2017 Metal Album Review - "Torment" by Six Feet Under
Well, well, well.... here we are again. I have found myself feeling a bit less than willing and able to revisit here in quite some time (about a month now?), but not for a lack of interest. It has been more of an inability to find free time between work and my own band trying to get back out doing shows. That plus an ever-growing pile of bills and the cards of life stacked heavily against me has made it difficult to hype myself up to get back into my love for posting here on Steemit. But again, to reiterate, I have not lost my desire to finish what I have started on here (Metal Music For Beginners Series and Folk Metal A-Z series). And those are coming soon, I promise. But for now, hopefully this review will tie some over until I can gather my research for both of my other official series posts. In due time!
Shall we begin?
Six Feet Under
After the release of Cannibal Corpse's fourth album, "The Bleeding" (1994), it marked a milestone in what may have very well been one of the most shocking departures in the world of death metal as we knew it. Chris Barnes, Cannibal's original vocalist, left the band due to cooperation issues whilst preparing to record a fifth album attempt, "Created to Kill", which would then become "Vile", with all-new music and an all-new singer, George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher. It was simply time for Chris Barnes and Cannibal Corpse to move on and do their thing, as they have always done.
Fortunately for the death metal world, this event was far from being the end of an era. In fact, quite the opposite. Sure, Cannibal Corpse may have lost their tried-and-true vocalist that came to be the voice to the madness they instrumentally created, but that didn't mean that his departure would mark his permanent disappearance. No, this was only the beginning for the former frontman, as he soon announced of his other project. That project was Six Feet Under. And after over twenty years, they are still going strong, with a bigger following than ever in death metal community, it seems.
And like clockwork, and in no short order, the monsters of SFU have released yet another punishing record THIS YEAR! And what is that record's name, you may ask? Well, if you didn't read the name of this post already, then please allow me to introduce to you....
Torment
For a band like this to still be creating relevant music after two decades of existence, and eleven previous studio albums prior to this year, shows nothing less than the fact that they are a band that has been, and will continue to be, a band that is here to stay for quite some time. With punishing tracks like "Sacrificial Kill" and "Exploratory Homicide", SFU continues to show the world of death metal that they still have fire, and that they still have something to say. Inspiration always draws from the darkest parts of a mortal's life and soul, and Chris Barnes continues to confirm that fact with his lyricism for SFU's music, just like he did in Cannibal Corpse all those years ago.
Still not convinced of this? Well, don't just take my word for it. Listen below, and see for yourself. Here are four of my favorite tracks (and hopefully yours too) from this crunching death metal opus. Enjoy, and stay metal! \m/
"Sacrificial Kill"
"Exploratory Homicide"
"In the Process of Decomposing"
"Roots of Evil"
Good to see something from you again Damian. I miss seeing your posts, but I do understand your reasons for the delays. Life is life. It comes first. :)
Exactly, haha. :) And thank you for the kind words. I don't generally like to wait so long between posts, considering how much fun I have when I do. It's just been really difficult in Casa de Raymond as of late.... bills, bills and more bills. :/ But life goes on, and thankfully I have Cannabis to help me cope and keep my mental disorders that cause my worry to a minimum. And let us not forget METAL! :D
By the way what ever happened to Derek? You guys know each other outside of the platform. I used to speak to him a lot and he just vanished.
Yeah, I know he hasn't been on in quite some time. I'm not sure as to the precise nature of why he's not really on anymore, but I do speculate that he's just been very busy.... I know he just got married within the past week or two, so maybe that's at least part of it? Not 100% on that, but it's possible at least in part.
Give him a hello from me next time you see him if you get a chance. I had some cool conversations with him and he has been missed, and congrats on the marriage.
Absolutely man, I'll be sure to pass the word along.