Cattle Decapitation – Travis Ryan

American deathgrind band Cattle Decapitation are finally coming to Australia in two weeks, and we couldn’t be anymore excited for it. In preparation for the tour, Metal Obsession spoke to vocalist Travis Ryan about the tour, their disgustingly/awesomely brutal music video ‘Forced Gender Reassignment’, Travis’ lyrics, vegetarianism/veganism and the Westboro Baptist Church/Jeff Hanneman’s funeral.

Metal Obsession: I’ve been reading through your last interview with Metal Obsession shortly after ‘Monolith of Inhumanity’ was released. I wasn’t the one who interviewed you then, but the main topic was the disillusions you were having with touring and managing the band. How has everything been going since then?

Travis Ryan: It’s been going pretty good! We got a manager, finally, after years and years of either doing it ourselves, or making one of our friends do it.

Metal Obsession: Your first Australian tour with Thy Art Is Murder, King Parrot and Aversions Crown begins in less than two weeks. Excluding the fact that it’s your first tour here, what is the thing you’re most looking forward to about touring Australia?

Travis Ryan: Actually meeting the people there, and that’s kind of a rarity for me… so many fuckin’ weirdos you know [laughs]. Not our fans, I mean just in general. But the people I’ve met from Australia are genuinely nice. I’ve been wanting to go to Australia for my entire life. Over the years, I’ve noticed a lot of fans popping up from Australia, and I’ve never really understood what that was all about. Just because it seems to be more there than anywhere else, so I’m really looking forward to finally playing to them, it just seems like something we should have done a long, long time ago. Plus, there’s been so many failed attempts at trying to get over there.

Metal Obsession: Even though it’s a massive tour with an great line up, there have been a lot of arguments about this tour over who should be headlining the show, and the whole ‘deathcore vs. death metal’ thing that people get so worked up about. What are your thoughts on that?

Travis Ryan: Well for one thing, we don’t like to headline, but that’s got nothing to do with the reason why they’re not. The reason is that Thy Art Is Murder have really proven themselves in Australia, and we’ve never been there. We’re also not that kind of band who are so well known, at least I don’t think so. I’m very surprised all the time when I read people say “Hey, I’m a fan from the Philippines!” or a fan from wherever. A guy from Macedonia started speaking to me recently, and I had to look it up on Google to find out where it was [laughs]. So that kind of stuff is really interesting to me, and I’m honoured to be apart of something that far reaching.

So, we are going to another territory that we’ve never been to before. We’re not U2 or The Rolling Stones, we’re just a little band coming over there to try and prove ourselves to a new territory. We’re going there with a band that have apparently already proven themselves, because the videos that I saw had fuckin’ packed rooms freakin’ out, trying to kill eachother, so that’s the kind of environment we obviously want to be in. So, we’re doing it, and, I’m glad we’re not headlining, because we don’t like headlining [laughs]. You’re the first to arrive and the last to leave, and, it sucks. Don’t tell Thy Art Is Murder that! They probably already know about it though [laughs].

Metal Obsession: You get the chance to play a few all age shows on this tour. A lot of international bands like you guys, and even locals like your tour mates King Parrot, rarely get the chance to do all age shows in Australia. Is it like that in the States or other countries that you regularly tour?

Travis Ryan: I don’t think so. I don’t know about other countries, I don’t really pay attention to the age limit of most shows, but I always know when it’s a 21+ show in the States. And in the States, it can definitely effect the show, depending on what kind of band there is. You would not want to send a band like Thy Art Is Murder to an 18+ or 21+ show, because too many kids like them, and an overage crowd is different. Especially for a lot of other new bands, they mainly attract a fanbase of all ages.

We’ve always been cool with playing all ages shows, even if it means being in a totally different atmosphere, that’s cool. I’d rather have anyone be able to see us than a selected group of people.

Metal Obsession: Leading up to this tour, have you been listening to any other Australian metal bands, or even the local supports for each show?

Travis Ryan: Not really, but only because I’ve been so busy. I don’t listen to much of anything anymore. Infact, the only stuff I do listen to is just ambient stuff that’s on while I’m working. I’ll throw on some metal once in a while, perhaps if I want to get into something new or whatever. I don’t actively try and find new stuff to listen to anymore, I don’t know. I worked in a record store for 12 years or something, and I continue to sell music online, so I’ve been exposed to A LOT of different stuff. 95% of it is not metal, so I listen to all sorts of different shit.

However, I did listen to King Parrot, and they’re fucking awesome. When they first announced the dates for this tour, I watched their video and it was hilarious, so I made a post about those guys.

Metal Obsession: Just wait until you see them live, man. They’ll blow you away.

Travis Ryan: That’s what everybody tells me. It should be a good fucking tour, man!

Metal Obsession: Onto the music video, ‘Forced Gender Reassignment’, what was the full meaning behind that song and video? Did religion have a role in the song?

Travis Ryan: Well, for the most part, it can be taken at face value. It’s just mean, fucked up, unforgiving, immature and ignorant; it’s all those words. It’s a horrible way to look at life. But it’s reality based, it’s really about the segment of the population who chooses to not live in reality, and chooses to widely follow things that are not reality based, and don’t give a shit about science, and don’t give a shit about the human condition, and don’t want anyone to be who they are. It’s talking about someone of that segment and not only changing their sex, but also making them see what it’s like to be trapped in a body that you don’t feel as if you belong in. There’s a segment of the population that feels that way, and people don’t want them to be happy, or even exist.

