"Frontman Chris Barnes said (about a month before "13" was released) that this album was going to be his band's "Reign in Blood". No, "13" doesn't have Slayer-esque guitar soloing, and it isn't as original, influential or all around great as "Reign In Blood"-but with this album, Six Feet Under prove that they rank among the best in modern death metal.
SFU's last studio album, "Bringer of Blood", was good, but it suffered a bit from a lack of fast, brutal, death metal blast beats. It was still plenty heavy, but it was often heavy only because of Barnes' vocals (his voice could make Hansen heavy!) That usually isn't the case with this album. I think Six Feet Under knew they could do better than "Bringer of Blood", so they followed that album up (rather quickly) with "13", easily their best work since 1999's "Maximum Violence."
Highlights include:
"Decomposition of the Human Race" could be this album's next single. It begins with an ominous intro, then the drums kick in, and eventually a churning (almost vibrating) riff comes aboard and runs throughout the rest of the song. The beat changes to a faster chug when the vocals begin. A guitar solo is near the end, but the song ends with a "boom boom boom boom".
"Somewhere in the Darkness" is highlighted by good riffs and two more guitar solos (the first of which is speedier than the solo on the opening track.)
The title track has heavy chugging riffs, but Barnes' voice sounds hoarse on this song (except for the whispering and death metal growl near the end.)
The lead single, "Shadow of the Reaper", is a great headbanger and will probably be a concert favorite. The first minute of this song is without vocals, and the beat is pounding (making a catchy "boom boom-ba boom boom" sound). The fast riffs and drums eventually slow down and chug, but then the song starts over with the "boom boom" beat. This is one of those songs that you'll want to listen to several times, before you proceed with the rest of the C.D.
"Deathklaat" begins with circular, cascading, (almost machine gun) riffs, while Barnes bellows "I'm going straight to hell, to burn in flames with the devil!"
"Stump" explodes out of the gate. About the first minute is a fast and brutal onslaught (similar to "Murdered in the Basement" from SFU's last album). There are two pauses in this song; after the first one, things pick up where they left off, but after the second one, the riffs and beat become slower. This song speeds up again after the guitar solo, with good, fast and almost out of control riffing (by Steven Swanson).
"13" does have a few small flaws, however. First of all, the production, by frontman Chris Barnes, is really not very good. And on some tracks (i.e. "Rest In Pieces"), it's just plain bad. Six Feet Under wrote and recorded this album in a hurry, and it has that "hurried" feel to it. This album would've been quite a bit better if the production were louder and not as dumbed down. You can atone for the poor production by really blasting this album (cranking the volume up all the way). Also, the fast songs make up for the production, but not all of the songs on here are fast. Such songs as "The Poison Hand" are still heavy, but they slow down the pace of this album. Thankfully, things pick up again for tracks ten and eleven, however.
Furthermore, the mixing could be better in spots, (as in the end of "Stump", where the guitars almost drown out the drums). Maybe if the drummer would do more pummeling double bass work, he'd be more noticeable.
Finally, it appears Chris Barnes' voice isn't as strong as it once was. As previously mentioned (in the title track), his voice almost sounds hoarse sometimes. Plus, he doesn't shriek at all on this album (something I would have liked him to do).
But those few small flaws aren't anything to deter you from getting this album if you're a Chris Barnes/ Six Feet Under fan, a fan of death metal, or even if you're just getting into death metal. This band (and especially Chris Barnes) are death metal icons, and this album is the best death metal you're going to get in 2005. It's not Chris Barnes' (or SFU's) best work to date, but at least they're headed in the right direction.
"
Six Feet Under is simply brutal and heavy
G. Mickelson | Fort Wayne, Indiana | 03/24/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I, first want to say that I agree with the well-written review by A. Stutheit "andreaabs" Littleton, CO USA. I would recommend reading his thoughts for this albums strengths and short-comings.
I appreciate the fact that Chris Barnes is keeping the music straight-forward, no gimmicks. I can also understand Barnes "cookie monster" vocals, because he is articulating more these last few releases. I also enjoy that Six Feet Under recognizes who they are and what they do best. Six Feet Under is simply brutal and heavy, something a fan of this genre might expect.
