Back in 2011, I thought that the radical changes in SIX FEET UNDER’s line-up, will bring the band on the right track. And up to a point, this happened on “Undead”, “Unborn” and “Crypt Of The Devil”. However, what I heard in the last album, made me believe that the band needs a break. And now I find myself in front of yet another “Graveyard Classics”…
I have always considered the “Graveyard Classics” series a joke. Well, this joke really has to stop, because it isn’t funny anymore. It hasn’t been funny since “Graveyard Classics II”. First of all, I can hardly consider these albums as “cover albums”. Playing a song following (or trying to follow) more or less the original instrumentation and with down-tuned instruments and growls instead of normal vocals with, is not a cover. It’s a recorded jam session, and not a good one. In addition, all the “Graveyard Classics”, have issues on the production. This time, we have Chris Barnes and his pretty much one-dimensional vocal delivery (which is barely tolerable even in his own songs) sounding way too loud in the mix, strangling the rest of the instruments. And it’s not only that. Ray Adler of FATES WARNING has offered backing vocals in “Invaders”, which we barely hear.
The most important thing, though, is that the rest of the line-up does not consist of the official members of SIX FEET UNDER. Instead, we find Josh Hall on drums and Ray Suhy on guitar and bass, both members of the parody band, CANNABIS CORPSE. And to jog your memory, it’s the same line-up Barnes used in “Crypt Of The Devil”, minus Brandon Ellis. And that makes me wonder: Are there any upcoming line-up changes in Chris Barnes’ mind? If not, why on earth the official members of the band are absent for yet another release?
In any case, if you think you can afford wasting forty seven minutes of your life, to listen to this album, go ahead. If you can’t, move on to something else.
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This review is kindly offered by More Nowhere Reviews team.