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Six Feet Under > Double Dead Redux > Reviews
Six Feet Under - Double Dead Redux

Classic SFU's Best Album! - 90%

JavierBarbon, March 18th, 2020
Written based on this version: 2003, CD + DVD, Metal Blade Records (Limited edition)

The lineup of Barnes, Gall, Butler and Swanson made some seriously bad stuff through the years. Don't get me wrong, as my motivation for this review is not to shit all over they've done but to embrace this gem, that makes all the shit previously recorded from True Carnage and before stand out how truly should have been,

This album I would say is the Opus Maximum of this lineup, as Barnes characteristic vocals are here at their best of any live recording with SFU(same tone as back with Cannibal Corpse), but with groovy energetic music behind. The band sounds solid on this recording, and thankfully this was my introduction to SFU when I bought this album back in the day. Then I listened out of curiosity the studio albums of course to get disappointed. For some reason, this lineup at this time, was so bad at putting studio albums, sounding cheesy and out of energy, but this record proves otherwise, that those songs could be saved somehow.

The DVD back when I first saw it, I laughed my ass off watching Chris smoke his funny fags, throwing indirects against his previous band, and the cheesy “murder” of the idiotic fan. After I saw it again I couldn't help but cringe a bit. Those where other times, but fuck it, the concert is worth it, but in my opinion, on this release, the CD is the highlight of this pack.

The production is powerful, I feel every second the slimy, dense and heavy intensity on the songs performed. Some of the most boring songs in the studio albums manage to sound excellent, something quite uncommon and characteristic on the unpredictable way of SFU to put albums out. You never know what to expect with their releases, and this album stands out in that way, even if unfortunately is pretty obscure in their whole catalog.

The weak points of the album, are the guitar tone, it's distortion is ok but there is something that makes it sound weird.; and second the drums. They are what keeps this band behind, as Greg Gall is more of a hard rock drummer than a death metal one, and in both i bet he is pretty generic. This album could have been so much better in that regard with Kevin Talley or Marco Pitruzella. Songs like No Warning Shot sounds so much better with blast beats, rather than the weak “tuka tuka” of Gall.

Nonetheless the vocals of Barnes here are at their best and is what makes it stand out the whole album, proving he could have been the front man of Cannibal Corpse still on this time. The guttural are low, dirty, and the highs are much better than how he used to do them before or after, without abusing his signature “Eeeeeeeeeeeeh!!!!” scream, and more diversity on his general output. Another thing to mention is that he talks a lot to the audience that adds a lot to the intensity of the concert, something similar to how Phil Anselmo acts on the Official Live album by Pantera. The audience is having a blast with the concert, but maybe, i can hear some fake prerecording recording of audience to enhance this effect (hope I am wrong).

The bass tone is powerful, with some compression to it, that complements a lot the double bass behind, something that could be used much more in death metal in general. This tone is very characteristic for Butler, and that is something good as he doesn't stand out for being technical (which he is not at all), but more because of his groovy and heavy bass punching together with the drums.

As a kid I was so impressed with this album that I would show everyone to show off how death metal could be so fucking heavy, and still holds up and makes an statement that sometimes simplicity can work even with this type of extreme vocals, but just when the intensity supports it.

Nowadays the band in contrast to this concert has repeated the same songs over and over through the years, unlike this album that was promoting the True Carnage album that was just out of the oven. Today Six Feet Under albums have gotten much more technical, with much more capable musicians behind, but Barnes for some reason repeats again and again the same old setlist, without supporting their new albums, like they don't exist, just adding one song there and then forgetting about them as soon as the tour is done. This album is a good lesson for both Barnes and other bands to support the new albums they release, to keep interesting the song selection for their tours as fans notices that safe zone and gets boring as fuck after a short while.

Extremely recommended for anyone who has curiosity to start listening the classic era of SFU!!!

Weak studio music = weak live music. Who knew? - 30%

autothrall, May 31st, 2011

For five albums and about ten years, Six Feet Under had gradually evolved into what must, for all intensive purposes, be the lowest common denominator of US death metal. Pedestrian compositional ability which at best rivals the career lows of a fellow Floridian band (Obituary); failure to even remotely hinge upon the brutality that Chris Barnes made a name for himself with via Cannibal Corpse; the exploitation of cheap 90s ploys like having a rapper guest star (and having that suck) or trendy songs about smoking weed as some sort of promotional element; too fair a share of cover songs choking up the discography; lack of compelling musicianship or quality production values. Essentially this band was the ghetto of death metal's potential.

