Just a few weeks before the official release of Six Feet Under’s upcoming release, vocalist Chris Barnes gives us in short all the details we need to know. He’s talking about the new members and how much easier his life got with them, his urge to tour with them and his wish to come to Greece as soon as possible. A minimal interview from Chris who simply puts in small words all his thoughts about Six Feet Under.
You can listen to the audio format of the interview here.
So, since I have not listened to the new album yet, how is it going to be musicwise and what should the fans expect of it?
Oh, it’s truly good man, there’s a lot of good songs in there, we worked really hard on the album, about a year and two-three monthes, I also had the help of Ron Arnold (guitars) and it’s a great album, really positive.
What about the musical part of the album? Is it going to be a classic Six Feet Under album or maybe you have some new elements to experiment with?
There’s a couple of songs available to listen if you want to have a first sample of the album, it’s gonna be out on Monday (April 23), it’s an interesting album so I thought it would be cool for the fans to have something to listen from it before it’s released.
The album’s entitled “Undead”. Is that a statement by Six Feet Under? Something like Six Feet Under are here and are alive and kicking?
If you look at it, it sounds cool, I liked the idea of the title and I chose it very easily.
Tell me a few things about the composing process of the album. How is a Six Feet Under album getting created? What’s the process?
Like I said before, we worked about fourteen months on it, writing and recording it. I presented some cool songs to Rob Arnold and I wrote some more, we demo tracked them, we went into the studio, recorded the drum tracks, then all the other instruments and that’s how the album got created.
“Undead” is also the first album featuring two new members in the band, how did you meet each other and how did you hire them in the band?
There was a big pressure when I was looking for working partners, Rob Arnold was the first guy I called and then he suggested Kevin Talley (drums), they are both great musicians and I love their playing style as well as their writing style, it was a great choice to have them both.
Did it make your life harder having two new partners in the band ?
No, it made it easier!
Really? That’s good to hear. How was to cooperate with Mark Lewis as a producer? Are you happy with the result?
Yeah, I think Mark and Jason Suecof (mixing) did a great job man!
What about the lyrical part of the album? Is there a special topic you’re talking about this time? A different approach to things, or is it just about death and murder as usually?
Yes, it’s mostly about death and murder.
Last year you toured a lot, how was it hitting the road again?
Oh man, I loved this! We had a great leg of tours last year and I really enjoyed it, especially with the new guys in the band, we had a blast man! Wait until we tour this year, it’s gonna be a lot of fun.
Let me ask you something different. World financial crisis is hurting people during the last years. How does it affect the music industry and is there a reason for the rise of illegal downloading in your opinion?
I don’t know, I don’t think there is any illegal downloading any more really, I think most people do it nowadays.
A lot of people mention you by calling you one of the best death metal growlers, but who were your favourite ones?
Man, it’s hard to say, there’s a lot of new bands that are really great out there, the Whitechapel guy is one of the best vocalists, I like him very much.
So are you an active listener? What’s on your playlist nowadays? Any new bands you’d like to recommend ?
Like I said, I like Whitechapel very much and I would surely recommend them to the listeners.
So Chris, which are your upcoming plans ?
Well, we have a tour scheduled, we’re gonna hit Australia with Devildriver and Darkest Hour in a couple of weeks, we’ll tour the U.S. with Dying Fetus and Revocation on June, and then some summer festivals in Europe in August.
Could we hope this time for a live show in Greece?
It would be awesome, I’d love to come to Greece, I hope we’ll come there pretty soon.
Chris thank you for this interview, in conclusion you can add whatever you want to say.
Oh thanks a lot man, I appreciate this interview first off, I hope the Greek guys will call us to come soon there. I hope we can come and play for you with the new band members, it’s something I’m really looking forward to enjoying. Can’t wait to get to Greece.
Thank you very much for calling us, we wish Six Feet Under the best and you personally of course.
Thank you too man, it’s much appreciated.
Interview by: Panagiotis Karagiannidis.