Six Feet Under

For 22 years, Six Feet Under have been shredding the metal scene. Originally starting out as only a side project (as well as only a cover band), the quartet eventually decided to take it a little bit further. Formed back in 1985 by Chris Barnes (vocals) of Cannibal Corpse, and Allen West of Obituary, the band has since grown to epic proportions, with a huge fan base that with this release, is only going to grow even more. Unfortunately, Allen West left in 97-98, to be replaced by Steve Swanson (guitar). Fortunately, Terry Butler (bass), and Greg Gall (drums) are all still in the band.

Opening up their latest album, Commandment, is the track “Doomsday.” The song begins with a bit of a slow death metal riff which unfortunately, doesn’t really show the extent of the bands’ skills. While the drums are tight and up to par, Swanson doesn’t seem to be giving it all he can. There isn’t a whole lot of variety throughout the track when compared to their older music. The bridge however, is a bit closer to their “usual” style; with a heavy, palm muted riff, and Butler’s bombastic bass playing in unison.

Fourth on the LP is “Edge of the Hatchet.” This is their best track on the album in my opinion. The entire band gets right into the nitty-gritty right from the start. No slow intro, just pure brutality! And with a track name like this, I bet you can easily guess what the song is about. Yes, that’s right… killing! Obviously Barnes was pretty pissed off when he wrote this song. And Gall’s drum skills are insane, leaving absolutely no room for error.

“The Evil Eye” is eighth on the album. This track touches back to the roots of earlier Six Feet Under… a death metal riff that you can groove and mosh to at the same time; what more can you ask for? The only part that threw me off was a part in the lyrics where Chris growls; “You look so ripe to kill. Your body must suffer. A vengeance to murder. Nine victims. I hunt to kill.” I don’t understand if this song is about a massacre that has already happened or if Barnes just feels the urge to kill nine specific people. Either way, the lyrics are as brutal as the music and it’s nice that the words can be left open to personal interpretation.

Overall, the album was pretty damn good. It was not their best album to date, however it was also not their worst. If the band had touched back a little bit more to their routes, the album would have been fantastic. Nevertheless, this remains an excellent addition to the Six Feet Under catalogue. I’m going to have to give this album a 7.7/10.  [ END ]

Track Listing:

01. Doomsday
02. Thou Shall Kill
03. Zombie Executioner
04. The Edge of the Hatchet
05. Bled to Death
06. Resurrection of the Rottom
07. As The Blade Turns
08. The Evil Eye
09. In A Vacant Grave
10. Ghosts of the Undead

Run Time: 34:25