Metal Blade
Six Feet Under’s latest presents a bit of a conundrum. Renowned for their grinding bouts of unsophisticated death metal the band provides few surprises on their albums. They consistently feature endless detuned riffs thundering drumbeats and vocalist Chris Barnes gurgling incoherently about various ways of killing and/or dying. Therein lies the issue: those hoping to hear something fresh will be exceedingly disappointed by Death Rituals . It follows the Six Feet formula exactly throughout its 13 blasts of calmer Cannibal Corpse dirge. However if a banger finds SFU’s adherence to tradition refreshing in a time when most bands strive for speed and overly technical delivery as opposed to groove and succinctness Death Ritual becomes an eerily familiar set of new tunes that hold fast to the essentials of the genre. From opener “Death by Machete” through groove-laden “Bastard” and on to “Murder Addiction” Death Rituals is an apt name for SFU’s eighth contribution to the legacy of gore-infused death metal.
