The Harvest Floor

The Harvest Floor is the fifth full-length studio album by American extreme metal band Cattle Decapitation. It was released through Metal Blade Records on January 20, 2009. The album was recorded and mixed at Sharkbite studios in Oakland, California, with engineering and production by Billy Anderson.[1] The artwork was designed by Wes Benscoter, and shows the outside of a large slaughterhouse with the "general public being herded inside to meet their demise."[1] It is the band's last album to feature bassist Troy Oftedal, and their first to feature drummer Dave McGraw.

The Harvest Floor
Studio album by Cattle Decapitation
Released	January 20, 2009 (2009-01-20)
Recorded	Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, California
Genre	Deathgrind, technical death metal
Length	37:37
Label	Metal Blade
Producer	Billy Anderson
Cattle Decapitation chronology
Karma.Bloody.Karma (2006) The Harvest Floor (2009) Monolith of Inhumanity (2012)

Music video

A music video was made for the song "Regret and the Grave", depicting an idea similar to the album cover, with the SWAT police driving numerous people onto the outskirts of a city, putting bags on their heads, and forcing them into cages. It also shows two people being led into a dark, abandoned slaughterhouse and a woman looking desperately out of her cage. All this is shown in between shots of the band playing in a slaughterhouse.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
CHARTattack	[3]

The Harvest Floor sold 1,700 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The album debuted at number 16 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart.[4]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Gardeners of Eden"	5:39
2.	"A Body Farm"	3:29
3.	"We Are Horrible People"	3:56
4.	"Tooth Enamel and Concrete"	2:57
5.	"The Ripe Beneath the Rind"	2:50
6.	"The Product Alive"	3:05
7.	"In Axestasy"	4:43
8.	"Into the Public Bath"	3:11
9.	"The Harvest Floor" (instrumental)	3:07
10.	"Regret & the Grave"	4:40
Total length:		37:37

Japanese edition bonus track

No.	Title	Length
11.	"You People"	2:33
Total length:		37:10

Personnel

Cattle Decapitation

• Travis Ryan – vocals, keyboards, drums on "The Harvest Floor"
• Josh Elmore – guitar
• Troy Oftedal – bass
• David McGraw – drums

Guest musicians

• Ross Sewage (Exhumed) – vocals on "Tooth Enamel and Concrete"
• Dino Sommese (Noothgrush)(Dystopia) – vocals on "The Product Alive"

Additional musicians

• Jackie Perez Gratz - electric cello
• John Wiese – electronics, atmospherics
• Jarboe - vocal melodies
• Billy Anderson - keyboard

Production

• Billy Anderson - engineering, production
• Adam Myatt - additional engineering
• Zack Ohren - engineering (drums), recording (drums)
• Alan Douches – mastering

Artwork and design

• Wes Benscoter – album artwork, photo editing
• Cain Gillis – album layout
• Sarah Remetch – photography
• Robin Laananen – photography
• Travis Ryan – art direction, concept

Studio

• Sharkbite Studios, Oakland, CA, USA – engineered, recorded

References

1. "Cattle Decapitation: New Album Details Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner Records. October 31, 2008. Retrieved December 31, 2008.
2. Prato, Greg. "Review: The Harvest Floor". Allmusic. Retrieved March 14, 2010.
3. CHARTattack review Archived June 7, 2011, at Archive.today
4. "Cattle Decapitation: 'The Harvest Floor' First-Week Sales Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner Records. January 28, 2009. Retrieved January 28, 2009.