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Six Feet Under > 13 > Reviews
Six Feet Under - 13

Not their unluckiest number - 43%

autothrall, June 7th, 2011

I could accuse Six Feet Under of many things, but certainly a lack of productivity is not among them. The middle of the 'oughts saw the band at a pretty hectic nexus in their career. Riding high on the heels of their pathetic AC/DC Back in Black tribute Graveyard Classics 2, they were soon to return to the studio for their sixth original full length 13, while the band were prepping 'the big one', their Decade in the Grave collection due on Halloween of the same year. Now, 13 is not a sudden leap in quality above the recent drivel like Bringer of Blood (2o03) or True Carnage (2001), and the production in general is quite limp compared to Bringer, but there's an astute seriousness, a workmanlike ethic that Barnes and the boys have brought for this that involves far less fucking around than the past handful of releases.

That's not to say 13 is a mark of quality, in fact, quite the opposite, but the album is nowhere near as insulting and pathetic as its recent siblings had been. The guitar riffs still leave a lot to be desired, even if the band had largely returned to their Obituary-defined roots circa Haunted or Warpath. The quartet is all business as they break out "Decomposition of the Human Race" or "The Art of Headhunting", and there are quite a few straight thrashing/groove tunes here like "Somewhere in the Darkness" and "Shadow of the Reaper" that almost succeed in constructive passable guitar lines and fist fighting momentum. Alas, there is still much work to be done, because a number of the songs still suck pretty hard ("The Poison Hand", "Deathklaat") due to the minimal effort in their composition, and the lyrics range from total suck ("Somewhere in the Darkness") to tolerable horror film tributes (title track).

For the first time in a long time, though, I can at least rest knowing that I didn't enjoy a Six Feet Under record because it was merely weak, rather than actively odorous and offensive to the point of disbelief. 13 does not belong among the band's 'stronger' works, that is the records that aren't utter and total failures (Haunted, Maximum Violence, Death Rituals), but then I never wanted to hurl it against the nearest hard surface and break it. It doesn't necessarily belong in the refuse pile alongside Warpath or True Carnage. Hell, with a few tweaks, a little subtlety, and less lazy riff writing, Six Feet Under might damn well pursue the 'comeback trail', or better yet, write their first 'good' album. I'm sure no one is crossing their fingers, but wouldn't that be a surprise? After all, it had been over a decade since The Bleeding, Chris. Pony up time?

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Age Is Not Kind To Mr. Barnes - 27%

Crank_It_Up_To_666, July 19th, 2008

It’s never pleasant when an album begins spinning in the deathdeck and instantaneously a mammoth flaw leaps out and bitch slaps you for six (pardon the pun) across the face. Six Feet Under’s ‘13’ is one such album, and unfortunately, it’s flaw is not singular. There is an awful amount wrong with ‘13’ – enough to push it far beyond the realms of barren mediocrity right down to the depths occupied by albums that are genuinely discomforting to the ear. Make no mistake, this is a bad, bad death metal album, from a band who've achieved better things before and since.

From the moment that ‘Decomposition of the Human Race’ chunders into a champion of all the many daft and pointless ‘ambient’ intros found on far too many metal albums, past and present, the album’s tone is established as ominous for entirely the wrong reasons.
The fact that the volume dial has to be turned up a significant way, not to play the music at the appropriately loud volume that all metal should be, but simply to be able to hear what’s going on at all is foreboding to say the least, and when Terry Butler’s rattling bass kicks in proper the mix reveals in full just how poor it is – while each instrument is clearly definable, it’s ridiculously quiet to boot, a choice that seems to be a inexplicably deliberate one. To say that from the get-go the mix has surgically removed the records balls is to put it gently.

The immediate thought following this unpleasantly bitter taster is that, surely, a band of Six Feet Under’s long standing and pedigree can rise above a poor mix? Shortly after that thought has departed the mind however, it’s swiftly replaced with an answer to that question – an answer that’s just as distasteful to have swill around the brain.
The material here is in the vein of Six Feet Under’s tried and tested batch of groove-inflected death metal, except that it seems to have been penned by a songwriter on an unshiftable autopilot mode. Here and there, of course, there are a few pleasant riffs rearing their heads, stamping about the place with their rock ‘n roll vibe thinly concealed behind the deathly front on tracks like ‘Deathklaat’ and ‘The Art Of Headhunting’, but beyond these extremely occasional toe-tapping moments, ’13 offers nothing that will stick in the mind – largely because the mind will forcefully expel it.

