Photo by: Jack Webb
Official press release:
American death metal pioneers Six Feet Under will unleash their Next To Die full-length on April 24th through Metal Blade Records.
Next To Die marks a new creative high for Six Feet Under, its dozen songs marking the band’s fifteenth album since 1995’s Haunted. Guitarist Jack Owen says:
“It started out as an album full of death metal songs with speed and aggression. Then [vocalist] Chris [Barnes] had the brilliant idea to keep half of those death metal songs and add some groovier songs in the vein of the early Six Feet Under material. 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 creative collaborative approach sees Next To Die essentially broken down into two different sides – Death and Groove – resulting in an aural masterwork that satisfies Six Feet Under as artists, while also offering something for every fan.
The record was produced by Owen and Barnes and mixed and mastered by Mark Lewis of MRL Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, and follows 2024’s Killing For Revenge. It’s the third record that Barnes and Owen have created together since reuniting in 2017. Explains Barnes:
“We don’t discuss lyrical themes, we each write what we’re feeling. We each just write what we find interesting.”
Six Feet Under was initially formed as a side project for Barnes during his final years with the band that he co-founded, Cannibal Corpse. It became the frontman’s sole focus in 1995, coinciding with the release of their debut, Haunted. The current lineup of Barnes, Owen, lead guitarist Ray Suhy, bassist Jeff Hughell, and drummer Marco Pitruzzella make for a devastating unit.
That sonic devastation shines on lead single, “Unmistakable Smell Of Death”, which sees Owen owning his blast and fast riffs with dynamic pull-offs and stop sections. Says Owen:
“This song began musically before I had any lyrical ideas in mind. I dug through my riff archive for some blast and fast riffs and updated them with some pull-offs and stop sections. The middle section riffs were also from my riff archive. I do scratch leads on my demos, but Ray always does a much better job with the leads.
Lyrically, I’m writing from the perspective of a killer who toys with a victim and unties them, allowing them to fight. He underestimates their ability to fight, and they get the better of the killer, ultimately impaling and beheading him. The ‘Unmistakable Smell Of Death’ is now that of the killer!”
Next To Die comes swathed in the cover art of Sandy Rezalmi and will be released on CD and digital formats as well as vinyl in the following color variants:
- 180g Black (US)
- Red w/ Black Smoke (US)
- Bone Brown Marbled (EU – Ltd. 500)
- Blue Grey Marbled (EU – Ltd. 300)
- Blood Splatter (EU – Ltd. 300)
- Bone White Green Splatter (EU – Ltd. 200)
Find all pre-orders at MetalBlade.com/SixFeetUnder.
Six Feet Under will return to stages this Summer on a North American headlining tour. Set to begin on July 8th in Detroit and run through August 11th in Chicago, the tour features support from Kataklysm and Wormhole.
Comments Barnes:
“July and August are gonna get ultra brutal on our headlining tour of North America in support of our new album Next To Die, with our old friends in Kataklysm, and special guests Wormhole. Very psyched to get back on the road in the States, and really, really looking forward to playing Canada on this tour. I think it’s our first time in Canada in decades… You do not want to miss these shows! See you all this Summer!”
The North American journey will follow the band’s previously announced European headlining tour this June with support from Embryonic Autopsy.
Presales begin Thursday, March 12th password: GRAVE. General on sale date is Friday, March 13th. See all confirmed dates below.
Next To Die track listing:
- “Approach Your Grave”
- “Destroyed Remains”
- “Mister Blood And Guts”
- “Mutilated Corpse In The Woods”
- “Unmistakable Smell Of Death”
- “Wrath And Terror Takes Command”
- “Skin Coffins”
- “Mind Hell”
- “Naked And Dismembered”
- “Grasped From Beyond”
- “Next To Die”
- “ILL Wishes”
7/08 Detroit, MI – Sanctuary
7/09 Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace
7/10 Montreal, QC – Fairmount
7/11 Ottawa, ON – Overflow
7/12 Worcester, MA – Palladium Upstairs
7/13 Hamden, CT – Space Ballroom
7/14 New York, NY – Gramercy Ballroom
7/15 Bensalem, PA – Broken Goblet
7/16 Raleigh, NC – Chapel Of Bones
7/17 Jacksonville, FL – Albatross
7/18 Fort Lauderdale, FL – Culture Room
7/19 Orlando, FL – Conduit
7/21 Houston, TX – Scout Bar
7/22 Austin, TX – Come And Take It
7/23 Lubbock, TX – Jake’s
7/24 Farmington, NM – Lauter Haus
7/25 Phoenix, AZ – Nile
7/26 Los Angeles, CA – 1720
7/27 Fresno, CA – Strummer’s
7/28 Berkeley, CA – Cornerstone
7/29 Roseville, CA – Goldfield
7/30 Boise, ID – Shredder (no Kataklysm)
7/31 Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre
8/01 Seattle, WA – El Corazon
8/02 Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw
8/04 Calgary, AB – Arrowhead
8/05 Edmonton, AB – Starlite Room
8/06 Saskatoon, SK – Black Cat
8/07 Winnipeg, MB – Park Theatre
8/08 Minneapolis, MN – Skyway Theatre
8/09 Madison, WI – The Annex
8/10 Covington, KY – Madison Theater
8/11 Chicago, IL – Reggies
