Six Feet Under - "Killing for Revenge", 2024

2020's "Nightmares of the Decomposed" certainly wasn't Six Feet Under's finest moment; guitarist Jack Owen rejoining Chris Barnes - for the first time since their Cannibal Corpse days - turned out to be a rather disappointing outcome for all those expecting a throwback to early 90s death metal, and the questionable vocal performance on the record was heavily ridiculed by the internet mob. A lot of the hate and disdain towards Barnes actually seemed to stem from some of his online bickering with haters and instigators, and while the man sometimes went over the top with some of his tweets, his reaction was quite understandable; he's one of the originals when it comes to death metal, he contributed to some absolute classics of the genre and pretty much defined the guttural growling and splatter lyrics template, and while this doesn't mean that he should always get a pass, at least he deserves some respect. He became a meme instead, and this shitstorm almost overshadowed his many accomplishments. For a moment, it seemed like Six Feet Under was done for good, but Owen came to the rescue of his old friend and restored his morale by writing a whole new record, even going as far as writing 90% of the lyrics and vocal patterns. The album took on a meaningful title, "Killing for Revenge".

The 4 years between "Nightmares of the Decomposed" and this new record brought some fresh air; Barnes reportedly quit both smoking weed and drinking, and in general - judging from some recent interviews and from the ongoing US tour with Nile - he's humbled by the support he got from his hardcore fans, and he seems to be in a positive headspace. This attitude seems to have influenced the outcome on "Killing for Revenge", which definitely is a step up from the previous record. The line-up also stuck together, with Barnes and Owen at the helm, joined by Jeff Hughell, Marco Pitruzzella, and Ray Suhy.

The album offers a good presentation from the get-go, with great cover artwork painted by none other than Vince Locke, the legendary artist behind all Cannibal Corpse artworks. Chris Barnes was the one who actually hired him for "Eaten Back to Life" back in 1990, so it seems like things finally came full circle; Locke's style is unmistakable, and the painting is actually better than anything he's done for Cannibal Corpse since "The Bleeding".

The production sounds very modern and punchy, and while I understand it might have been a deliberate choice to appeal to a younger audience (the same who thought "Nightmares of the Decomposed" sounded too weak), as an old-school guy I find it too adulterated; the drums in particular sound like a drum machine, and the guitars, while extremely in-your-face, mostly rely on mid and high frequencies. The result, paired with a very loud mastering, feels a little grating to my ears, and I found myself increasing the lows and cutting the treble on the EQ of my hi-fi set, making the album sound more like an old Morrisound production. I normally don't like to mess around with the EQ, but in this instance I think the original mix would have greatly benefited from such an adjustment. Still, if the band wanted to achieve an immediate impact with this production, it certainly works in that regard.

Chris Barnes certainly sounds better on this release compared to the controversial "Nightmares of the Decomposed", offering a performance that is more in line with how he sounded on "Torment" or "Crypt of the Devil"; while probably still not good enough for his haters, I enjoyed the tortured character of his voice, and he seems to have regained some power, as well as part of his guttural range. He barks out his lines with a gruff arrogance, like one of those big old dogs that still wakes up when you walk past the yard they live in and run to the fence to scare the hell out of you. He still has a tendency to be slightly off tempo on some of the faster material, though (it's particularly noticeable on "Ascension", for instance), and once more I wonder why nobody on the production team took the time to fix that during the editing process. This said, I think he did a good enough job - all things considered - and it's a relief to find out that he can still rise to the occasion when he puts some effort into it. It feels like the positive changes in his habits and attitude had an impact on his performance. At this point, it's no longer a matter of being the most guttural death metal singer out there; there are plenty of younger and more extreme vocalists in the scene. Still, his tone is immediately recognizable, and it sounds unique; it always was, and while not as genre-defining as in the past, it still retains that character.

The album kicks off quite brilliantly with "Know-Nothing Ingrate"; it's a rather simplistic track, but it makes it clear from the get-go that the band is back with a vengeance. The lyrics are a commentary on the online mob who tried to ridicule the band in the aftermath of "Nightmares of the Decomposed", and while many people thought Barnes wrote them, it's actually Owen venting his frustration here. It's quite unusual to see Barnes not being in charge of all the lyrics, and it brings us back to the early Cannibal Corpse days ("Eaten Back to Life" times), when he still let other members chip in with some lyrical content. While not as great or imaginative as the Barnes-penned material would have been, Owen did a rather decent job with most of the lyrics on the record, with a few exceptions.

"Accomplice to Evil Deeds" is another double-kick-laden exercise worthy of some headbanging, but it's when "Ascension" hits that things start to get serious; Owen seems to pay homage to his roots with a fast song reminiscent of Possessed, early Sodom, early Kreator, and the like, as well as the whole old-school death/thrash metal scene. It's a blueprint for the whole record, and those influences are even more upfront on other brutal assaults such as "Fit of Carnage", "Judgement Day", "Bestial Savagery", "Mass Casualty Murdercide", and "Spoils of War", giving the record an old-school feel that sounds refreshing and surprisingly violent. Most of the songs feature a break or a slower middle section, often graced by some excellent solos by Ray Suhy.

"When the Moon Goes Down in Blood" is the only song featuring lyrics entirely written by Barnes, and it also sounds a tad different from the rest of the album; in the words of Owen, they tried to write something in the vein of early Cannibal Corpse records, and while the results are obviously not the same, it's still an interesting track, revolving around a circular guitar pattern that sounds evil enough to complement Barnes' lyrics. The song also features one of the most guttural performances by the singer, making the chorus rather memorable.

"Compulsive" offers a more mid-tempo death metal riffing paired with sudden speed-ups; "Hostility Against Mankind" and "Neanderthal," instead, are the slowest of the bunch, and while the former is actually heavy as hell, the other one sounds pretty generic, and it's one of those songs that Six Feet Under naysayers love to hate, featuring some rather silly lyrics to boot. The CD version also includes a cover version of "Hair of the Dog" by the 70s hard rock band Nazareth as a bonus track, and while enjoyable, it's the kind of "Graveyard Classics" material that we're used to by now; therefore, we could have done without it. Still, it doesn't compromise the overall judgment about the record.

"Killing for Revenge" is an honest record that puts Six Feet Under back on track after a few difficult years, and it's a redeeming effort that deserves some attention. While it would have been naive to expect a masterpiece from two songwriters who are next to being 60 years old, it's still a worthwhile album, especially if you think it's the band's 14th full-length, not counting the four "Graveyard Classics" ones. It's an old-school, Neanderthal-sounding death/thrash metal record that goes for the throat for most of its running time, and unless you're a Gen-Z, stuck-up technical death metal elitist, you're going to find yourself sporting an evil grin while listening to it.