SIX FEET UNDER parts ways with drummer MARCO PITRUZZELLA, recruits RUSTON GROSSE
01-06-2026
Death metal veterans SIX FEET UNDER have parted ways with drummer Marco Pitruzzella and have replaced him with Ruston Grosse (MASTER, SKELETAL REMAINS).
On May 28, SIX FEET UNDER released the following statement via social media: “Just wanted to let all our fans, worldwide, know that we are beyond excited to start our European tour this coming week, and kicking off our intense summer touring schedule which will last into the fall and finish up in South America in October/November. We also would like you to help us welcoming our new drummer!! Ruston Grosse who has previously worked with MASTER, and others! we have been working together with Ruston for a few months preparing, and formally since the beginning of May after we parted ways with Marco Pitruzzella.
“Everyone in the band is very excited about this new chapter of SIX FEET UNDER and the heavy groove that Ruston is bringing to the rhythm section!! He’s a brutalizer! And a great guy.
“We will see you all, from the stage, SOON!!!”
Ruston added in a separate post: “I’m absolutely f*ckin’ stoked to pummel the masses with the guys on these next attacks!!! It’s an honor to share the stage with Chris, Jack, Ray, & Jeff as well to be stepping in for Lord Marco.
“Get your asses out to the show or fest and prepare to be crushed because let me tell ya… WAR IS COMING!!!”
Grosse has performed and recorded with acts like MASTER, BRUTALITY, WOE, INHUMAN CONDITION, KULT OV AZAZEL, and notably filled in live for INCANTATION. A multi-instrumentalist and composer, Ruston also leads the experimental project AMESA SPENTAS and brings years of studio, touring, and creative experience across metal, jazz, world and fusion styles.
Last April, SIX FEET UNDER released a music video for their song “Mister Blood And Guts”. The track appears on their latest full-length, “Next To Die”, out now on Metal Blade Records.
Stream “Mister Blood And Guts” below.
SIX FEET UNDER guitarist Jack Owen comments: “When I was young, local TV stations always had a show where a creepy host would show campy cult movies and dress up and tell you tidbits about the film. This continues today with a show hosted by the creepiest of hosts, Svengoolie. ‘Mister Blood And Guts’ is about a film you might see on one of these shows, albeit with a much more violent plot. Our villain is a black clad caped phantom with a top hat who attacks unsuspecting moviegoers, leaving the aisles filled with blood and the seats filled with heads! This is another song that I wrote the music after having the lyrics in my head for a few days.”
Watch the previously released “Mutilated Corpse In The Woods” and “The Unmistakable Smell Of Death” below
“Next To Die”, produced by SIX FEET UNDER guitarist Jack Owen and singer Chris Barnes and mixed and mastered by Mark Lewis of MRL Studios in Nashville, follows 2024’s “Killing For Revenge”. It’s the third record that Barnes and Owen — both former members of CANNIBAL CORPSE — have created together since reuniting in 2017.
“Next To Die” track listing:
01. Approach Your Grave
02. Destroyed Remains
03. Mister Blood And Guts
04. Mutilated Corpse In The Woods
05. Unmistakable Smell Of Death
06. Wrath And Terror Takes Command
07. Skin Coffins
08. Mind Hell
09. Naked And Dismembered
10. Grasped From Beyond
11. Next To Die
12. Ill Wishes
“Next To Die” is a new creative high for SIX FEET UNDER, marking the band’s fifteenth album since 1995’s “Haunted”.
“It started out as an album full of death metal songs with speed and aggression,” says Owen. “Then Chris had the brilliant idea to keep half of those death metal songs and add some groovier songs in the vein of the early SIX FEET UNDER material. Chris emphasized tempo, so keeping with the beats per minute for early SFU classics, I wrote a side of tasty groove-laden music with Chris doing all the lyrics.”
The creative collaborative approach sees “Next To Die” essentially broken down into two different sides, Death and Groove, resulting in an aural masterwork that satisfies SIX FEET UNDER as artists, while also offering something for every fan.
“We don’t discuss lyrical themes, we each write what we’re feeling,” explains Barnes. “We each just write what we find interesting.”
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”. The current tour-honed lineup of Barnes, Owen, lead guitarist Ray Suhy, bassist Jeff Hughell, and drummer Marco Pitruzzella make for a devastating unit.
Social media