CHRIS BARNES on CANNIBAL CORPSE: “I don't know what grudge they're holding against me, but they just don't like me”
01-09-2025
Vocalist Chris Barnes of death metal veterans SIX FEET UNDER has shared a new video message in which he offered an update on the recording sessions for the band’s upcoming album. The follow-up to last year’s “Killing For Revenge” is tentatively due in early 2026 via Metal Blade Records. Barnes said: “We’re in the middle of recording a new album, so we’ll be putting out a new album next (year) — early summer, late spring. And the guitars and the drums have been recorded. Jack (Owen, SIX FEET UNDER guitarist) went down to AudioHammer with Jason Suecof again and recorded the guitar tracks. And Jeff Hughell will be recording… Well, he’s recording bass right now, in August. And Ray (Suhy) will be recording his lead guitar parts in the beginning of September, probably finishing up right before the tour starts on September 20th.”
He continued: “The tour starts September 20th, ‘Midnight In Hell’ (with EXHORDER, WRETCHED and INCITE), runs through October, finishes up in New Kensington, Pennsylvania on October 25th, and immediately after that last show on October 26th, the morning of, I will be flying directly to Miami, Florida, to my favorite studio where I’ve recorded 90 percent of SIX FEET UNDER vocals, Criteria Studios in Miami with my good friend Chris Carroll once again.”
Barnes added: “I’ll tell you what, man — you guys are gonna be amazed by this album. And I’m not hyping it up at all. I’m really just letting you know. It’s such a diverse and dynamic album, and bunch of songs that me and Jack wrote together. It’s literally just SIX FEET UNDER, all the elements that we’ve touched upon in our long discography. A lot of what people call groove and heavy, heavy SIX FEET UNDER style and sound of the years past, and also new flavors and ins and outs and really heavy brutal stuff too. I’ll tell you what, you guys are really gonna be happy with this album.”
“Killing For Revenge” came out in May 2024 through Metal Blade Records. The LP marked the second effort that Barnes and Owen (ex-CANNIBAL CORPSE) had created together since reuniting for 2020’s “Nightmares Of The Decomposed”. Owen also produced “Killing For Revenge”.
SIX FEET UNDER was initially formed as a side project for Barnes during his final years with the band that he co-founded, CANNIBAL CORPSE. It became the frontman’s sole focus in 1995, coinciding with the release of their debut, “Haunted”. Only Barnes remains from SIX FEET UNDER‘s original incarnation, but the quality has remained remarkably consistent. The current lineup of Barnes, guitarists Owen and Ray Suhy, bassist Jeff Hughell and drummer Marco Pitruzzella make for a devastating unit.
While Barnes is the sole remaining member, SIX FEET UNDER is about more than he and Owen. The singer is thrilled with the current lineup, and what each member brings to the table. “Jeff and Marco have been with me for about 10 years,” Barnes says. “I’m really fortunate that I have probably the best musicians in metal. If you look at it, we have the same amount of original members as CANNIBAL CORPSE. Jeff is a killer bass player. Marco‘s probably the best drummer out there. Jack‘s the greatest songwriter I’ve ever been involved with over the 30-plus years I’ve been doing music professionally. And Ray is just a phenomenal guitarist who can play everything from jazz to death metal. The lineup now is untouchable.”
The chemistry between the five men is palpable; listening to “Killing For Revenge”, one could be forgiven for assuming that they hid themselves away somewhere for a couple of months and hammered it out in blessed, creative seclusion. Not the case. “We all recorded it on our own, in different parts of the country since we’re all spread out,” says Barnes. “I think the most important thing is to put everybody in a comfortable space so that they get a great performance. That’s what you want to capture. It’s really hard nowadays to afford everyone being in the studio recording like we used to back in the ’90s. It can be done just as effectively this way.”
“Killing For Revenge”, which features a guest appearance by guitarist Jason Suecof on “Neanderthal”, was mixed and mastered by Chaz Najjar at Badlands Recording in Denver, Colorado. The record will be released on CD and digital formats as well as vinyl.
“Killing For Revenge” track listing:
01. Know-Nothing Ingrate
02. Accomplice To Evil Deeds
03. Ascension
04. When The Moon Goes Down In Blood
05. Hostility Against Mankind
06. Compulsive
07. Fit Of Carnage
08. Neanderthal(guest lead guitar solo Jason Suecof)
09. Judgement Day
10. Bestial Savagery
11. Mass Casualty Murdercide
13. Spoils Of War
13. Hair Of The Dog (NAZARETH cover; CD + Digital Only)
SIX FEET UNDER is:
Chris Barnes – vocals
Jack Owen – rhythm guitar
Ray Suhy – lead guitar
Jeff Hughell – bass
Marco Pitruzzella – drum
Barnes previously said SIX FEET UNDER‘s new album would contain “some of the most intense songs we’ve done… It’s a Ripper!!! Some real killer songs on this album. It will definitely satisfy all our SFU Fans appetite. #pureDEATHMETAL'” He also said the LP was shaping up to be “incredibly fucking heavy.”
SIX FEET UNDER‘s 17th full-length album, “Nightmares Of The Decomposed”, was released in October 2020 via Metal Blade Records.
Comprised of 12 tracks, “Nightmares Of The Decomposed” was tracked at various studios, including Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida, which over the years has played host to the likes of AC/DC, BLACK SABBATH and AEROSMITH, among others. It was produced, engineered and mixed by Chris Carroll, while the album’s mastering was handled by Chaz Najjar at Badlands Recording in Denver, Colorado. The finished product came packaged in artwork by Luke Hunter.
Barnes exited CANNIBAL CORPSE in 1995, one year after the release of the band’s “The Bleeding” album. Seven years ago, he told “The Chainsaw Symphony” radio program about his departure: “I just didn’t like being around them, because I was being ridiculed, and I just didn’t feel comfortable being in the same room with people that weren’t very nice to me personally. And I was part of that too, so we had all of our own type of differences, personally, and I don’t think it was gonna be able to be worked out. You know, mutual respect goes a far way when it comes to being in close quarters with people.”
Owen left CANNIBAL CORPSE in 2004, explaining in a statement that his “heart just wasn’t in it anymore, and it was reflected in my appearance on stage. Times change, and I just don’t enjoy the music as much as I used to, and the only thing keeping me in the band was steady work, and the pay,” he said. “These things makes it unfair to myself, my band members, and especially the fans.”
After Barnes left CANNIBAL CORPSE to form SIX FEET UNDER, he was replaced in the former band by George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher.
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