Six Feet Under | |
|---|---|
_26.jpg) Performing in 2015 in Berlin, Germany | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Tampa, Florida, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Labels | Metal Blade |
| Spinoff of | Cannibal Corpse |
| Members | |
| Past members | |
| Website | metalblade |
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Six Feet Under is an Americandeath metal band fromTampa, Florida, formed in 1993.
The band is currently composed of founding vocalistChris Barnes, bassistJeff Hughell, drummerMarco Pitruzzella, and guitarists Ray Suhy andJack Owen. It was originally aside project formed by Barnes with guitaristAllen West ofObituary, but became a full-time commitment after Barnes was dismissed fromCannibal Corpse in 1995. Six Feet Under has released 14 albums, and is listed byNielsen Soundscan as the fourth-best-selling death metal act in the U.S.[2]
After Barnes and West joined forces, they recruited Terry Butler, who knew West from his involvement with Massacre, and Greg Gall, Terry Butler's brother-in-law. Six Feet Under first played in 1993 at clubs, performing mostly cover songs. The band began writing original material in the middle of 1994. Because Barnes was already signed toMetal Blade Records withCannibal Corpse, Six Feet Under signed to this label and became a side project.
Their first album,Haunted, was released on September 1, 1995.Haunted was produced byBrian Slagel (who discoveredSlayer) and Scott Burns (record producer) (who worked withNapalm Death,Sepultura,Deicide, among others). By this point, Chris Barnes had made Six Feet Under his main priority. In 1995, in the process of recording the albumCreated to Kill, he was fired by Cannibal Corpse because he chose to go on a European tour with Six Feet Under instead of recording vocals for "Created To Kill" and was replaced by Monstrosity's, George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher.
Six Feet Under's next release was theAlive and DeadEP on October 29, 1996. A dual studio/live EP, it contains three studio recordings ("Insect", "Drowning", and aJudas Priest cover, "Grinder") and four tracks fromHaunted performed live. The band released their second studio album,Warpath, on September 9, 1997, and would incorporate blends of death metal anddeath n roll. It would also be the last album to feature Allen West, who would depart shortly after the album's release.
In 1998, Allen West left to rejoin Obituary and was replaced bySteve Swanson. This is the only lineup change that the band had until January 2011. Combined with Barnes' departure from Cannibal Corpse, the arrival of Swanson helped turn Six Feet Under from a mere side-project to a band in its own right.[3]
July 13, 1999 saw the release of Six Feet Under's third studio album,Maximum Violence. The band also recorded a death-metal retooling of theKiss song "War Machine", which would be featured on the album's tracklist. There were also covers of theIron Maiden song "Wrathchild" and theThin Lizzy song "Jailbreak."
During the summer of 2000, Six Feet Under participated in theVans Warped Tour, a festival that, at the time, usually featuredpunk rock bands.[4]
Further pursuing their interest incover songs, Six Feet Under released an album entirely of covers,Graveyard Classics, on October 24, 2000. The songs were given death metal and death n roll makeovers in regards to the timbre of the vocals and instruments, but the original riffs and rhythms of the songs were left intact. Songs includeBlack Sabbath's "Sweet Leaf",Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water", andJimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze".
The group's fourth studio album,True Carnage (August 7, 2001), was also their first recording to feature guest artists:Ice-T raps while Barnes roars on "One Bullet Left", andKaryn Crisis joins Barnes for "Sick and Twisted".True Carnage peaked on the Billboard Heatseeker's charts at number 18.[5]
Six Feet Under undertook a lengthy bout of American tours, commencing in the summer of 2002, with supportersSkinless andSworn Enemy. Their June 14 performance was recorded for aDVD andlive album release,Double Dead Redux. September 2002 saw the band touring withHatebreed. Around Christmas 2002, they participated in some European festivals with bands such asKataklysm andDying Fetus.[6]
The band next releasedBringer of Blood, on September 23, 2003. In addition to his trademark guttural vocals, Barnes also began using higher pitchedpig squeal vocals on this release.
Graveyard Classics 2 came out on October 19, 2004. This cover album focused solely on the 1980AC/DC albumBack in Black.AllMusic reviewer Wade Kergan remarked that the death metal-makeover on these forefather songs "are equal parts menace and kitsch... Six Feet Under are obviously having a blast as they rip through them."[7]
Six Feet Under released their sixth studio album on March 21, 2005, entitled13. While writing the lyrics, Chris Barnes reportedly entered "a vision" from smoking large quantities of marijuana andmeditating.[8]
Metal Blade Records issuedA Decade in the Grave on October 28, 2005, a five-discbox set. The first two discs are 'best-of' material, the third is a rarities collection, the fourth disc is from one of the band's first concerts back in 1995, and the final disc is a live DVD from 2005.
