Here we go. SIX FEET UNDER returns with a new album, Next to Die (out now via Metal Blade Records). Truth be told, I loved 2024’s Killing for Revenge, so I was genuinely excited when this one hit my inbox. Would it stand tall and deliver? Let’s find out.
Once again, Chris Barnes (vocals) and Jack Owen (guitars) head back to the lab, joined by Ray Suhy (guitars), Marco Pitruzzella (drums), and Jeff Hughell (bass). Together, they emerge with a conquering horde’s haul of 12 tracks, ready to strike!
Right out of the gate, songs like “Mister Blood and Guts” — my absolute favorite — and “Mutilated Corpse in the Woods” crush your heads like the character from Kids In the Hall. Meanwhile, the opening duo of “Approach Your Grave” and “Destroyed Remains” moves from groove-heavy stompers to straight-up smashers.
Barnes and Owen clearly had a plan this time around. Owen noted, “Chris emphasized tempo, so keeping with the beats per minute for early SFU classics, I wrote a side of tasty groove-laden music with Chris doing all the lyrics.” The results speak for themselves.
“Unmistakable Smell of Death” comes on like a skeet shooter yelling “PULL!” while slow-boiler “Wrath And Terror Takes Command” does so for a minute before it lowers the boom on some skulls. No surprise this was another winner in my book.
“Skin Coffins” comes in nasty and memorable (it might’ve made me want to explore cannibalism before Mrs. Amps came in and shut those thoughts down —I am so misunderstood), while “Mind Hell” rolls forward like a Panzer tank crushing the bodies of unsuspecting victims. Tally ho! “Naked and Dismembered” was another instant favorite on a record chock full of them.
Then the title track “Next to Die” lands strong before closer “ILL Wishes” takes things in a darker, groovier direction and wraps the record with style.
Produced by Owen and Barnes, then mixed and mastered by Mark Lewis at MRL Studios in Nashville, the album sounds sharp, heavy, and fully dialed in.
SIX FEET UNDER did it again. Death Metal maniacs would be doing themselves a disservice by not running right out and grabbing copies today. So why are you still reading this? Go!
STANDOUT TRACKS: “Naked and Dismembered,” “Mister Blood and Guts,” “Unmistakable Smell of Death,” “Skin Coffins”
RATING: 9/10
—THE MAESTRO