They’re also a really shitty group of people, which I feel, deserve every bit of what they’re getting. It’s just harsh and mean, and its just death metal. That’s the funny thing, there are so many people freaking out, and being upset about it being gory and horrible. It’s extreme music, what do you expect? All you’re seeing is the meaning of the lyrics put infront of you. I’ve got songs that I’ve written and are ten times worse than this one, but it takes putting lyrics to picture for someone to really have a reaction to it.

[The video for ‘Forced Gender Reassignment’ is banned from YouTube and Vimeo, but you can watch it here]

Metal Obsession: Some of your lyrics are written to protest the mistreatment of animals. What do you think is the strongest song you’ve written to protest that?

Travis Ryan: There is so many of them, and they’re mostly from older albums. There’s a song called ‘Lips and Assholes’ that’s pretty good [laughs]. It talks about the unseen things that go on with what you’re eating. I’m sure there are better ones than that, but that’s the only one I can think of off the top of my head. Then again, we’re talking about albums that are like, 12 or 13 years old.

Metal Obsession: At the moment, only you and Josh are the vegetarian or vegan members of the band, while the band used to all be vegetarian/vegan. Is there ever any conflict between you, Josh and the other two members, or do you respect each other’s beliefs?

Travis Ryan: Oh no, there’s never any drama about that. It was never a requirement to join the band. And plus, we talked about that for years; it was a wonder that we were able to keep. We actually had an all vegetarian/vegan band up until just a few years ago really. I knew that it probably wouldn’t last, even though it wasn’t really a requirement. It just happened that way, there’s never any kind of drama about that topic. The music comes first!

Metal Obsession: I’m sure you’re aware that Jeff Hanneman’s memorial is tomorrow, and the Westboro Baptist Church plan on picketing the event. With thousands of Slayer fans being in attendance, what do you think will happen? Or do you think that everyone on the Internet is just making too big of a deal out of it?

Travis Ryan: Well, the Slayer fans better not do anything to them, because the WBC is made up of a bunch of lawyers, and they’re friends with a lot of lawyers, and they have a lot of lawyers. It’s just a network of lawyers basically. So what they do is they antagonize through words, which, in the United States you’re totally allowed to do, at least to a certain extent and a certain way. They wait for people to react physically, because they know they’re pushing those buttons, and when they do, they go and sue them or whatever. The WBC are just absolute pieces of shit.

I’m sure somebody will finally do something one day, and if it’s going to happen, that might be the place. How are you going to sue over 1000 people rushing you? How are you going to divide them? There would probably be police at the event to stop the WBC anyway; it’s a high profile thing.

I was actually going to go, but I discovered what might be a tumour or some sort of growth on my calf, so, I’m kind of freaking out about that and I’m going to the doctors tomorrow. Or else I’d be there, and taking pictures of the Westboro Baptist Church. A friend of mine is going, he’s going to flip them off of course [laughs].

[Editors note: This interview was done a day before Jeff Hanneman’s funeral. The Westboro Baptist Church did not appear at the funeral.]

Metal Obsession: Anything else you’d like to say?

Travis Ryan: I just can’t wait to get over there. I really hope there is time on tour to go and hold a koala bear, that’s my main goal. I’ve seen videos of friends doing it when they go to Australia, and it’s the one thing I’ve wanted to do. Other than that, we’ll see you guys soon, and we’re really looking forward to playing!

The ‘Hate Across Australia’ tour featuring Thy Art Is Murder, Cattle Decapitation, King Parrot and Aversions Crown begins in less than two weeks. Dates and supports are below!

Thursday, 6 June 2013 The Rev, Brisbane 18+
With: Disentomb
Tickets available from http://bit.ly/15tTL7F or Oztix on 1300 762 545,www.destroyalllines.oztix.com.au and Oztix Outlets

Friday, 7 June 2013 Expressive Grounds, Gold Coast AA
With: I Shall Devour & Emerald Vale
Tickets available from http://bit.ly/11m5HLM or Oztix on 1300 762 545,www.destroyalllines.oztix.com.au and Oztix Outlets

Saturday, 8 June 2013 The Annandale Hotel, Sydney AA
With: Hunt The Haunted
Tickets available from http://bit.ly/101CbpE or Oztix on 1300 762 545,www.destroyalllines.oztix.com.au and Oztix Outlets

Saturday, 8 June 2013 The Annandale Hotel, Sydney 18+
With: New Blood
Tickets available from http://bit.ly/161Q4bk or Oztix on 1300 762 545,www.destroyalllines.oztix.com.au and Oztix Outlets

Sunday, 9 June 2013 The Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle 18+
With: UnderGreySkies
Tickets available from http://bit.ly/1497ncb or http://bit.ly/Yq92Gj orwww.yourcambridge.com and the Cambridge Hotel

Wednesday, 12 June 2013 The Basement, Canberra 18+
With: Wretch
Tickets available from http://bit.ly/101CoZU or http://bit.ly/13e2D5H or Moshtix on 1300 438 849 or www.moshtix.com.au

Thursday, 13 June 2013 Corner Hotel, Melbourne 18+
With: Internal Nightmare
Tickets available from http://bit.ly/WWpdgk or The Corner Box office, 03 9427 9198, www.cornerhotel.com or Fist2Face (03) 9095 7911

Friday, 14 June 2013 Arrow on Swanston, Melbourne AA
With: I Valiance
Tickets available from http://bit.ly/YsUnXJ or Oztix on 1300 762 545,www.destroyalllines.oztix.com.au and Oztix Outlets

Saturday, 15 June 2013 Fowlers Live, Adelaide Lic/AA
With: I Exalt
Tickets available from http://bit.ly/14aAjAi or http://bit.ly/13gjtAV or Moshtix on 1300 438 849 or www.moshtix.com.au and Venue*Tix on (08) 8225 8888 or www.venuetix.com.au

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