Six Feet Under - "Alive and Dead", 1996

After selling over 50,000 copies in a short amount of time, debut album "Haunted" was a success for Six Feet Under and Metal Blade; this probably prompted the need for a stopgap release before a second full-length album could be recorded, leading to this EP that combines two new songs, a Judas Priest cover version, and 4 live tracks recorded during the European tour in support of "Haunted". In the meantime, Chris Barnes had officially left (or was kicked out, depending on what side of the story you choose to believe) Cannibal Corpse, and Six Feet Under became his main focus, so there was quite some hype surrounding the then-new band. The EP format was still quite popular back then, and it was cheaper than regular CDs, so I remember buying this one with a certain excitement; I loved "Haunted," and I couldn't wait to hear some new stuff, and "Alive and Dead" didn't disappoint.

"Insect" encapsulates what's great about early Six Feet Under: a simple, almost sludge metal riff drives the song before heading into a double kick-laden chorus and - later on - a classic Allen West's Celtic Frost-esque bridge; Barnes growls over it powerfully, offering a great performance with lyrics that he partially recycled from his original version of "Devoured by Vermin" by Cannibal Corpse (originally featured on the "Created to Kill" sessions); most of us didn't know back then anyway, and they're gore-soaked, disgustingly worthy lyrics. "Drowning" instead relies on rather predictable tremolo-picking riffs over a mid-tempo double kick foundation before exploding in a very heavy central bridge reminiscent of Obituary; it's not as good as "Insect", but it's still a pretty cool song, and the lyrics are a tad different from the usual splatter tropes.

The first portion of the EP ends with a Judas Priest cover version of "Grinder"; this would start the infamous tradition of the band covering formative hard rock and heavy metal bands (with Chris Barnes growling over it) that will spawn the "Graveyard Classics" series. I won't get into that here and just say that this version of "Grinder" is actually pretty enjoyable, especially if not taken too seriously. It's just the sound of a band having fun; the track sounds heavy enough, and West provides a nice solo. As a fan, I would have preferred if this experiment was a one-off or a random occurrence and didn't spawn multiple full-length cover albums instead, but that's another story.

The second part of the EP consists of four live tracks taken from "Haunted"; it seems like a soundboard recording, so it sounds pretty good, with no overdubs or any other frills. It must be noted that the lack of a second guitar prompts West to just play rhythm throughout "Suffering in Ecstasy", eliminating the nice solo that was featured on the original record, thus making it a bit too monotonous despite the short running time of the song. Aside from that, the songs show a tight band and at the time offered a glimpse into its live set for all those who didn't have the luck of seeing the band on tour (including the teenage me, who couldn't travel to another city for a death metal show). These songs bring the overall running time to a respectable 23 minutes, justifying the purchase of the EP as a mid-price release.

The uninspired cover artwork and minimalistic booklet graphics were typical of a low-budget, stopgap release, but "Alive and Dead" was an interesting glance into the possible future direction of the band, soon to strike again with the sophomore album "Warpath". These days, it can be seen more as a "for fans exclusively" kind of release, and maybe it won't hold much interest for the casual listener.