Six Feet Under

Graveyard Classics (Metal Blade)
by Martin Popoff

Why should we care about this any more than a Dwell pay-to-play tribute album? Well, we shouldn’t. First, just because Six Feet Under have risen to the top of the death heap by mixing catchy mid-speed originals with covers of the same ilk, doesn’t validate a whole record of something that should’ve been mere bonus tracks. And the reason these should be bonus tracks is that there is no thought, imagination, or reach put into these versions. They’re dead expected, Barnes’ true middle median average centrist death vocal over dull productions, simple arrangements, one tone throughout, no layers, no surprises. Thick-headed all the way. And even though these are dug Six Feet Under, there’s no reason for tired tunes like “Sweet Leaf,” “Stepping Stone,” “Smoke On The Water” and “Purple Haze” to be exhumed, even within this no-longer-novel formula. One poke above the tired slog: John Bush guesting on “Blackout,” different but equally pointless to the process. Add another half dozen surprises and this could’ve been an event. As it is, Six Feet Under are simply playing to something of which all of us in the press have been guilty, snickering to and applauding the band’s past covers. The joke’s getting old.
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