous for their "Humanure" album cover, which I am afraid to show here. It's of a cow excreting human remains. Tasty! They are vegans, and make songs about humans beings victims of experiments and violence. "Chummified" is one song title. They have single-handedly turned the food chain around.
Next!

More Dan Seagrave art! Decrepit Birth.  Listen to "Ignite the Tesla Coil". It sounds like Bananarama. On PCP laced with Clorox.

A-ha! A death metal band that doesn't grunt about gore! Dying Fetus. They provide social commentary, such as "From Womb to Waste" and "Subjected to a Beating".

Fleshgod Apocalypse. Their album covers are boring, so go look at their faces. Go ahead, say "Fleshgod Apocalypse". It's fun! Wait, I've changed my mind. Here's an album cover:

How can I describe Fleshgod Apocalypse? Imagine a chamber orchestra layered with unending blast beats and buzzing guitars. By a bunch of Italian guys. One who sings opera style and one who growls. The first time I heard this my heart almost exploded! I felt the overwhelming urge to slam the gas petal down and rip the steering wheel out.
Fleshgod Apocalypse.

Look, it's Devourment! The only album cover I could show here. You thought I was going in alphabetical order, didn't you? Be careful. With songs like "Deflesh the Abducted" and "Anal Electrocution", ABC order doesn't matter. You are treading on thin ice, and underneath is a sonic bombardment of perversion.

That says Visceral Disgorge. "Disgorge" is a cool word. Reminds me of erupting pustules or vomiting. Speaking of vomiting. . .

Vomitous! No joke. There is a band called Vomitous. They vocalize such mad songs like "Atrocious Defecation Upon the Dead". But shoot, that's some great album art!

And finally, the greatest of all, double-bass please- From the Middle East, weighing half as much as you or I, the late, great-

Islamic Torso Death! Their cover art is a little hazy, you'll have to forgive them. These guys are fantastic, though! Go listen to "Kill the Christians!" and "Kill the Christians Again!".

Here's their back cover art. A little grainy, but effective. "Behead the Infidels" is a great song, full of wailing screams and guttural howls. "Violate the Western Women" is a fan favorite, as is "Set the Cage on Fire" and "Vest".
Classics all!

Yes, these are fans after one of Islamic Torso Blast's shows. The mosh pit was extreme! Ball bearings everywhere!
Yeah, Islamic Torso Death!

And there you have it. Great band names from around the globe. If you have any additions to this great list, let me know. Tally-ho!

 

Where Was God During The Holocaust?

"How could a loving God allow the Jews to suffer in the Holocaust?" Great question. We covered something like that in Why, God, Why. But why didn't God stop Hitler and Mengele early on? Why let the atrocity reach such monstrous proportions?

I don't know. There is a reason, and it isn't because God doesn't exist. People want to abandon their belief in God because bad things happen. That's understandable. I mean, look at this:

Who wants to follow a God who permits this? What people forget about is their own culpability. He doesn't answer the way we want, so we throw Him away. Other people did this horrific massacre, not God.
Like the Rock used to say: "Shut your mouth and know your role!" We answer to God, remember, not the other way around. He is not our genie, always answering us when we call. He is God, the Almighty. The top of the chain, the king of all, the prime mover. Keep yourselves humble before you stand before Him!

Now we can ask why He would allow His chosen people to suffer. This wasn't the first time. In fact, during ancient times he sent calamities against the Jews!

Why? Is He psycho or something? What kind of God would do that? The kind who makes an agreement with a group of people, laying out the blessings for obedience and the curses for disobedience, that they all agreed to. That's right, they agreed to it.

And God always keeps His word.
So when the Jews committed idolatry, they were breaking their vow they made with God. Sort of like cheating on your spouse. He then sent in their enemies to humble them. They went through cycles of repentance, blessing, idolatry, discipline, repentance, etc. When they obeyed, they had lots of babies, good crops, wealth, health, and victory over their enemies. When they disobeyed flagrantly, all the blessings became curses.
You get what you ask for.

