Six Feet Under - "Unburied", 2018

Between the infamous "Graveyard Classics" albums and the various live DVDs/CDs, Six Feet Under's discography featured quite a few stopgap releases over the years; the band only published two actual EPs, though, "Alive and Dead" in 1996 and "Unburied" in 2018. The latter clocks in at about 26 minutes, almost the same as some death metal albums that are considered full-length ones, so it's definitely an interesting compilation, especially since it features unreleased demos and outtakes from the "Undead" (2012) and "Unborn" (2013) sessions, plus one from "Torment" (2017).

I believe "Unborn" and "Undead" are two of the absolute best Six Feet Under releases ever, and they marked an exciting mid-career relaunch that nobody would have expected from Barnes & Co. at that point; the records saw the singer collaborating with a team of new songwriters and musicians, most notably Rob Arnold (Chimaira) and Ben Savage (Whitechapel), Swede Ola Englund (Feared, Scarpoint), and Finn Jari Laine (Torture Killer, Adramelech). The rest of the lineup was rounded up by Kevin Talley (Dying Fetus, Dååth, etc.) on drums for both records, plus Jeff Hughell (Brain Drill) on bass for "Unborn".

The songs on the aptly titled "Unburied" seem to be mostly demo tracks recorded at a home studio by the various songwriters; most of them feature a drum machine, with the three Englund-penned tracks probably being the only ones that were actually played by Talley on drums, at least judging from their overall production. Obviously, the quality of the recordings on "Unburied" is uneven, having been recorded in different studios and at different times, although all the tracks sound good enough, considering the musicians who worked on them are pros that are certainly familiar with home-recording software/hardware.

The two tracks by Ben Savage, respectively the album opener "Violent Blood Eruption" and the closer "Skin", are probably the least interesting of the bunch, with the first clocking in at just under two minutes and the other being a pretty confusing 31-second snippet; they seem to be mostly incomplete sketches, although there are some interesting riffs throughout. Chris Barnes sounds fantastic from the get-go, though, and he kills it during the whole collection of songs, the same he did on "Undead" and "Unborn", proving once again he was in great shape vocal-wise during those sessions.

"Midnight in Hell", written by Laine, is a typical Torture Killer-sounding mid-tempo that would have worked great in the context of "Unborn", and it's a pity that the song never left its demo status; it's also one of the songs where the drum machine is more noticeable and the rawer production kind of sticks out compared to the rest of the compilation.

The three Englund-penned songs, "Gore Hungry Maniac", "Re-Animated", and "Intent to Kill", are among the best material on display, offering a mixture of rocking mid-tempos, crushing slowdowns, heavy grooves, and some noteworthy guitar solos. They certainly wouldn't have felt out of place on "Unborn", and quality-wise, they're pretty much on par with the material that made the cut. They're also the best-sounding songs on "Unburied", with the production virtually sounding the same as on the actual "Unborn" record.

Rob Arnold contributes a couple of tracks too, and while "Possessed" is catchy enough but not too memorable, "The Perverse" ranks as the best song on here, despite the rather grating drum machine; some of the riffs almost resemble something out of Cannibal Corpse's "The Bleeding", although in a more modern vein, and it's a real pity the song wasn't recorded properly and included on "Undead".

"As the Dying Scream" is the only outtake from the "Torment" sessions, so it sounds definitely different from the rest of the material on "Unburied"; it's a pretty varied song, and while not on par with the "Undead" and "Unborn" stuff, it would have still been good enough to be featured on "Torment", considering there are at least four filler songs on there that could have been easily replaced.

Overall, "Unburied" is an interesting peek into the songwriting process of those records; for once, while being outtakes, these songs aren't necessarily lower-tier material, even when compared to what was picked to be included on the actual albums they were originally written for. It's obviously a hardcore fans-only release, but it could still be an interesting one-time listen for whoever liked the "Undead" and "Unborn" records. It's actually a wonder why the songs weren't released as bonus tracks earlier, but as a fan, I'm certainly glad they got unburied.