Aside from a wheezing, heart attack inducing “Is this Geritol in my bongwater” run partway up Half-Ass Mountain with Undead (2012) and Unborn (2013), Ol’ Chrissy’s been faltering at best, flatlining at worst since 1995’s Haunted. Chris Barnes had no choice but to get Jack Owen on board, as roping/duping another member of the O.G. CANNIBAL CORPSE lineup was the only way SIX FEET UNDER could retain any level of credibility in death metal. And so, the hopeful did hope. And lo, did Nightmares Of The Decomposed flop harder than Nicolas Cage with T__ W_____ M__. We shouldn’t have been surprised.

Just over 3 ½ years later the power couple known as ChrOwens returns with Killing For Revenge. Barnes admits he pretty much handed the reins to Owens on this one, which could either be a testament of faith or a way to lay blame later should the album tank. Based on the uber-processed guitars and Kate Moss-thin mix to opener ‘Know-Nothing Ingrate’, I’m already betting the latter. Captain Monotone’s at it again and even lead guitarist Ray Suhy’s tasteful work in the solo can’t save this.

Add a fiddle or that ALESTORM fuckwit’s keytar to ‘Accomplice To Evil Deeds’, and we’d actually have some interesting folk metal on our hands, but apparently such is not to be. Overall, Killing… is a much more energetic album that we’ve heard from S(t)FU in a while, but what does it matter when the “songs” are little more than scraps of damp scraps of Zig-Zag 1 1/4s stuck together with resin. There’s always one banger on a SFU album, though and, on this one, it’s ‘Hostility Against Mankind’ and its chugging low end and groove, BarWen wisely letting the capable rhythm section of Hughell and Pitruzzella take the spotlight. ‘Neanderthal’ wins for the same reason but sounds too close to ‘Hostility…’ to hit as hard as it would’ve with a few minor tweaks to differentiate. What’s saddest of all is that without Barnes and Owen, we’ve got a chance at some quality.

‘Beastial Savagery’ brings yet another issue to mind with the mix. When the band’s playing fast all space between the instruments is lost resulting in a jumblefuck of epic proportions, which carries on through ‘Mass Casualty Murdercide’ and ‘Spoils Of War’, the album closer proper.

Not content to let the clogged toilet that is SIX FEET UNDER’s legacy die hit the sewers without a cover, this time JarNes has chosen to sink its toothless gums into NAZARETH’s ‘Hair Of The Dog’. What’s hilarious is that Barnes sounds like he’s hyperventilating two lines in, as he does on most everything he records. Killing For Revenge is death metal for Karaoke Night at Sunny Acres Retirement Community.
Review By: Lord Randall

SIX FEET UNDER
Killing For Revenge
Metal Blade