Six Feet Under
Torment
(Metal Blade Records)
From the Six Feet Under name one would expect thrashing guitars, hysteria filled drumming, and vocals that annihilate the ear drums. While Torment eventually finds its way there, it begins with trying to find balance. The band treks some awkward waters on their twelfth release, just making it towards the end. It’s only in the later songs where the band finally goes off and brings out their best material, full of death metal groove and savagery.
The immediate thing listeners will pick up on right away is the overall vibe of the work. Past records such as Crypt of the Devil and Unborn came with heavy riffs, creepy melodies, and some slamming jams that added a wild flair. Unborn in particular made for a collection of devastating instrumentation and vocal delivery full of groove and diversity. Torment is far cry from touching that vibe, only throwing it in with later titles. The material as a whole embodies this strong “crunchy” sound to it, with bits of melody within. Vocally Barnes sounds lazy, coming off as constant barking from track to track. Perhaps more than the odd change in delivery, the most damaging aspect of Torment are the vocals, and their repetitive flow.
Opening title “Sacrificial Kill” makes for a slow intro, only picking up just towards the end. It primarily consists of that standard chopping effect with these evenly paced vocals, leaving nothing extravagant behind. Tracks like “Exploratory Homicide” and “The Separation of Flesh from Bone” carry a bit more, allowing the guitar to go off and play with tempo. These two songs set the course for the next three tracks however. The beginning material marks a difficult time for the album, as there is a large lack of diversity. These songs cater to patterns we’ve come to already have heard, only playing around with speed ever so lightly. In the beginning the strongest part of the band is the drumming, having the most range in sounds and composition.
The second half of the album is where things begin to pick up for them. “Slaughtered As They Slept” is the first time the band brings out a killer groove. While Barnes’ vocals are somewhat tolerable here, the guitar work really takes the lead in driving this track with a fun jam. “In the Process of Decomposing” and “Obsidian” introduce haunting tones that give a strong horror vibe. Both make for some of the best drumming on the record as well, providing well timed delivery that keeps up the adrenaline. It is in this later portion where the band as a whole really shines and comes through clearer and louder. With each title the album offers something fresh, the intensity at great highs and the music grooving with eeriness.
Torment is far from the best thing that Six Feet Under has ever done. It suffers from an odd opening that requires listeners to get acquainted with a new sound unlike anything from previous work. Once one works their way to the halfway point, Six Feet Under hone in on what makes them a great death metal band. The sinister grooves, tone, and hectic delivery make for good times that are surely to rip at some skin. It is a shame however that the whole album could not provide the same energy found in the later portion.
