•
Rating: Steve Swanson is the saviour machine of Six Feet Under, a versatile guitarist who replaces Allen "I'm In Pain" West's noble Obituary riffs, and even his few distorted solos, refining them with more dynamic and less static compositions. It's a pity he succeeds in doing so for only half of the tracks. This third offspring of Six Feet Under (year 1999) benefits from a new smelly Death Metal pouring, characterized by the usual raw and muddy production of Brian Slagel (who forgets to raise the volume of the double bass drum) and embellished with a merciless technological gore cover and a handful of songs with a fast but twisted "rot'n'roll" rhythm, not uniform like the Old-Thrash of the '80s, similar to the jarring opener of "...For Victory" by Bolt Thrower.
Everything seems embalmed with care right from the ebony-colored cardboard packaging, reminiscent of the Nothing flown over by the unfortunate plane in the film "The Langoliers" by Stephen King, up to the photos in the inner booklet which are more or less...uhm...cool and full of celebration. Chris Barnes' look is enlivened by Bad Brains-style rasta braids, offering hope for a Death-Reggae-Punk fusion, perhaps with a cover of "Banned in D.C". A snapshot in the woods and Greg Gall, a Blues Brothers version without the suit, observes us proudly, defiantly. In the iconic shot at the end of the booklet, we find our heroes in single file with a disgruntled Butler, a wide-eyed Swanson, an increasingly cool Gall, and a shy bandleader Barnes. The drummer finally takes center stage, both as a "tough guy" and as a composer, along with Terry Butler. Swanson is no less; the puzzle appears complete but is instead only halfway there. The introduction "Feasting On The Blood Of The Insane" leads straight to the morgue, with the heavy burden of a fair approaching to tear our heads off, with a monstrous Chris Barnes, resembling the beast from the episode "The Crate" taken from "Creepshow" by the legendary Carpenter, a certainly brutal but not compelling track.
"Bonesaw" takes advantage of this new strange drum rhythm that turns it into a catchy and lively track, a hint of what awaits us later in the album. "Victim of The Paranoid" is a decidedly good track, the most famous of the album, with a great performance by Barnes (who returns to talk about marijuana) and the whole band that now seems to be cohesive, especially Gall who continues to skillfully grind out rolls. However, the masterpiece of the album is "Short Cut Of Hell", a sabbath slow as a brontosaurus' stride, that bursts in with a well-chosen riff, refreshed by a bass that sounds like a tank in action and drums with sharp and slowed beats, a doom fresco of great charm, but with the added value of Barnes growling deeply like a beast from other worlds: "This soul is black this soul is free/night everlasting, dwells within me". A change then occurs within the song itself, the growl leads us to obsession, with a crushing and suffocating rhythm, a kind of soul funeral that could accompany Baudelaire's poetry "Spleen". At this point comes the discontinuity of inspiration. Other episodes of the album propose a mix of speed and modulated growl like "Mass Murder Rampage", a manic and well-crafted track, and "No Warning Shot", with the famous shout "Die motherfucker die, die".
"Torture Killer" (the monicker of the Finnish group where Barnes will sing) is still a doom piece with a sticky sound, with a macabre and bleeding text. A limit that becomes evident in some less successful songs like "Brainwashed" which lower the judgment on the album, also containing a Kiss cover, "War Machine", certainly nice, which perfectly blends with the other tracks, almost a yardstick. Unfortunately, the comparison with Cannibal Corpse's "Bloodthirst", in terms of quality, we're clear, is lost on points precisely due to the group's difficulty in holding out for the long term, especially in guitar solos that cannot compete with the Owen - O'Brien tandem. The revisitation of Iron Maiden's "Wrathchild" and Thin Lizzy's "Jailbreak" is of no use, welly done usual copy-pastes that only see a replacement of the original voice with Barnes' cavernous one.
