Blog

Six Feet Under return with their fifteenth studio album since their debut, 1995’s Haunted, not counting their Graveyard Classics cover albums. Next To Die definitely marks a new creative high for them. I think it is probably their best album of the decade, having drifted musically from my interest somewhat of late. But this album has dragged my attention back with full force.

Six Feet Under – Next To Die 

Release Date: 24 April 2026

Words: Jools Green 

The twelve-track, forty-six-minute offering, explains guitarist Jack Owen, “Started out as an album full of Death Metal songs with speed and aggression. Then Chris had the brilliant idea to keep half of those Death Metal songs and add some groovier songs in the vein of the early Six Feet Under material.

“Chris emphasised tempo. So keeping with the beats per minute for early SFU classics, I wrote a side of tasty groove-laden music with Chris doing all the lyrics.”

I personally think deciding to do a mix of Death and Groove has been Chris’ best creative idea of recent years. There has been some minor criticism in the Metal community of some of the last few works, and I think he has taken this on board. As a result, it has enabled them to come up with an excellent album that suits his vocals, leaving the band and, invariably, the fans very happy with the final offering.

Opening with Approach Your Grave, and from the offset, it is as ominous as it is slow. I love the crawling suspense from this piece that builds as the guitar work progresses. Chris’ delivery is raw and unnerving.

Midway, there is a superb swathe of eerie leadwork that rises and builds before dropping back into the original crawling murk, but rising up one more time towards the close. A straightforward piece that makes a gripping listen.  

Lyrically, I love Destroyed Remains for the honest life/death reality that it considers. Musically, it takes on a slightly faster Death Metal leaning with the drum work punching through the driving riffs. The riffing switches effortlessly between driving and chugging, the mid-point leadwork bursting through in short, sharp blasts. The vocals course with raw clarity across the piece, making a superbly catchy piece of Death Metal.

Regarding the next piece, Mister Blood And Guts, guitarist Owen spent a few days musing on the lyrics in his head. “When I was young, local TV stations always had a show where a creepy host would show campy cult movies and dress up and tell you tidbits about the film,” he said. “This continues today with a show hosted by the creepiest of hosts, Svengoolie.

“Mister Blood And Guts is about a film you might see on one of these shows, though in true Six Feet Under style it’s got a much more violent plot.”

Tempo-wise, it is a little faster again, with driving riffs that conjure mental imagery of being pursued by an assailant in the dark. Lyrically, it’s catchy as hell as well and delightfully gory. Think ’80s slasher movie, and you will be on the right path.

Moving on to Mutilated Corpse In The Woods, this “tells a tale ripped from the headlines about a victim whose brutal assailant tied her to a tree and slit her throat.” Again, it’s a deathly driver. Delivery-wise, it is quite linear but undulates subtly with evil intent, and the leadwork is eerie and sinister.

I do like Unmistakable Smell Of Death from a lyrical perspective. Without spoiling the overall plot, the killer underestimates their intended victims’ will to survive and ends up the victim instead, and who does not love a happy ending?

Musically, it drives, twists and turns with the ongoing conflict. The riffs ooze suspense, the drum rhythms pound and the overall musical phrasing is ominously suspenseful with an excellent swathe of haunting leadwork midway. Chris delivers some effective vocal protractions.

Lyrically, Wrath And Terror Takes Command could well be a subtly disguised anthem or observational statement of our times. Musically, it ebbs and builds in deathly waves, with the zenith being the searing second-half leadwork. 

Skin Coffins is another lyrical beauty, bleak deathly poetry at its finest. There is definitely a dark philosophical edge too, plus musically there is a catchy groove rolling across its duration to add to the engagement of the piece.

Mind Hell is yet another piece with excellent lyrical content that will chill you as you contemplate it. A straightforward driver with hammering drum rhythms. On your coffin lid? Could be.

Another really great piece, Naked And Dismembered takes us back into the realms of serial killers. I love the frenzied atmosphere created by the spiralling, undulating riffs, pounding drum rhythms and pattern bursts. The lyrics are delivered with menacing clarity.

Delivering a classic Death Metal galloping drive, Grasped From Beyond is another terror-infused piece. It is a catchy, engaging listen with great first-half leadwork and a midpoint chilling drop. The repeating “Grasped from Beyond” that takes you to the close of the piece adds to the unnerving atmosphere, making it another attention-grabbing piece.

Penultimate offering Next To Die deep dives into a mutilated journey to death. Bolstered by pounding repeating rhythms and a sinister midpoint drop, out of which emerges a generous swathe of hugely expressive, eerie leadwork that builds and culminates in guitar squeals accompanied by the repeat of “Next to die” before ending with one final descriptive death-scape verse.