Still, the band maintained a positive relationship with their label Metal Blade Records, and there were people buying this tripe. Now, there were people buying Insane Clown Posse. Juggalos. People bought Alicia Keys albums. Avril Lavigne. Good Charlotte. I should not be surprised that enough faith was still placed in Chris Barnes to support his vapid bong-addled haze of dull rock aesthetics and death metal fundamentals, despite a career beginning with mediocrity (in Haunted) and then descending into the muck of disbelief. But what the fuck do I know? There was obviously enough interest for him to release a live album/DVD combo pack, to which he would affix some tattoo-like art: enter the Double Dead Redux, 16 apathetic anthems spanning the underwhelming back catalog of 6FU, and about as agonizing as one might expect.

The audio CD and DVD components of this package are culled from two separate performances, with mildly different track lists. The CD itself, recorded in San Francisco in '02, sounds the better of the pair, but that's not really saying much, because it's nearly as ineffective as the band's studio efforts. Basal, 'my first death metal riff 101' material chugged and grooved along with all the splendor of the 90s' most easily forgotten groove metal, spliced with vibrant but forgettable leads which seem to cohesively lack direction. Barnes' blunt throttling throat is bad enough, but when he's alternating with the snarled vocals (as in the first track "The Day the Dead Walked" it becomes downright awkward), and soon enough ("The Murderers") you get an idea of just how cheap and lacking in creativity this band's fare truly is ('it's all fucked up! it's all fucked up!'). I feel like I'm listening to the ravings of a gangsta rap-riddled middle school drop-out after a serious pipe packing as he ruminates over the troubles in the world...

And that's just not what I want to hear. Now, granted, Barnes seems like a nice guy who does indeed appreciate his audience, as he curses constantly to emphasize. He shows this not only in his banter between songs, but also in his balanced selection for the set. There is a measured selection from each of the four studio original full-lengths. From Haunted (their best) comes "The Enemy Inside", "Silent Violence" and "Torn to the Bone", and no surprise that they're the most entertaining of the lot. Warpath is represented by "Manipulation", "4:20" (lulz), "Revenge of the Zombie" and "A Journey Into Darkness". Maximum Violence gets a larger cut: "Feasting on the Blood of the Insane", "Bonesaw", "No Warning Shot", "Hacked to Pieces", and "Victim of the Paranoid"; and True Carnage gets "Impulse to Disembowel", "The Day the Dead Walked", "The Murderers" and "Waiting for Decay". The DVD set is slightly shorter, with "Torture Killer" in place of "Hacked to Pieces", and shot in Minnesota that same year.

Obviously I favor the earlier material here, because it's the only stuff that doesn't completely suck, but the doomy "Feasting on the Blood of Insane" is also one of the better sounding tracks (if you forget the lyrics). It's a fair play length (54 minutes on the audio CD) without growing too bloated or boring, but that assumes you're an actual fan of Six Feet Under, in which case there is a team of anthropologists standing by to monitor your diet, drug use, migratory and mating habits. As far as a fan package, it's not so dire as the Graveyard Classics compilations, and to be fair, Barnes doesn't stink up the set with other peoples' buds (no covers), just his own green and reeking vapors of banal bludgeoning. The sound isn't so hot for a live mix, but the instruments are good and even, including the base, and I've certainly heard worse. I wish I could say the same for most of the songs.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

They rip live!!! - 90%

grindorr, October 26th, 2004

After hearing a lot of shit on the forums that six feet under cant play live for shit,I came across this cd in the record store and decided to buy it. And exactly how I expected, this album blew me away. The critics were all wrong.

Six feet under sounds really good live. In fact sounding more brutal than their studio albums on many tracks like "revenge of the zombie" and "bonesaw".
The guitars and drums are fine. Except I thought it sounded a bit muffled here and there. Otherwise the band ws tight. The only problem I had with this album was that some of my favourite six feet under songs like "cadaver mutilator", "Non-existence" were missing.

Chris Barnes growls are up to the mark and his voice is actually steady, its not wobbly like on "maximum violence".On songs like "the day the dead walked", the chorus sounds really better than on the true carnage cd.
And where did Chris learn to do those squeals on the chorus? that was not even there on the fucking album!
"The enemy inside" and "silent violence" are brutally rendered with some extra killer screams.