It is refreshing to hear an artist make an album that they want and not what the record label and critics expect/demand. This makes Six Feet Under one of the few bands that have no regrets with their finished product. You as a fan have a choice to either appreciate and enjoy this album, or criticize and reject it. I am enjoying this latest up-tempo release and look forward (soon) to see what they are passionate about next year. My only complaint is that the album is only ~36 minutes long, when you are a fan and wait for new material you always want more..... `enuff said"
On Par With Maximum Violence and True Carnage ....
Matt Oster | Aiken, SC USA | 03/23/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"While not their best album, this cd is definately on par with their older material. I've heard some compare it to The Haunted, but I think its more of a Maximum Violence type of sound. Think 'No Warning' Shot meets 'The Day the Dead Walked'. The majority of the album is fast-paced and aggresive, a definate step up from Bringer of Blood. No political bullsh**t here, just plain old classic death metal. 4/5 - Definatly recommended."
Best Yet
Jay Milroy | Canada | 12/31/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Alot of people really enjoyed Haunted and Warpath, I'm a big SFU and I find those two albums as some of the worse and most of the tracks are boring except for about 7 out of both albums put together.
13 is a great album, and the cover art is by a different guy then the other albums, apparently was done by a six feet under fan, so he knew just what to put, and I have to say, its a very nice job. Also, two music videos have come from the tracks on the album. "Shadow Of The Reaper" is an older video, but was really well done I believe chris barnes actually got actresses to star in the video. It can be watched on metalblade six feet under's label's official site. It is also on the new compilation "A Decade In The Grave" which they recently put out. There is also "Deathklaat" which is, by far, the best Six Feet Under song to date. The video is great, but it isn't amzing or anything. It's just a six feet under performance with a bit of effects, it's a good watch though, I believe it was only released for the compilation, you can also watch that on metalblade.
Onto the actual tracks.
1. (Decompostion Of The Human Race)
- This was a great opener, some strange sounds at the beginnning and then it really fires up. The song starts slowly but continues on through going faster and basically shows you what most of the tracks on the album will sound somewhat like. Chris Barnes vocals on this tracks are low on this track, and this track has faster vocals than most. good finish also. Not really the best track on the album, but it's worth quite a few listens.
2. (Somewhere in The Darkness)
- Nice start, starts brutal, ends brutal. This track gets a bit repetitive, but the solos are definately worth it. Compared to Six Feet Under's older material, this track could use a "squeal", a few parts of this song show very low vocals. This is definately one of the hevier tracks on the album. I don't think it's really all that great, better than the first, but there is deifnately better to come.
3. (Rest In Pieces)
- You wouldn't really judge this as a six feet under track until the vocals come on. I don't mind the start it's fast. The song is fairly faster paced and sounds really good, the first half of the song or so is really good. The song slows down near the middle, then there is a solo. And the song ends with a verse similar to the beginning and makes a good show. Great song.
4. (Wormfood)
- Again, You wouldn't think this is Six Feet Under style. It's a great track this one too. Chris Barnes vocals in this don't sound quite right, and the song lacks alot. It's a good listen for sure, the start is rather boring, but about a minute in it gets considerably better. At about 2 minutes it reaches the high point, this song is repetitive and stays the same for most of the song, guitar solo near the end really adds alot here. "Wormfood" ends alot like the beginning. Not as good as "Rest In Pieces"
5. (13)
- Most people would say this is the worst track on the album. Which, isn't even saying it's a horrible track. But, up against the rest here, it really falls short. The vocals don't really sound like chris barnes. There is also an annoying clicking through. After the intro of the song the guitar gets pretty good. THe lyrics of this song aren't that great either. For the first listen of this album, you might aswell just skip this track.