"Stasera niente di nuovo" is the ironic title of a variety show by the Vianello-Mondaini couple, from the early '80s, a perfect slogan for these covers. Another wasted opportunity? Mah.... Exhilarating sales (just take a peek on Wikipedia or on Metal-Archives) and the image the group has created speak for themselves. Revenge Of The Zombies.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Feasting on the Blood of the Insane (04:32)
In the dark of the night I search for
the mindless wretches of society
To drink of their blood and feast upon their flesh
Time to break cause you'll never take this
Lots of stiffs and blood, what a sickening mess
Feasting on the blood of the insane
Here's another tale of the fucking deranged
Psychotic � violent another one dead � blood clotted
Lust for blood a need for insanity
Die in the slaughter � time to tap an artery
Brain withered another empty thought
I will kill again and never be caught
Face to face with the monster of hate
Another victim � another piece of meat
Time to kill no one gets out alive
Another scream � another mother fucker dies
First I kill and then I feed � can't deny my blood lust need
A son of a bitch 3rd generation
Schooled in the art of human strangulation
Only one thing will control my pain
That's to drink the blood of the insane
My need for blood � drives me to kill
Another dying � bleeding for my lust
Feed on the dead � feed on the dead � feed on the dead
I've got to get the blood flowing
Just a bit of guts and gore
Indulgence in the blood of freaks
Take another dose of the bloodlust
To rip apart and shred the dead
Teeth stuck in � another victim
Blood bath � I'm gonna kill again
I am the walking dead
Concentrated hate and fear and pain
Inside of me the same
It's gonna go on and on and on
A new life is born
Broken bodies start now rotting
No way to stop the feeding
Only one way to control my pain
Feasting on the blood of the insane
My need for blood � drives me to kill
Another dying � bleeding for my lust
Feed on the dead � feed on the dead � feed on the dead
02 Bonesaw (03:08)
Bodies missing legs and arms
Head is crushed to a reddish pulp
Torso drained of blood and bile
Butchered rotted corpse defiled
Hand me the bonesaw
Time for dissection
Hand me the bonesaw
Begin the amputation
Dying slow and painfully
A gasping breath escapes from you
I rip the flesh and cut through bone
You are bleeding
Sawed your body parts away
Disgusting rotten stench surrounds
Gushing stumps are frayed and torn
Exposing cartilage and bone
Hand me the bonesaw
Time for dissection
Hand me the bonesaw
Begin the amputation
Dying slow and painfully
A gasping breath escapes from you
I rip the flesh and cut trough bone
Alive to watch your arms removed
Cutting - killing sawed to pieces
Jagged wounds in bodies naked
Scraping bone the marrow leaks
Mouth taped shut so you can't scream
Saw blade binding cranial
Separate, coagulate, ripped to shreds
Vivisect, operate
Hand me the bonesaw
Time for dissection
Hand me the bonesaw
Begin the amputation
03 Victim of the Paranoid (03:06)
[Swanson/Barnes]
I can't take it anymore
Got me hiding from myself
They put me away long ago
Another P.O.W.
Lost my mind now twenty years
Let it slip - not too far gone
Can't go on another day
Freedom in this day and age
It's all just a fucking game
I'm not the criminal
I'm not the one to hate
Thrown away into the void
A victim of the paranoid
Victim of the paranoid - a victim of the paranoid
Victim of the paranoid - a victim of the paranoid
I feel like I'm living in another dimension
Misled minds keep on spreading confusion
Kill, kill, kill, I want to kill them all
And put an end to their fascist laws
Open - open your mind
Victim of the paranoid - a victim of the paranoid
Victim of the paranoid - a victim of the paranoid
It seems like such a waste of time
We all can't be this fucking blind
As I sit and wonder why
One more mind is locked inside
04 Short Cut to Hell (03:12)
There is no end to this - no end at all
I've seen the visions, I've heard the call
The one from below, I'll soon be back
You saw the light and turned to black
The fires, they burn
In my memory
The day I return - bleed for me
The soul is black, this soul is free
Night everlasting, dwells within me
The evil you fear - curse of the ages
Impending doom, infecting the masses
The fires, they burn
In my memory
I feed on the pain - the misery
The fires, they burn
In my memory
One day I will return
Never-ending death - everlasting pain
Cruelty - darkness falls
Horrible, hopelessness
Never-ending death - everlasting pain
For the ones I hates
There is no escape
Cruelty - darkness falls
Horrible, hopelessness
There is no end to this - no end at all
