ALBUM REVIEW: Killing For Revenge – Six Feet Under
Oh God…
Has any death metal act fallen off as hard as SIX FEET UNDER? It seems unbelievable nowadays, but there was genuine excitement back in 1995 when their debut Haunted dropped. Vocalist Chris Barnes was still riding a wave of support for his work in CANNIBAL CORPSE, and that first full-length was a decent way to kickstart his new band’s career. SIX FEET UNDER’s early years were undeniably successful and they even generated enough buzz to wind up on Warped Tour at one point.
Fast forward three decades and SIX FEET UNDER are little more than a joke. Decades of half-arsed material, catastrophic covers albums and Barnes’ increasingly antagonistic behaviour culminated in 2020’s Nightmares Of The Decomposed. The absolute definition of “we have CANNIBAL CORPSE at home,” that record was almost universally panned and is one of that year’s worst metal albums. Yes, there was a rare positive review on this very site, but we have it on good authority that it was more the result of the writer’s misguided sense of sympathy for Barnes during a global pile-on and less on the quality of the material. A rare lapse from the DS crew, but one we’ve all moved on from and which certainly couldn’t be used in any kind of hypothetical employment hearing.
Which brings us to Killing For Revenge. With any lingering goodwill having run dry, Barnes and his bandmates have got a monumental task ahead if they want to turn their reputation around. So, let’s start with the good news; SIX FEET UNDER do sound like they’re actually trying this time. Guitarist Jack Owen has taken on a greater share of the songwriting and for a change, the compositions have some depth. They don’t come across like they were farted together on the drive to the studio and there’s a nice selection of riffs and melodies in here.
Speaking of sounding better, Barnes’ voice has improved since last time. He’s reportedly been sober for the last two years, and that seems to have had a direct impact on his voice box. A weed-free SIX FEET UNDER is like a non-drunk MUNICIPAL WASTE, so let’s give the man full credit; fighting addiction is a huge challenge and we hope that whatever is going on in his personal life, he is as healthy and happy as possible. He’s also stopped doing that cringe-inducing impersonation of a pig saying the word “brie” while having its tail pulled straight.
With that out of the way, let’s pivot to the bad news; Killing For Revenge is not a good album. Yes, it is better than Nightmares Of The Decomposed, but that’s a bit like saying that fracturing your ankle is better than having a shipping container dropped on your head. The opening Know-Nothing Ingrate starts promisingly enough with Owen delivering a thrashy guitar riff that gives the song a sense of urgency. As soon as the vocals start, it swan dives, as the lyrical content is essentially Chris Barnes responding to mean Tweets in song form. That might be a good source of inspiration for an edgy middle aged comedian recording their third Netflix special since being cruelly silenced, but here it just falls flat.
This is exacerbated by the thin production values. Killing For Revenge could have been recorded inside a bin, but we’ve seen Elmo In Grouchland and the songs in that sounded fantastic. The ramshackle recording quality makes Ascension only seem more uninspired, Neanderthal’s stoner-death feel more plodding, and the climactic cover of Hair Of The Dog (by NAZARETH) more irritating.
There’s a couple of rare sparks in Killing For Revenge; Hostility Against Mankind has a respectable groove to it, and the lead riff of When The Moon Goes Down In Blood is an attention grabber. For the most part though, it’s a mix of knuckle-biting awfulness or uninteresting filler. SIX FEET UNDER are at least attempting to rebuild their shattered public image, but compare this to anything by FROZEN SOUL, GATECREEPER, or the criminally underrated ARSAMES and it becomes only too apparent that death metal has left them behind.
Rating: 3/10
Killing For Revenge is set for release on May 10th via Metal Blade Records.
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