What particularly grates about the album is that when the band hits upon an idea, be it good or bad, they seem not to notice when said idea runs its course and simply starts to become irritating. Consider the largely entertaining opening riff to ‘highlight’ track ‘Shadow Of The Reaper’, a riff that has expended itself by the second repetition but continues on for at least four repititions. This may sound like a minor gripe, but even a casual and cursory listen still picks up uncomfortably on ‘13’s constant tendency to overextend itself, seemingly for no reason other than to stretch a song out to an adequate length. Hearing the band flog an oftentimes already tired idea right down to the bare bones hardly qualifies as an decent expenditure of your time.

The band themselves are equally unimpressive, ranging from mildy engaging, through depressingly bland right up to unashamedly poor. Steve Swanson’s guitar work is the aspect most worthy of note but by any stretch his riffs and solos don’t hold the attention for any sustained time period – which is better than can be said for the rhythm section of drummer Greg Gall and bassist Terry Butler, the most remarkable to be said about which is that the bass is granted a pleasantly grim death rattle of a sound.
Vocalist Chris Barnes, meanwhile, provides some genuinely shocking moments throughout the album, once again for the wrong reasons. His growl does not seem to be that of a veteran death metaller as much as it sounds like the growl of a man providing an unwitting and unwanted morality lesson regarding the effect of relentless weed use on the vocal chords. Barnes sounds hopelessly strained throughout the entirety of the record, his voice even cracking from the strain of forcing out the screams on many songs. Considering that Barnes is a deserving pioneer of this kind of vocalisation, it’s more than a little painful to hear the deathly icon croaking his way through a record.

In short, Six Feet Under have, in work both before and after ‘13’, bettered this album a hundredfold, and even the diehards are likely to be disappointed with this abysmal low point in the band’s career. For the best in modern Six Feet Under, ‘Commandment’ is a vastly superior platter ‘o splatter, and it would be wise to treat ‘13’ as it should be treated – not at all, that is to say.

Descent sketchy death metal - 65%

Cravinov13, May 31st, 2007

13, the newest release by ex-Cannibal Corpse vocalist Chris Barnes’ side project gone full time band, Six Feet Under, delivers more of the pure, unbridled brutal death metal that the band has established a name for. The album contains, fast, heavy blast beats, dark and crushing guitar riffs, riveting bass lines, cookie monster vocals, and grotesque lyrics expressing death, murder, and suicide that all equals fun for the whole family. At a time span of only 35 minutes and 51 seconds, the band waste no time to dish out their 11 tracks of pure mayhem.

The vocalist, Chris Barns, is already well known for his role in the brutal gore/ death metal band Cannibal Corpse and his new side project band Torture Killer along with other side projects. This is for good reason, considering Chris Barnes has some devastatingly brutal growls and screams and is even a very enlightened producer (producing mainly his own albums, including this one). Seeing only one guitarist in the band, Steve Swanson, was rather shocking, considering the album is packed with ear wrenching riffs and gnarly guitar solos that sound like just one guitarist would be inept to pull off alone. The bass solos are also something worth noting, played by band bassist Terry Butler, whose bass releases the dark and evil vibes that come from the bands grisly atmospheric music. Greg Gall, the drummer, is also a very talented member of the band, who's double bass skills earn him a spot on the line of great blast beat drummers (such as Mike Smith of Suffocation).

The first track, Decomposition Of The Human Race, begins with eerie ambiance followed by a groovy bass riff and steady drum beat followed closely by riveting guitars before bursting into an aura of blast beats and bellowing vocals. The song even contains a wicked guitar solo. A great first track with a haunting intro making it the perfect song to embrace the listener for what’s too come. Somewhere In The Darkness begins with heavy guitar riffs and steady bass grooves followed by Chris Barnes with his Satan possessed cookie monster vocals. The song is also a very good track, but is probably lyrically the most repetitive track on the album. Rest In Pieces begins with more speedy riffs and keeps up a very speed death sound throughout its auras of brutal vocals, blast beats, and screeching guitar solo.