In November 2005, Chris Barnes joined the Finnish death metal bandTorture Killer as lead vocalist for a side project. His new bandmates saw this as a huge compliment, having started out as a Six Feet Under andObituary cover band. Barnes sung vocals on their 2006 studio albumSwarm!
Six Feet Under toured for the majority of 2006 before hitting the studios to record their next album,Commandment, which was released on April 17, 2007. The album works within the band's formula. According to music critic Chad Bowar, the album has "catchy death metal songs... [that are] crushingly heavy, but also have a great groove to them."[9]
Six Feet Under played Metalfest 2007 tour alongside openersFinntroll,Belphegor, andNile, their most heavily promoted tour to date. Amusic video for "Doomsday" aired onMTV2'sHeadbangers Ball, starting on November 10 of that year.
On December 24, 2007, Six Feet Under announced on their website that they would go to the studio in early 2008 to record a new album.[10] The album, titledDeath Rituals, was released on Metal Blade Records on November 11, 2008, in the US, and November 17, 2008, in the UK.
As announced on January 31, 2008, Chris Barnes officially parted ways withTorture Killer, to be replaced by Juri Sallinen. Drummer Greg Gall was currently writing and recording material with a new band called Exitsect, along with guitarist Sam Williams (Denial Fiend,Down by Law), bassistFrank Watkins (Obituary,Gorgoroth), guitarist Joe Kiser (Murder-Suicide Pact, Slap Of Reality) and vocalistPaul Pavlovich (Assück).[11][12]
Graveyard Classics 3 was released on January 19, 2010.[13]
In early 2011, Terry Butler left to join fellow death metal band Obituary. Drummer Greg Gall had also left.
In November 2011, Rob Arnold and Matt Devries posted statements saying they have departed from Chimaira to play in Six Feet Under full-time. However, in 2012, Matt Devries left the band to joinFear Factory, replacing longtime bassistByron Stroud. The vacant position was subsequently filled by ex-Brain Drill 7-string bassist, Jeff Hughell.
The band's ninth studio albumUndead was released on May 22, 2012. It was also announced on the same day that Rob Arnold would be replaced by Swedish guitarist Ola Englund of bands Feared and Scarpoint. The band says that Rob will remain a central writing partner and collaborator on future Six Feet Under releases.
The band released their tenth albumUnborn on March 19, 2013.
According to a recent interview on March 21, 2013, Barnes is already writing material for the band's next album.[14]
In 2013, guitaristOla Englund and drummerKevin Talley departed the band.Marco Pitruzzella took over on drums.
On May 5, 2015, Six Feet Under released their eleventh studio album,Crypt of the Devil. On this release Chris Barnes incorporated Phil Hall, Josh Hall and Brandon Ellis from the bandCannabis Corpse for the studio line up.
In April 2015,Jeff Hughell left the Hatefest tour in Europe andVictor Brandt ofEntombed filled in as a temporary bassist.
The band released their fourth cover albumGraveyard Classics IV: The Number of the Priest on May 27, 2016, with Ray Suhy on guitar and bass and Josh Hall on drums, both from Cannabis Corpse, appearing on the album.[15]
In 2016 longtime guitaristSteve Swanson left the band and was replaced by Cannabis Corpse member Ray Suhy.
On January 10, 2017, the band announced their twelfth studio album,Torment, which was released byMetal Blade Records on February 24. The album marked the debut of drummer Marco Pitruzzella with the addition of Jeff Hughell who recorded guitar and bass for the album. Torment was received poorly by fans and critics alike, citing lazy songwriting and poor production.[16] On February 28, formerCannibal Corpse andDeicide guitaristJack Owen joined the band.[17]
The band released a digital-only EP on July 6, 2018, titledUnburied, consisting of previously unreleased material from the recording sessions of their prior four albums. That same year, Chris announced that the band was writing material for their 13th album. The album title,Nightmares of the Decomposed, was revealed on April 21 and was released on October 2, 2020.[18]
Six Feet Under's fourteenth studio album,Killing for Revenge, was released on May 10, 2024.[19]
Current members
| Former members
| Session members
Former touring musicians
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Timeline
Studio albums
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