Six Feet Under - "Crypt of the Devil", 2015

After a string of live appearances to promote the "Undead" and "Unborn" records, the members who greatly contributed to making those albums successful - in particular Ola Englund, Rob Arnold, and Kevin Talley - left the band to pursue other projects; even the good old Steve Swanson resigned, so leader Chris Barnes was once more left on his own and in need of a new line-up and - above all - of new songwriters to keep pushing Six Feet's mid-career relaunch. Enters Cannabis Corpse; the core of the band - featuring the Hall brothers as well as Brandon Ellis and appearances by Ray Suhy - functions as a backup band for Barnes on "Crypt of the Devil", writing all the songs on it and lending the talents of its members to keep Six Feet Under alive.

Unsurprisingly, "Crypt of the Devil" sounds a lot like Cannabis Corpse, as well as the Cannibal Corpse records of that era (more than the old-school ones with Barnes, actually); this means a relatively technical and smooth-moving death metal with a slightly more modern edge, great guitar solos, and solid performances from all the players involved. The style isn't far removed from "Undead" and "Unborn", although probably a bit more cohesive, having only one songwriter this time, while a tad less imaginative; Phil Hall obviously sounds like his own self, but it seems like he tries to fit the Six Feet Under style by adding a good amount of mid-tempo or slower-paced sections to counterbalance the faster parts, not unlike Rob Arnold did on "Undead". Chris Barnes' vocals are not as brilliantly executed as on the previous two records, but he still delivers a pretty convincing performance, and his tone has a rotten quality to it that fits the material very well.

Songs like the single "Open Coffin Orgy" (featuring a fantastic lead by Suhy), "Break the Cross in Half", "Slit Wrists", "The Night Bleeds", or "Compulsion to Brutalize" are probably the ones that could resemble classic Six Feet Under the most, with an array of groovy chugging riffs, double kick-laden mid-tempos, and doomy breaks, although sudden stop-and-go solutions and speed-ups manage to constantly keep things varied.

"Broken Bottle Rape" is a bludgeoning, fast number that relentlessly bashes your head in, evoking the Cannibal Corpse songs of old, with those familiar-sounding Barnes' vocal patterns; it's definitely one of the standout tracks on the record, the same as "Lost Remains", featuring one of the catchiest refrains.

Elsewhere, faster and more intricate songs like the opener "Gruesome" and especially "Stab" can curiously resemble some Corpsegrinder-era Cannibal Corpse, while the closer "Eternal in Darkness", while still a definitely good one, is probably the least memorable of the bunch.

Lyrics are deeply rooted in the classic Barnes' splatter style; the singer seems to particularly go for the throat this time, with songs like "Broken Bottle Rape" delivering the nasty goods like in the old days of his former band. The eerie artwork also fits the concept well, looking like a sequence out of some zombie flick of the 80s.

The album's production is very good; it's modern enough but without feeling mechanical, with the drums sounding powerful enough while not resembling a drum machine, like many death metal records of the last 10 years (or more) do instead. The bass is also well-balanced in the mix and showcases a punchy sound that makes it stand out when it's needed.

While not as magnificent as "Undead" (and, to a lesser extent, "Unborn"), "Crypt of the Devil" is a great collection of death metal songs, with riffs that you can actually remember and not overly technical, although more than competent and flashy just when it's needed, for instance, on some guitar solos. Phil Hall is a solid songwriter, and he manages to adapt his signature style to the band successfully, although long-time fans might have felt like 2015's Six Feet Under didn't really sound like the Six Feet Under of yesteryear or that using Cannabis Corpse members on the record was a bit like cheating. Regardless, I completely supported the stylistic shift on "Undead" and "Unborn" and I think this record followed on that evolution brilliantly, while maybe not coming across as surprising as those two; it's still one of the best albums of the band.