Wormfood, begins with a riff that sounds like a simi-popular riff of the melodic death genre that has a very apocalyptic feel. The song is by no means Six Feet Unders best song, but is not their worst track ever either, still contains good riffs and bass lines, the song gets really repetitive by the end. Probably the least impressing track on the album, 13, starts with a static intro followed by heavy riffs and whisper growl vocals, the song seems a tad out of place on the album. The next track, Shadow Of The Reaper begins with some quick drum taps before rolling into more fast paced riffs that eventually lead into more brutal vocals from Chris Barnes. Musically, this is one of the best tracks on the album, although not vocally the catchiest.

Deathklaat, probably the best track on the album along with Decomposition Of The Human Race, begins with heavy chugging riffs followed by some very catchy, deep mixed with high pitched growls that sound demonic in their own way. The song isnt lyrically impressing, but is definitely the most catchiest track on the album. The Poison Hand contains much more slower and steadier riffs, and has a very good track flow, and even has some of the most deepest growls Ive ever heard from Chris Barnes. Though not as impressive as the last couple of tracks, the song holds strong and fits well with the album. This Suicide is another classic rock guitar influenced slow paced track that talks about one of the most popular topics of death metal, duh! Suicide. The song is a lot like the last one, in which it doesn’t impress as much as the other tracks on the album, but flows well with the rest of the album.

Next is probably the most lyrically humorous track on the album, The Art Of Headhunting. Chris Barnes does however do some impressive vocal work on the track, with his catchy high pitched growls screaming “Chop chop chop!" ever 30 seconds or so. Another personal favorite of the album. The track even contains another grisly guitar solo to piece it together. Finally, Stump ends the album on a very fast and very heavy note. By far the heaviest track on the album, the song bursts immediately into screeching guitars, blast beats, and blistering vocals that roll their way into about 1 minute of the track before halting . the song then picks up again at a much slower paced, and slowly takes the end of the album home with a static outro. Not the most impressive ending of a short album, but still a very good track.

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN FOR SPUTNIKMUSIC.COM

This Is The Deathklaat - 81%

Erin_Fox, October 28th, 2006

Since Chris Barnes started Six Feet Under ten years ago, the group has remained in the metal spotlight, issuing several classic death metal platters and taking the lead in bringing extreme music with a deathly supernatural attitude to fans around the globe. Amazingly, Barnes and crew have pulled off an even greater coup. The creation of what is without a doubt, the group’s best collection of metal from beyond the grave in the band’s decade long career.

What originally began as a side project for Barnes has evolved into the most massive death metal machine in the US and the group’s dedicated touring schedule and years of experience shine through the cracks in the casket on “13”. Over the years, Barnes has developed an array of voices, from his patented guttural graveyard growls to his more recent gravel throated barking, his presence alone makes any death metal album worthy of the fan’s attention. “Decomposition Of The Human Race” is a fear inspiring anthem of death that lays out the agenda for Barnes’ enemies quite plainly. Steve Swanson provides razor sharp riffs with an emphasis on maximum sonic butchery, particularly in his shredding Slayer inspired leads on “Somewhere In The Darkness”. “Rest In Pieces” takes on a de-tuned punk feel before bursting into an infectious riff that makes this track one of the most memorable of the album. Barnes barks out psychotically as bassist Terry Butler and drummer Greg Gall lay down a driving rhythm grinds along over the course of the entire track.

Having developed an affinity for catchier vocal phrasing, Barnes utilizes techniques on “13” that cause the songs to be markedly memorable. The singers signature style lyrics remain fully intact here on the new record, particularly on the voracious “Wormfood”, which features deliciously repulsive lines like “there are worms feeding on the carcass, rotten and moldering and bones are exposed”. “13” finds Barnes barking with a blood dripping grunt and the whispered chorus makes this makes the track all the more fright inducing.

“Deathklaat” is simply a killer track with a gloomy vibe that showcases Six Feet Under’s ability to craft a catchy death metal tune. “This Suicide” has a doomy feel, almost sounding like a contorted Alice In Chains with of course, Barnes rumbling out sick bellows from beneath the Earth like a demented soldier of the undead. Six Feet Under have grown into their sound over the last few years and the result of this artistic progression is directly responsible for the emergence of so many powerful tracks on this record.

