Monday, May 21, 2012

Guest review of Undead by Six Feet Under written by The Left Hand Creation bassist Rob Holden

I would just like to take the time to introduce a guest reviewer that is helping me out by bringing you a more in depth look at some of the albums I will be reviewing. Rob Holden is the bassist of Oshawa, Ontario based metal band Left Hand Creation. They combine all types of metal and make it their own with brutal riffs and gut wrenching vocals. You can like their page here and you should show some support for local bands!






1. Frozen At the Moment of Death
2. Formaldehyde
3. 18 Days
4. Molest Dead
5. Blood On My Hands
6. Missing Victims
7. Reckless
8. Near Death Experience
9. Delayed Combustion Device
10. The Scar
11. Vampire Apocalypse
12. The Depths of Depravity

Before I even gave this album a run-through, I was admittedly skeptical of how the end result would be. As a life-long Cannibal Corpse fan, I too have given SFU a try on several different occasions, only to be grotesquely disappointed at their lack of groove, presence, and overall musicianship. Though I heard many of the same beaten down themes commonly used by SFU during this album, I was pleasantly surprised to hear some very melodic groove riffs, and some outstanding song structuring (in comparison) from start to finish. Six Feet Under experiment with the occasional odd time signature that is completely foreign to their usual sound, without ever losing their (Cannibal Corpse-esque) slow headbang groove. Songs like Frozen at the Moment of Death and Formaldehyde are reminders of the early 90’s death metal in its purity. Slow, grinding death metal to shut up any SFU naysayers out there. Tracks like 18 Days, Missing Victims, and Blood On My Hands are testament to Six Feet Under’s sound in their early days, but written and executed so much better.

To be quite honest, this album still has some boring repetitive parts as expected, but I find that the good heavily outweighs the bad on this occasion. The Depths of Depravity is an excellent closer to this album. The grinding click-dragging nature of Undead will definitely prove this album to be the slowest tempo album of 2012, sure to bring a revitalization of veteran death metal fans, as well as a lot of critics. If you have not heard Six Feet Under before, I suggest you rifle through a few of their old albums to prepare yourself for what to expect, and this album will become an absolute gem in your collection. Otherwise, this album may not be for you. I personally enjoyed this album and think that its release was timed perfectly in a genre where each band is more technically proficient than the last; Six Feet Under’s new found heaviness will bulldoze over any of these hyper tech-death bands. I recommend this album for all of you old-schoolers!

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