In many ways, the final piece Ill Wishes could be the best track of the album. It is lyrically powerful and reflectively philosophical. I love the mix of whispered and growled vocals as they add so much impact to the lyrical content and the overall sound. Musically, it is very powerfully reflective with a slow delivery, and the sudden stop at the end is dramatic and final.

One concluding point regarding the album, Chris urges close listening. “That’s the great thing about music and art and reading. It takes you on an exploration into your own imagination, and that personal experience lets you discover what you think the meaning is. Having someone tell you what it means takes away that magic.”

You can do that with this release because there is good clarity of content regarding the lyrical delivery. So, pin back your ears and prepare to listen carefully.

Six Feet Under release Next To Die on 24 April 2026, and it will be available as a CD, vinyl in a range of colours or digital download. Pre-orders are available from metalblade.com/sixfeetunder.

The post Six Feet Under Reclaim Death Metal Glory With Explosive New Album Next To Die first appeared on MetalTalk – Heavy Metal News, Reviews and Interviews.

Posted on April 22nd 2026, 10:00a.m.

Norwegian doomsters Funeral have parted ways with guitarist Morten Søbyskogen. Bassist Rune Arnesen will handle the guitars from now on together with Marcus Granlien. The band also welcomes new bassist William Fossheim in the ranks.
Read more…

Deth Provider, the newly formed San Francisco Bay Area death metal group, announce the release of debut full-length offering. Entitled Deth Provider, it will be set free on June 12th 2026. The 9-piece outing was produced, recorded and mixed by Chris Corona at Secret Studios, San Francisco, CA. Mastered by Justin Weis, S.S.F.
Read more…

English heavy metal crew Rattlesnakes has released their rendition of the Saxon song “And The Bands Played On”, originally released on 1981 album Denim And Leather.
Read more…

This coming June, US technical death metal force Origin will return to Australia and New Zealand for a headlining 9-date trek. On Australian dates they will be supported by Exhumed.
Read more…

Award winning UK independent, Conquest Music have announced that they no longer have Hillbilly Vegas as a recording artist on the label. The Oklahoma, USA based outfit were formed in 2011 and quickly became a popular band playing the local circuit of bars, county fairs and supporting established artists when they visited the state. Conquest […]

The post Conquest Music Split With Hillbilly Vegas appeared first on ROCKPOSER DOT COM.

Rush return to the road in June, with the tour opening on 7 June 2026 in Los Angeles. For a band whose fanbase has followed them through five decades of musical evolution, the announcement sparked something profound. MetalTalk’s Paul Hutchings spoke to fans, tribute artists, event organisers and our own writers to capture what this moment means to those who have lived and breathed Rush for a lifetime. This is their story.

Andy Rawll is a devoted Rush fan, particularly drawn to the band’s 1970s output. As we catch up, he is preparing for a break in Paris. The conversation forms part of a wider series exploring the experiences of longstanding Rush fans, and Andy’s story reflects a generation shaped by shared musical discovery.

Looking back, Andy places his journey firmly in the context of the era. “I think this journey may be specific to those of us who grew up in the ’70s, where the way that you found out about new music and bands was either through your peers at school, or your social group, or often through elder brothers.”

Without an older sibling himself, Andy relied on friends’ record collections, absorbing music secondhand at a time when radio and television skewed towards glam rock and chart staples.

Rush entered his life by a different route. “I don’t remember finding out about Rush that way, though,” he says, explaining that heavier bands like Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Judas Priest came first.

His real introduction arrived via All The World’s A Stage, which he remembers as “a classic ’70s, gatefold… very evocative for someone who hadn’t been to a live concert yet.” The album made a strong impression, even if early studio releases initially failed to connect.

Growing up in Stroud, Andy’s access to music often meant trips to London. He recalls travelling to Paddington to hunt for cheap records. “We would basically tramp the streets between all the record and tape exchange things… and pick up all these albums for 50p or a quid.”

Although Rush briefly fell by the wayside, further listening and missed opportunities, including skipping the Hemispheres tour, eventually led him back. Ironically, Hemispheres became the first studio album that truly resonated, cementing his long-term appreciation of the band.

From that point onward, Rush became a constant. Andy saw them on the Moving Pictures tour, witnessing the first live performance of Subdivisions. Although initially unsure about the band’s evolving sound, he later revisited albums such as Signals and found new depth in tracks like Losing It and The Analog Kid, particularly Alex Lifeson’s explosive guitar work.

