Six Feet Deep

Struggle (R.E.X. Music)
by Scott Hefflon

To say Struggle (R.E.X. Music) is one of the heaviest stompcores album I’ve heard might attract your attention. It’s been done so many times so many ways, what could possibly differentiate this band from the countless churning out metal/hardcore for over a decade? Not to disrespect their beliefs, but I think CHRISTIAN HARDCORE is a sufficient gimmick to goose the jaded reader/potential listener. Six Feet Deep thank God/Jesus first and foremost in their credits. Anything other than top-billing would be, well, discourteous.

The first track, “Angry Son,” launches into heavy crunching guitars and in-your-face drumming right from the get-go. Slow and heavy, the tuned-low rhythm trudges with Myk Porter’s hardcore roar standing atop it all. With the power of a doomsday prophet screaming rage enough to make mountains quake, Six Feet Deep is not about anger, surprisingly. They are about the struggle (hence the title) against the pressures that drag the human spirit into submission and the battle to hold true to beliefs of larger ideals. Whether it’s an eternal world or an internal world, the force of their desire for improving this shallow, selfish, and, in the end, empty world is an inspiration. Without getting preachy, Six Feet Deep blast through ten tracks of brutal hardcore that has the choppy starts and stops that keep the boots stomping and the heads banging. While occasionally dipping into the rap style of Rage ATM or Downset, they usually stick with trudge-style metalcore. They don’t go for the gimmicks or studio layering, they depend on monster production and the strength of their passions. Judging from the power of this debut, Six Feet Deep are placing a loaded bet.