SFU has written many songs that are already death metal classics, but never have they assembled such a strong group of cuts as you’ll find on “13” If this ghastly grooving album doesn’t rip your face off, you’re not standing close enough to the stereo speakers!

Six Feet Under's Best Release Yet! - 89%

m_sutin, February 20th, 2006

This is the 3rd Six Feet Under cd I bought, the others I Own are Haunted and Maximum Violence. The reason I only own 3 is because they are the only good ones, but enough about that now to the review of 13, this is there newest cd and I think it is the best one yet, i'll list why in a song by song kinda description.

1. Decomposition of the Human Race - This song is a good opener for the album because it starts off with just a wierd silence then goes into a cool drum/bass line intro and riff after that. When the vocals come in they at first sound kind of bad, but after the first sentance they seem to really improve and sound better than the kinda stuff he did on true carnage with the high scream that I didn't like. opener has a catchy chorus and overall its a good song musically and vocally. 8/10

2. Somewhere in the Darkness - This song starts off with a cool riff and goes into the vocals with Barnes continuing to say "somewhere in the darkness ...........(insert something herE)" good song because it's the only one where he uses the growl and scream at the same time, good solo too. 9/10

3. Rest In Peaces - This song kinda suprised me, the intro almost sounds like a punk band or something, but then the when the double bass and kickass riffs come in it gets about 100% better. The lyrics in this song are cool and sometimes even funny (oh my god, not another dead body!). 9/10

4. Wormfood - Keeping up with the trend of good songs wormfood starts off with some cool guitar and bass. Again Barnes sings about decaying bodies and rigormortis which some may find repetetive after so long (but I don't). the main riff in this song almost sounds like it could be a breakdown, cool song and a killer solo too. 8.5/10

5. 13 - This might be the worst song on the cd which really isn't saying much as they are all really good but this one is just below average against the others. This song sounds like it was recorded somewhere else and produced/mixed differently. Also there's 1 really cool part in this song that get loud for a second then stops, but still. 7/10

6. Shadow of the Reaper - Here it is, the 'single' of the album. This is the song that got me to buy the cd in the first place. This song starts off with a REALLY good riff and some of the better drumming on the cd. The vocals sound like the most brutal on the cd for this song too. This song is pretty catchy and doesn't have much of a solo, but regardless it is still a awesome song. 9.5/10

7. Deathklaat - I don't really know what deathklaat means but this is a good song, it has a catchy riff and cool lyrics, they made a decent video for this song too, it's a pretty short song, but it get's the job done. 9/10

8. The Poison Hand - This song is pretty decent, its more slow and groove oriented. This doesn't have much to offer though. its just slow , but good. 7.5/10

9. This Suicide - Here's a good one, This song starts off with some cool guitar then goes into some heavy heavy guitar. The chorus of this song is pretty cool/catchy. This song might be one of the heaviest on the cd, no solo but it doesn't really need one, also it's the shortest song on the cd clocking in at 2:21 . 8/10

10. The Art of Headhunting - This ones a pretty fast song for SFU, a really good one at that too. Starts with a cool riff and goes with it through the song. This song is fast and pretty brutal (for an SFU song), cool lyrics and a wicked solo make this a really good song to almost end the cd with. 10/10

11. Stump - There's not much really to say about this song, it's good and kind of a standard SFU song. It is pretty cool lyrically and musically (keep comin up with sweet solo's steve!). 9/10

Overall I'd say this is THE cd to own by six feet under. The riffs are there, the vocals have improved since True Carnage and are more reminiscent of Maximum Violence, there lotsa kickass bass lines, and the drumming is really good. The production (done by Chris Barnes himself) is decent, some people say it's "muddy" which I disagree with. The production kinda buries the drums in the backround when they should really be mixed higher as they are really good and should be heard (obviously), however this is not a problem since I listen to it loudly. So if you want a good Six Feet Under cd get 13 because I personally think it's there best and I can't wait to see what they put out next (hopefully not another cover cd though!)

is this their most listenable?? - 55%

krozza, April 12th, 2005

Well, there only so much you can say about this band hey? About this time every year, Florida’s Death Metal merchants SFU release another album. They’ve been doing it consistently for ten years. ‘13’ marks release number 10 for the band (and their eighth studio full-length). However, since 1997’s ‘Warpath’ virtually nothing has changed. On the back of Chris Barnes former Cannibal Corpse associations, SFU have created as nice little niche in the Death Metal market – they write simple unassuming lowest common denominator groove oriented death metal. You either love it or hate it. Obviously, they have a massive fan base that worships this stuff, but for the life of me, I really cannot fathom why so many are drawn to them.

