Review: Six Feet Under’s Killing for Revenge is a Step in the Right Direction but Still Not Enough
I
want
to
like
Six
Feet
Under.
I
really
do.
On
paper
they
should
be
fantastic,
what
with
their
current
lineup
being
rounded
out
by
two
founding
members
of
Cannibal
Corpse,
as
well
as
one
of
the
fastest
drummers
I’ve
ever
seen
and
a
ridiculously
dexterous
7-string
bassist.
You’d
think
they
would
be
out
here
blowing
people’s
minds
left
and
right,
but
instead
they
seem
content
with
serving
up
a
bunch
of
mid-paced,
lackluster
death
‘n’
roll
that
may
have
had
a
leg
to
stand
on
30
years
ago,
but
feels
well
past
played
out
at
this
point.
Like
many
others,
I
was
pleasantly
surprised
to
hear
that
they’d
picked
up
the
pace
with
their
first
single
“Know-Nothing
Ingrate”.
It
wasn’t
perfect,
but
it
had
a
sense
of
renewed
energy
unlike
anything
they’ve
put
out
in
a
long
time,
and
it
was
certainly
enough
to
generate
a
buzz.
My
hopes
were
extremely
measured,
but
I’d
be
lying
if
I
said
my
curiosity
hadn’t
been
piqued.
I
found
myself
wondering
if
perhaps
Chris
Barnes’
newfound
sobriety
(respect)
had
created
a
shift
in
their
dynamic,
and
as
a
result
a
higher
emphasis
would
now
be
placed
on
more
creative
songwriting
that
actually
made
use
of
the
insanely
talented
musicians
in
their
roster.
So,
did
they
pull
it
off?
After
spending
some
time
with
their
newest
full-length
Killing
for
Revenge,
I
can
safely
say
that
the
answer
is…
ehh,
yes
and
no.
It
is
true
that
several
of
the
songs
are
much
faster
than
we’re
used
to
hearing
from
Six
Feet
Under,
and
in
fact
are
among
the
fastest
material
they’ve
ever
released,
particularly
the
third
track
“Ascension”.
That
one
is
actually
very
tastefully
written
and
genuinely
heavy,
aside
from
the
fact
that
Barnes’
voice
has
lost
much
of
its
former
strength.
The
main
riff
for
“When
the
Moon
Goes
Down
in
Blood”
has
an
interesting
feel
to
it
as
well,
kinda
creepy
and
complimented
by
rapid-fire
triplet
bursts
from
drummer
Marco
Pitruzella.
If
the
rest
of
the
songs
on
this
album
were
as
good
as
these
two
then
I
would
be
singing
an
entirely
different
tune,
but
unfortunately
they
end
up
being
the
exception
to
the
rule.
They
might
have
shifted
things
up
a
gear
on
some
of
the
songs,
but
that
metric
alone
does
not
make
up
for
the
fact
that
a
lot
of
the
music
is
still
very
repetitive
once
you
get
over
the
initial
shot
of
adrenaline.
Also,
that
increase
in
tempo
does
not
carry
over
to
all
of
the
music,
and
when
it
doesn’t,
things
come
crashing
down
hard.
The
fifth
track
“Hostility
Against
Mankind”
is
practically
unlistenable
with
its
simplistic,
plodding,
molasses-slow
attempt
at
a
“groove”
that
sounds
like
they
ripped
off
the
main
riff
from
“Bury
Me
in
Smoke”
but
screwed
it
up.
The
aptly
named
“Neanderthal”
is
a
slightly
better
attempt
at
slower
bluesy
riffs
more
in
line
with
SFU’s
previous
material,
but
even
that
one
falls
short.
At
one
point
I
actually
laid
my
head
down
on
my
desk
and
said
out
loud,
“Why
the
fuck
did
you
hire
the
guys
from
Brain
Drill
to
play
this?!”
I’ve
never
been
able
to
wrap
my
head
around
why
neither
Marco
Pitruzella
and
Jeff
Hughell
aren’t
being
utilized
to
their
full
potential.
If
you
really
wanna
blow
people’s
minds
and
catapult
Six
Feet
Under
into
a
whole
new
era,
then
don’t
be
scared
to
throw
some
gravity
blasts
and
arpeggios
and
a
little
slap
bass
into
that
motherfucker.
At
this
point,
why
not?
I’m
not
saying
they
need
to
be
the
next
Archspire
with
Barnes
on
vocals
—
although
that
would
be
a
hell
of
a
sight
to
see
—
but
don’t
give
them
riffs
that
they
could
play
in
their
sleep
either.
Let
them
boys
cook.
There
are
glimpses
of
their
true
capabilities
in
the
bursts
of
really
fast
blasts
at
the
end
of
“When
the
Moon
Goes
Down
in
Blood”
and
some
very
tasty
tapping
from
Hughell
which
adds
serious
atmosphere
to
the
beginning
of
“Spoils
of
War”,
but
other
than
that
it
feels
like
they
could
have
gotten
any
number
of
other
hired
guns
to
do
the
same
thing
and
still
achieved
the
same
result.
People
will
undoubtedly
be
saying
something
to
the
effect
of
“Oh
man,
this
is
way
better
than
Nightmares”
once
the
album
is
out,
but
that
is
a
depressingly
low
bar
to
clear.
Then
again,
one
could
also
be
forgiven
for
holding
out
hope
that
this
noticeable
improvement
is
in
fact
an
early
indicator
of
a
much
greater
change
in
the
wind.
There’s
a
part
of
me
that
actually
hopes
this
album
does
really
well
and
inspires
them
to
write
more
music
like
it,
but
then
there’s
the
other
part
that
almost
choked
on
my
drink
when
I
heard
the
cowbell
during
their
cover
of
Nazareth’s
“Hair
of
the
Dog”
at
the
end,
so
I’m
not
exactly
waiting
with
bated
breath.
Six
Feet
Under’s
Killing
for
Revenge
drops
this
Friday,
May
10
via
Metal
Blade
Records.
Pre-order
your
copy
here