Unlike many artists, Rush was a band Andy never skipped live. “Some bands, you go, yeah, it’s pretty good. Don’t really like the new album, so I’ll skip it,” he says. “But with Rush, I never did that.”

Over the years, he attended almost every tour, from 30th anniversary shows to Snakes And Arrows and Clockwork Angels, even continuing his run while working in IT and telecoms on the US East Coast in the early ’90s.

Andy recognises that Rush’s sound diversified significantly during the ’80s and ’90s. While production choices shifted, he believes the musicianship remained consistently high, and albums such as Hold Your Fire and Presto reward reassessment.

Recent tours impressed him by revisiting deeper catalogue material and lengthy instrumentals, keeping long-term fans engaged.

Nearly eleven years after Rush concluded the R40 tour in 2015, Andy was unsurprised to see Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee return in some form. While acknowledging the departure from the band’s classic three-piece format, he feels fans are embracing the current lineup as a respectful continuation rather than a replacement.

With expectations managed and the focus firmly on celebrating the music and honouring Neil Peart’s legacy, Andy believes the approach feels appropriate. As he puts it, “Having more people on stage is going to make it certainly interesting.”

Expectations are now tempered with an understanding that Rush will not be performing marathon three-hour sets, so our discussion turns to the contentious issue of ticket pricing.

Andy draws a comparison with the last Genesis tour, noting, “Any of those big shows at The O2, if you’re anywhere in the front half, you’re paying a disproportionate amount compared to being at the back. The old days of you pay, let’s say, 30% premium to be in the front stalls, then the normal price would be kind of the middle rear stalls and circle would be that again about 30% less. But now, yeah, the front is like double or three times.”

Andy outlines how ticket prices are ultimately determined by promoters, stating, “It is all about the promoter. The band’s management will go, okay, we need to break even. Here’s what we need for the UK tour, and then breaking it down for each of the venues. We need to be paid 2 million, for example, and the accountant will work out that it’s going to cover all the recurring costs and the specific costs.

“Then there’s the if we sell 80%, we’re still making our 20% profit or whatever that they need for all the mouths they need to feed.” The promoter then assesses market rates and sets prices for a venue, such as one holding 20,000 seats. “Then the promoter will go. Okay, it’s 20,000 seats. And then they’ll look at market rates.”

We note that ticket prices have accelerated beyond the cost of living, remarking, “Unfortunately, the way the ticket prices have gone, it has accelerated away from the cost of living.

“But it is a different animal. As you know, the bands make money or they generate money. I don’t know whether they make money, but they generate money on stage rather than the people buying the music.”

Despite this, Andy does not begrudge the higher prices. “I got tier four at The O2 arena. So that’s the top level, but about halfway, it’s not the cheapest. I think they’re like the second. The ones at the back, I think about 90 quid with fees. I think the ones I got were £140 or something. I think I paid about £150 for Genesis, whenever that was, five years ago.”

It’s a topic that we continue to discuss. “I think it’s a disproportionate banding of ticket prices that towards the front, are there really people that are willing to pay that much?”

Promoters must get the pricing right to avoid ticket scalping. “The promoter needs to get it right because what they don’t want is people buying the tickets and then reselling them because they know that on the resale market, there will be people willing to pay £500-£600 for a ticket for a band they really like.

“But it’s always strange. We look at a band like Rush, which isn’t necessarily a mainstream band, commanding prices that you might equate with a big brand like Beyoncé or otherwise.”

As Andy heads off for his break, there is plenty to reflect on from our discussion. Like the other interviews to follow, there is a slight sourness over the ticket prices, but for most of us, that is tempered by the excitement of having one more chance to see this incredible band live.

---

Rush’s tour opens on 7 June in Los Angeles, where Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson will be joined by Anika Nilles on drums and Loren Gold on keyboards. Further articles in this series, including interviews with Rushfest Scotland, tribute band Rushed, and the Something for Nothing Rush Fancast, will follow in the coming month.

To read our Rush At 50 series, click here.

For UK ticket sale information, visit: https://www.aegpresents.co.uk/event/rush.

The post Andy Rawll / “With Rush, I Never Skipped a Tour” first appeared on MetalTalk – Heavy Metal News, Reviews and Interviews.

Mermaid Avenue are back with another fine piece of sonic artistry that will not only appeal to longtime

Aadam Jacobs grabó miles de shows desde la década de 1980, entre ellos de Nirvana antes de la fama. Ahora unos voluntarios digitalizan su colección para convertirla en un archivo histórico de libre acceso.