I've seen the visions, I've heard the call
The one from below, I'll soon be back
You saw the light and turned to black
The soul is black, this soul is free
Night everlasting, dwells within me
I am the evil - the evil you fear
The fires, they burn
In my memory
I feed on the pain - the misery
The fires, they burn
In my memory
One day I will return
05 No Warning Shot (03:05)
The end of all law
4 shots fired another body falls
I execute the guilty violently
Undercover killing spree - no warning shot
Die motherfucker, die, die
Die motherfucker, die, die
Die motherfucker, die, die
I'll put a bullet between your fucking eyes
Pull the trigger - cock the hammer back
5th shot to the back of your neck
You're not a threat, you're a fucking disease
Eradicate the enemy
Dead body - another crime scene
Blood-stained pavement, chalk outline
Bullet holes you're dead and cold
The end of all law - no warning shot
Die motherfucker, die, die
Die motherfucker, die, die
Die motherfucker, die, die
Die - I put the gun to the side of your head
Squeezing the trigger
Powder burnt skin, breaking through cranial bone
Decayed brain tissue implodes
Just another life that you thought you could control
Just another pig - dead - with some extra holes
You better think again, before I kill again
You won't survive, when the bullets start to fly
Protect and serve yourself
Dug your own grave, now rot
In that hole decay
The murder will never stop - no warning shot
Die motherucker, die, die
Die motherfucker, die, die
Die motherfucker, die, die
I'll put a bullet between your fucking eyes
Die
08 Brainwashed (02:43)
You will die - no love there for you
There's no guiding light
to lead you through the night
Only screams of torment, only fear and emptiness
No life after the grave - only pain
Lies- lies to live and die by
Passed down through the years
The truth? They'll never let you hear
Only screams of torment, only fear and emptiness
No life after the grave - only pain
Pain - pain
The disease of life continues
Only the blind will follow
And rot in the dirt
Afraid to live - dead before you died
Brainwashed - you live blind
Brainwashed - they rot alive
Brainwashed - preach your lies
Brainwashed - I watch you die
You will die - no love there for you
There's no guiding light
to lead you through the night
Only screams of torment, only fear and emptiness
No life after the grave - only pain
Only screams of torment, only fear and emptiness
You're the one who is lost - brainwashed
09 Torture Killer (02:43)
Carving up your flesh
Until I get to the Bone
Murder all I can
True death still lives on
Open wounds in sickly skin
Gangrenous infected dead
I'll tear you up
and fuck the holes I cut into you
Murderer - I rape the dead
Torture killer
Crushing bone and skin
As I break a hole through your cranium
Mutilated death
Piles of decayed victims - brutalized
Torturing human flesh
Sadistically perverse _ necrophile
Terrified you live to die to rot - dead - in a shallow grave
Murderer - I rape the dead
Torture killer
Murderer - I rape the dead
Torture killer
Carving up your flesh
Until I get to the bone
Murder all I can
True death still lives on
Open wounds in sickly skin
Gangrenous infected dead
I'll tear you up - and fuck the holes I cut into you
Murderer - I rape the dead
One sick fuck
Torture killer
11 Hacked to Pieces (03:38)
Butchered- born to bleed. no known cure for my disease
I'll start to slice and kill and main
I'll pick up a hammer smash in your face
Torn up I'll continue to kill you
I'll grab a knife and stick it in you
Your body mangled drenched in blood - blood
Pulverizide I'm on another attack
Don't turn your back I bought my pick axe
Look into my eyes are dead
As I kill I still cum blood
Torn up I'll continue to kill you
I'll grab a knife and stick in you
Your body mangled drenched in blood - dead
Torture, unbearable- hallucinate to victimize
More killing under way, your flesh will bear my pain
Dislocated- recconected, stiched together
Obscene pleasure, profanevision- hacked to pieces
Severed, worm infested, dismembered in your coffin
I'll dig you up just to kill you again
I will violate you
Blister-the flesh will fester, boils explode pus
Suture dead parts together, decapitated headless neck
Gouging eyes of the partially decayed
Skull cracked open to expose your brain
Blood flows- hacked to pieces
Severd worm infested, dismembered in your coffin
I'll dig you up just to kill you again
I will violate you
Rot- the body will rot
Cut the throat- you'll make the heart stop
Rot-rot-the body will rot
Arteries harden- blood now clots
severd worm infested, dimembered in your coffin
I'll dig you up just to kill you again
I will violate you
Rot-rot- your body will rot
Loading comments slowly
