Six Feet Under Killing For Revenge CD Review

If you clicked on this link then you know what we’re about to get into, if you don’t, then chin up camper, it’s about to get UGLY! In May of this year my favorite Death Metal band, Six Feet Under released their 14^th album entitled Killing for Revenge! I didn’t want to review it immediately, I wanted to live with it, really get inside of it and soak it up. I know not everyone takes that kind of approach and judging from the reviews I’ve read it shows. Let’s be honest, some journalists didn’t even try, they just clicked play and started writing… Here’s the deal, if you don’t like the man behind the music, then ignore it all together. We all know a great deal of writers try to make a living off trash talking Chris Barnes. I can’t lie, not every SFU album has been a dead ringer for me – the last album “Nightmares” was a bit less than, but that doesn’t mean I’d trash talk the band or their follow up release. I’m still confused on what happened with Barnes vocals on the last album, but musically it was fantastic, so we’ll leave it there.

Personally, I prefer SFU with the original members, but that has more to do with the Death N’ Roll feel the band carried on those earlier albums. SFU has still been releasing great material, mind you, it’s just been a bit more abrasive and brutal than I prefer – I’m not the biggest Death Metal fan in the world. Barnes is who’s kept me coming back, I’ve always liked his writing and his approach to the genre and that goes back to his time in Cannibal Corpse. I appreciate his lyrics and his sincerity, that’s lost in a great deal of this genre in my opinion. Barnes is brutally honest and not everybody likes that, I appreciate it – you know who the man is and what he stands for without having to dig too deep.



Getting into the Killing for Revenge album, Barnes was able to maintain the same members as he did on “Nightmares” which means that Jack Owens returned! Owens is one of the best Death Metal guitarists on the planet to me. Not only does he shred, but he’s got a great tone, his leads are coherent, bright and tasteful which I’ve always really enjoyed. I’ve always thought that Owens single handedly saved Deicide when he joined up with them, specifically on his debut with the band “The Stench of Redemption”. Also back is guitarist Ray Suhy, he’s certainly been earning his stripes and putting his stamp on the genre given that he’s been playing with SFU for a few years now, his lead work on this album is obscene. The first single “Know-nothing Ingrate” pummels and slams out of the gate in a very Punkish way, kind of like the band The Exploited until you hit the lead break, and the track slows down to give you that famous SFU Death N’ Roll vibe – I love it! Next up the band wades through passages of Tech-Death vibes on “Accomplice to Evil Deeds”, this one tends to churn and jump around in a Prog-like manner, which is kind of new to me in SFU land or at least that’s what I’m feeling with this one. The tried-and-true fans of the genre will find a shit ton of aggression in “Ascension”. This track just blasts away at you like a runaway freight train. “When The Moon Goes Down in Blood” is another one of those tracks with loads of Tech-Death riffs that’ll please the nerdy guitar fans. I quite like it myself although it’s not something I seek out in this kind of music; I prefer to just get ran the hell over without thinking much about it.

One of the main reasons I’ve always loved SFU is the Death N’ Roll aspect and there are a few tracks on this album that fall into that category – “Hostility against Mankind” and the gnarly as all hell, “Neanderthal”! The latter could’ve easily found its way onto the band’s sophomore release Warpath, it fits right into the vibe of that album. It also reminds of the track “Seed of Filth” off the Death Rituals release which has always been one of my favorites off that album. In true Six Feet Under fashion, the band includes a cover on this album, this time they visit Nazareth’s “Hair of The Dog”. I won’t lie, this is the only weak moment on the album and it’s not the band’s fault, they do a unique take on the song. My issue is this song is just damned old and played out, but I must say Barnes’ vocals in the chorus give me the biggest shit eating grin! I know Dan McCafferty would appreciate the hell of the band’s take on this track. I would’ve preferred a cover of Nazareth’s “Please Don’t Judas Me”, but that’s just my opinion.
 
Being the fanboy that I am, I pre-ordered the vinyl and CD release of Killing for Revenge without bothering to listen to the single. I didn’t need to check out a single, it was SFU, and they were coming back to kick my ass one more time. This album is everything I was hoping it would be, and I’ll go as far as to say this – this is the band’s best effort since Swanson, Gall and Butler left the band. The musicianship, the music and the lyrics have finally aligned themselves again and the ship has been righted. Barnes vocals are back to where they need to be, he sounds like he’s back to his old self – he’s growling like a rabid old werewolf in search of fresh flesh to devour! Killing For Revenge will no doubt take a spot as one of my top ten releases of the year. I’ve played the absolute hell out of this album this year and as far as heavy stuff, this one takes the top spot, it’s un-fuck-with-able! As a longtime fan of the band, I couldn’t have asked for more.

~Black Angel