Listening to ‘13’ works like the ‘same shit, different day’ philosophy. Their simplistic groove death metal has become such a formula that one feels as though the band is working on autopilot. No fucking wonder they knock their albums over on a yearly basis, this shit just isn’t hard to write. It’s as if the band has access to some sort of endless song writing loop that gets sliced at track 10-11 and is stamped with the appropriate year for release. That may be a tad harsh I know, but if you think SFU really do progress and develop in their song writing album after album, year after year, then I’m afraid you’re nuts!

The fact that I am actually giving this album the time of day is a minor miracle considering the blasphemy they unleashed on the disaster that was Graveyard Classics II late last year (no less than an entire rendition of AC/DC ‘Back in Black’!). It remains my only ‘zero’ score ever; deservedly so.

Incredibly, ‘13’ is nowhere near hatchet job of that release. But let’s not get too excited. 2003’s ‘Bringer of Blood’ was a slight improvement on past glories and I feel that ‘13’ is a step up in quality again. For me, this is probably their best release since ‘Warpath’. However, it must be remembered that everything in between has pretty much been completely forgettable in my eyes. ‘13’, at the very least has some mildly catchy riffs and punchy grooves laid down in the Steve Swanson riffs. If that means this has better songs than before, then so be it. Just don’t expect any sort of development or surprises. The fact that this album sounds decidedly more up tempo and almost ‘punkish’ in some respects, also helps.

Considering the improvements that ‘13’ displays, I still have some serious issues with the Chris Barnes production. I’m just about done with the mediocre sound that Barnes trots out for SFU. It’s obviously a signature sound now, but hand the reigns over to someone else and just maybe things won’t sound so dull. Once again, it seems as though Barnes have looked after himself before the music on ‘13’. His vocals are way too overbearing in the mix and as such the Swanson guitar sound and the Butler/Gall bottom end lack any sort of thickness, power and heaviness. These guys are a death metal band, but in terms of brutality and heaviness, Nickelback have more balls than these guys.

‘13’ is SFU’s most…err…listenable (?) album since ‘BOB’ and ‘Warpath’. Production qualms aside, the more up tempo, groovy nature of their songs make this just a tiny bit more interesting. Still this is SFU paint by numbers regular Death Metal. You know what to expect. More to the point, you know what NOT to expect. I’m sure their fan base will flock to this in droves….why? You tell me.

Improved...not as good as True Carnage - 70%

MachX, April 3rd, 2005

Well, this one is better than Bringer of Blood, with slightly more varied lyrics, and a production reminiscent of Unleashed on Hell's Unleashed; that is to say, the guitars are nice and thick but smooth and it all sounds balanced. But don't confuse them, Hell's Unleashed is a masterpiece, whereas this one is only decent. Barnes vocals are less Cookie Monster, but nowhere near his best like on True Carnage, or Butchered at Birth.

Decomposition of the Human Race starts off with a cool, creepy intro, and some crunchy guitar work. There's also some good metaphor done in the lyrics, though not to the calibre of Carcass' Heartwork

Tracks 2-4 are decently consistent, and not as bad as the filler on past albums

13 - this one starts with Barnes doing a wicked sounding shriek, and there's actually some good guitar riffing (what's going on?) going on here that reminds me of Carcass' later work. oops, another Carcass comparison, maybe I should be shot. Don't worry though, it still isn't as good as Edge of Darkness or Buried Dreams

The rest of the album is good solid fare with latterday Carcass style death n' roll riffing, but did they have to rip off the riff from 'Room 10' for 'This Suicide'?Overall, however, this album is way better, more consistent than Bringer of Blood or Warpath, but is definately not the calibre of Heartwork or Swansong. But then again, what is?