With idol-worship comes perversion. Their society became corrupt to the point where God determined judgment was necessary. He knows best. He destroyed northern Israel by way of the Assyrians and then the Babylonians. They never recovered. He then destroyed Jerusalem using Nebuchadnezzar.

God did bring them back to their land and they rebuilt the Temple. But they never were a wealthy nation again until the 20th century. Yes, God's judgment is harsh, but He waits a long time before He unleashes it. He waited centuries and centuries before He drowned the world. He waited 400 years before judging the Canaanites, and 1000 years or so before deporting Israel. He gives plenty of time for people to repent. He's not obligated to, but He does because He really doesn't want to punish anyone. He is patient while He watches families, nations, and societies become engulfed in sin. He gives them time to turn it around. If they won't, His holy character demands justice.

What does this have to do with the Holocaust? The Jews aren't under a theocratic government anymore, so they can't be held accountable for breaking those old laws, right? I don't know. Maybe they suffered because no one wanted to help them! The world turned a blind eye to their suffering. Don't think that went unnoticed by God either. Rest assured, an accounting is coming for every evil act.
I'd hate to be Hitler.

In any case, shaking our fists at God does no good. Holding Him to task for His inaction in the Holocaust is useless. He is not a child we can scold. In fact, why did He watch tens of millions of people die in Communist Russia and China? Or Christians while they are tortured for His Son's name? Why doesn't He intervene when we want Him to?

Where's the justice?

It's coming. In the meantime, know your role.

 

Artists Are Weird

Artist tend to be weird. So do musicians and writers. Eccentric, peculiar, strange. If a man plays death metal, he has to be insane. If a woman writes horror, she'd screwed in the head. If they paint alien landscapes, they are warped. You know how it is. The art reflects the heart. And to some extent I think that's true. Is Stephen King okay in the membrane? Was H.R. Giger normal? Surely the guys in Canibal Corpse are disturbed. Whatever is inside the soul makes its way out through the pen, the paint brush, the voice.
But I'm not complaining.
Let us look at some modern art, shall we? Weird modern art that you make you gape in wonder or shrivel in terror:

Zdzislaw Beksinski was a Polish painter. Was because he got stabbed 17 times in 2005 by the teenaged son of his friend. What a way to go at 75! He left behind a large body of work, none of which could be sold as wall décor at Walmart:

I think he waited to long for the groundhog.

Joel Osteen's new church.

Dr. Manhattan?

This gravedigger did a half-cocked job. Bum. This last piece was used as an album cover for metal band Antestor. I can't explain all the fingers:

Speaking of metal bands, Dan Seagrave does plenty of album covers for the death metal genre. From Morbid Angel to Demon Hunter, he is in demand. He lives in Canada, but grew up in England. He hasn't been stabbed yet, but maybe he'd paint it for you:

That's the Demon Hunter logo in the center. The Crystal Cathedral?

A bad experience in a McDonald's bathroom.

Cool.

 

Krypton on crack?

 

 

 

Isn't this an R.E.M. song? Shiny Happy People? Dan is a self-taught artist, which means he is awesome. I wish I was half as good!

Lastly, Marc Cooper of Mind Rape Art paints some whacked-out stuff. Nightmare-induced landscapes and abysmal humanoids populate his art. Go and see:

What the hell is that? What was going on inside his head? Now look at this:

That is the cover to Rings Of Saturn second album. Death metal bands have the best album covers. Imagine if Lionel Richie had a cover like this:

Oh, what a feelin', when we're dancin' on the ceiling! Can you see it?

Maybe Barry Manilow  will use this one. I'm amazed at this guy's art. Sure it's weird, but wow, he's good! There are countless more pieces, but this blog may never load if I jam it up with too many images.

So there you have it: Art by apparently disturbed members of our society. However, these guys aren't eccentric in person. They seem to be normal. Beksinski was said to be pleasant with a sense of humor. But, is art a window into the heart? If so, what's in that window?