{"id":106023,"date":"2026-04-24T00:00:58","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T23:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=106023"},"modified":"2026-05-07T09:49:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T08:49:09","slug":"album-review-six-feet-under-next-to-die","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-six-feet-under-next-to-die\/","title":{"rendered":"SIX FEET UNDER – Next To Die (2026) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

SIX FEET UNDER
\nNext To Die<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nMetal Blade (2026)<\/span>
\nRating: 6\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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So here we are again, Six Feet Under\u2019s 100th full-length that surely can\u2019t be as bad as the last 99, can it? Now, I\u2019ve never been much of a Six Feet Under fan, and I\u2019m bemused as to how and why anyone can be a fully fledged supporter of such goofy gore metal. Made all the more daft by Chris Barnes\u2019 daft squeals, the Tampa Bay, Florida-based band\u2019s discography has succumbed to some severe criticism over the years and rightly so.<\/p>\n

Dripping with unintentional lashings of cheese, Six Feet Under has fallen by the wayside, only worshipped by an avid bunch of disciples who obviously don’t realise that the death metal genre is far more rewarding and credible elsewhere. Even so, Metal Blade Records remains in support of an act whose reputation for being bad means that Next To Die<\/em> then, on form, should be a stinker of an album, but, shock horror, it\u2019s not.<\/p>\n

Beginning with the lumbering \u2018Approach Your Grave\u2019, the combo veers towards a doomy traipse laced with Barnes\u2019 chesty coughs sounding a bit more convincing than usual, especially now there are less of those god awful \u201ceeeee\u201d gasps. There are the expected groovier elements of the band\u2019s sound and Next To Die<\/em>, while still failing in crushing the listener, is still a listenable platter\u2026 somehow. Barnes sounds less strained, maybe due to the man\u2019s well achieved sobriety, so good on him for taking positive steps over the last few years.<\/p>\n

Musically, it\u2019s all a bit more coherent too, and guitarist Ray Suhy\u2019s solos are a highlight throughout. \u2018Destroyed Remains\u2019 is, admittedly, your bog standard Six Feet Under composition, although it does race with energy and vigour, particularly in the percussive department of Marco Pitruzzella. There\u2019s still something underwhelming about the Six Feet Under sound, a somewhat thin din in comparison to what else is going on within the scene, but I\u2019ve really tried with this opus, and I feel that the band has too. There\u2019s a strong 90s vibe about a majority of the cuts, Six Feet Under bridging a gap between old school stodge, particularly in the bass tone, and cleaner, slightly more modern dynamics.<\/p>\n

Lyrically, it\u2019s all a mix between the childish and the routine, but because Barnes sticks to the deathly grunts rather than the silly squeals, the album feels more authentic and organic. There are a few songs that standout for me, namely the closer \u2018Ill Wishes\u2019 which again, like the first cut, incorporates a doomy aspect. It\u2019s the most atmospheric track on the album, Barnes\u2019 vocals working well in tandem with the oozing riff and the measured, stabbing drums. \u2018Wrath And Terror Takes Command\u2019 also implements slower techniques resulting in slick spiralling lead work and the slow jab of percussion. Those slower moments which litter the album really do dig their talons in and make nice breaks from the aggressive bread \u2018n\u2019 butter speed merchants such as \u2018Mutilated Corpse In the Woods\u2019, \u2018Mind Hell\u2019, \u2018Grasped From Beyond\u2019 etc., which are fun if formulaic.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s still that odd production which results in a lack of density, and nothing here rams its message home, but there\u2019s a few silly heaps of infectious goo to lend an ear to, especially the hilariously titled \u2018Mister Blood And Guts\u2019 with its punky groove and dodgy lyrics: \u201cBlood curdling screams from the back row, Blood runs crimson red from someone you know, Went for a night of fun at the picture show, Now they’re lying dead, in blood from head to toe\u201d<\/em>. The title slice is effective, especially the bony bass line and the general pace of the composition, and \u2018Skin Coffins\u2019 clambers in similar fashion, the spine of bass holding the jamboree together as Barnes serves the steady vocal spew.<\/p>\n

But let us not get carried away here, Next To Die<\/em> exists just above average on the death metal scale, but that still makes it a better record than the last. It also features one of the Six Feet Under\u2019s better album covers too, with artwork courtesy of Sandy Rezalmi. So, this is a pleasantly surprising return to \u201cform\u201d for the combo, an album still flawed and goofy but with enough focus and solid musicianship to carry it beyond the realms of being shit.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SIX FEET UNDER Next To Die Metal Blade (2026) Rating: 6\/10 So here we are again, Six Feet Under\u2019s 100th full-length that surely can\u2019t be as bad as the last 99, can it? Now, I\u2019ve never been much of a Six Feet Under fan, and I\u2019m bemused as to how and why anyone can be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,402],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-six-feet-under"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106023"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106023\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106024,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106023\/revisions\/106024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}