SIX FEET UNDER The Perth Curse

SIX FEET UNDER

The Perth Curse

Longstanding Tampa-based death metallers Six Feet Under will be making their Australian debut next week. Playing alongside Devildriver and Darkest Hour on Wednesday, May 9, at Capitol – vocalist Chris Barnes talks to JESSICA WILLOUGHY about what he calls the “Perth curse”.

It has been 12 years since legendary death metal vocalist Chris Barnes last set foot in Perth.
    Playing with Cannibal Corpse in what was to be known as his last ever show with the outfit in WA; the venue erupted into a riot – an ending which the frontman remembers as a “perfect send-off”.
    “I shiver went up my spine when I thought of the Perth show,” Barnes jokes. “It’s been almost a lifetime since I’ve been out there. That actually was the final show I played with the band. It was a pretty incredible day all-the-way around. We trekked off to see Bon Scott’s grave in the morning, then caught waves at the beach and the night finished off in a riot.
    “I don’t know if Perth is cursed for me. It’s a really great place and I’m super excited, but I’m at a crossroads on how I feel about going back there. I do know I am returning to the scene of the crime and I have a feeling it’s going to go a whole lot better. It’s going to be a blast.”
    With the release of their ninth full-length looming on May 22, Undead signals a new beginning for this five-piece in many ways. The first album to feature guitarist Rob Arnold, since he left Chimaira and dedicated himself to Six Feet Under full time, and the likes of Kevin Talley (formerly of Dying Fetus and Misery Index) on drums and ex-Brain Drill bassist Jeff Hughell – Barnes says new blood rejuvenated the longstanding outfit.
    “I hope it does well because I am proud of it, man,” he says. “I think we really hit the mark with everything – the songwriting, production and just the sound of the band is a lot more in-tune with how I’ve wanted it to be for a long time.
    “For me, working with Rob [Arnold] was like a shot of adrenaline. It really was. He woke up a beast in me, for sure. Rob is such a focused, attentive, knowledgeable player/writer. It’s just incredible how he is able to bridge his thoughts into his actual writing. It’s so rare to find those qualities in a guitar player and a friend. He effortlessly helped me vocally, by providing the syncopation I needed – as well as taking me to places I haven’t been before with tempos, time signatures and phrasings. With Kevin (Talley), I had a guy on drums that was able to achieve drumbeats that I had never been able to accomplish with Six Feet Under before. That’s something I have been salivating for, for many years. It’s just a great thing to have these guys in the band, to provide me with that fuel that I need to really get me working hard.”
    Changes were inevitable, according to Barnes, after tragedy stuck the vocalist after the band’s previous effort Death Rituals.
    “Sometimes it takes a little shock to your system for you to step back and think about what’s really important. That’s why this album is so important to me,” he concludes.