Chris makes the album more interesting to hear when he talks to the crowd in his real voice and he talks a lot!At one point Chris gets the crowd to go "S-F-U...S-F-U" and even stops and shouts "this is fucking six feet under" probably getting the band maximum marketing.
Other cool excerpts from the live recording are :
"roll that shit,light that shit, now fucking smoke it"
" I knew there was a reason why I liked this place,good people and good buds"

I cant promise that all the songs are sounding fine on this cd. Chris messes up on "impulse to disembowel" and "4:20" but thats forgivable considering the band was playing live non stop for quite some time. Save for a few flaws here, this one is a kick ass live album. And I prefer it anyday to "live cannibalism" or "live undead".
Id recommend it to anyone whos listening to six feet under for the first time.Its a nice way to sample the band before going and picking up their studio albums.

Six Feet Under... Double Dead is Alive!!! - 88%

SabFan1, September 13th, 2004

With one of my more recent purchases I picked up Six Feet Under “Double Dead Redux.” While it’s not a spectacular live offering like “Unleashed in the East” (Judas Priest), “Live After Death” (Iron Maiden) or “Made In Japan” (Deep Purple); it offers a great sound to the listener and pulls you in as if you actually attended the show. One of the several things I really enjoy about this album is that there were no overdubs used back in the studio like many bands do after recording a live album. The album was recorded at the ‘Pound S.F.’ on June 7th, 2002 in San Francisco, and you get the feeling as though you’re right there with them.

The set list consists of 16 tracks covering the SFU catalog to date of the show, excluding the “Alive and Dead” EP, with three songs from the “Haunted” album, four songs from “Warpath,” five songs from “Maximum Violence,” and four songs from the “True Carnage” album.

The show started off with four tracks from “True Carnage” opening with ‘The Day the Dead Walked,’ ‘The Murderers,’ ‘Waiting for Decay,’ and ‘Impulse to Disembowel.’ I actually prefer the live offerings of these songs over the studio album versions. I think that Chris Barnes vocals sound excellent and are reminiscent of his days with Cannibal Corpse. Tracks seven and eight, ‘Silent Violence’ and ‘The Enemy Inside’ as well as tracks 10, 11, 12 and 14, ‘Journey Into Darkness,’ 'Revenge of the Zombie,’ ‘Manipulation’ and ‘4:20,’ are from the days that Allen West (Obituary) was in the band. After listening to this album I actually prefer Steve Swanson’s style of guitar over West’s. After comparing the two guitarists on the studio albums I hadn’t really made my mind up on who I thought was the better guitarist or more technical, but after hearing this album I have to favor Swanson’s playing as a member of SFU. In my opinion Swanson’s playing is more technical. Terry Butler’s bass and Greg Gall’s drumming were in excellent tune for this album as well. Barnes interaction with the crowd was another highlight for me; as I enjoy live albums that have good band/crowd reaction. To me this is what makes you feel you’re attending the show. They didn’t overkill the reactions either as some bands have done on their albums. As for the entire album the sound is clean and crisp and an all-around excellent live appearance and deserving of being captured on CD.

This album is my favorite SFU release; not because it’s got most of my favorite songs, but because Barnes vocals sound great, Swanson’s guitar play is excellent, and there is great interaction between the band and the crowd during the album. Good crowd interaction on live albums is a key for me, because in my opinion it’s what really draws you in as if you are right there head banging with the band. As I said before; it’s not on the same level as other live albums, but it’s a good live album from a death metal band. If you’ve ever been slightly interested in SFU and you enjoy live albums then this album is a good one to own.

This album also comes with a DVD of one of their live performances from the True Carnage tour from 2002. It’s not the same show as the album was taken from, but from a show on June 14, 2002, at “The Lab” in St. Paul, Minnesota. This show has pretty much the same set list as the album except for this show is missing “Journey Into Darkness,” “Revenge of the Zombie,” and “Hacked to Pieces,” but it does include “Torture Killer” which wasn’t on the album. My feelings for this DVD are the same as the album. Good sound, excellent vocals and guitar play. The DVD isn’t real exciting as it was filmed in a small venue and there are no amazing light shows or stage props, but if you enjoy watching bands live then it’s an added bonus to an already great album.