6. (Shadow Of The Reaper)
- The main part of this album. If your going to buy this album, you'll definately have to listen to this song. It's probably the most praised track on the album. It is really a great song on it's own, but parts of it and the vocals can definately be related and compared to the other songs here. The neverending beat here really gives this song a good sound. At a little after 2 minutes through the song really reaches the high point. The song makes a good finish anyway.
7. (Deathklaat)
- This is definately the highest point on the album. The beginning of the song before the vocals get going, you can tell it's going to be good. There is no guitar solo in this song, There is no squeal in this song either. This is just plain Six Feet Under, but at their best ever. At 2 minutes the song reaches the highest point and makes a nice finish. This is really the climax of the entire album, so, give it a listen, or alot of listens.
8. (The Poison Hand)
- Nice similar sound like the rest of the album, but this is really where the album slows down. Thank god this is one of the shortest tracks here, it's really boring. This track is still without a doubt better than "13". The song sounds not too bad at the beginning, I mean, you would think they must be leading up to something. This is still good death metal though, without a doubt, all the components are there, except maybe the speed. At about minute and a half through is goes even slower, after that picks up and just finishs off, nothing very interesting here.
9. (This Suicide)
- Not much different from The Poison Hand. This track isn't that bad, but the guitar is really annoying, It's drongin and repetitive. It's good that this song is short, It's really not worth more than a few listens. The song picks up a bit at the end of the first minute of the song, it ends overall to be not too bad. No guitar solo in this either, but this track lives up to the rest of the album at least.
10. (The Art Of Headhunting)
- The album really picks up speed here. This could possibly be one of the fastest tracks. When you hear the introduction and it goes very fast, It really gets even better from there. The first two verses are very fast, and the lyrics in this one are more about cannibalism and go farther in that direction than Six Feet Under has ever gone. A great gutiar solo at aboutin this one, and the song slows down a bit half way through. In the whole album 13 this is as close as Chris Barne's is getting to his renowned high pitched vocals. "I feed on those maggots and feed on your soul" Is about the highest this album will get, except maybe the vocals on "13" This would have been a great track to finish up the album with.
11. (Stump)
- The album really would have been better with only 10 tracks. This one is fast, it has good vocals, but it's really just plain boring. It has the fastest start next to "The Art Of Headhunting" And keeps going at a great speed for about a minute. It then slows right down, had a nice guitar solo, and picks up by about 2 and a half minutes. The last 20 or so seconds are filled with sounds similar to the intro from "Decompostion of The Human Race" This is probably one of the most forgettable Six Feet Under tracks, there really isn't anything notable here besides. If There was a track to end this album with, This certainly shouldn't have been it. Or, they should have at least added in the extra's "From Flesh To Bone" and "A Knife Fight To The Death"
Overall, I really like this album, and I reccomend it to any Six Feet Under fan, or any heavy metal / death metal fan, it's definately worth 15 bucks or whatever they're selling it for.
-Kilroy"
4 and 1/2 stars
sinisterfiend666 | the master of Horror | 03/29/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Good death metal album, but
The songs are great, very catchy death metal. Dark, and grungy death, I like Chris' lyrics, and his growls. It's a great album musically, but I do have some MINOR problems with it. I didn't start liking this band until their bringer of blood album. As a matter of fact, I'm one of the few 6fu fans who actually liked their BOB album, I actually thought it was their best album to date. I don't care what anyone says about that album, it rocked! Anyway, I soon got into older SFU (warpath, maximum violence) I even bought their 2 DVD's. With that said, I think this album is awesome, its just not as good as BOB, but not too many will share my opinion on that. I miss lines like "you were so ugly you deserved to die" BOB just made me laugh more. With that aside, there is a couple other minor complaints I have that at least others may agree with me on. One, is the sound production. Its not so hot, it's a pinch muffled. I bought a cradle of filth album the same day I bough this, after listening to SFU, I popped in COF and had to turn my CD player way down. The volume was insanely louder than the SFU. So its not the best production on a cd in the world. The last complaint is the album is short....It will leave you wanting more, why not have 13 songs for the album named 13? ....anyway 6fu 420 !!! they kick a$$, contrary to what some say and I like A LOT of death metal bands.
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1
