Six Feet Under A Decade in the Grave
Metal Blade October 18th, 2005
By Josh Phillips
Just as its hard to get a proper idea of the quality of an album from a three-song sampler, its hard to judge the quality of a box set from a single disc. Though this sample is also not one of the discs Ill encounter in the box set, it serves to give me a fair idea of the material Ill hear on it by taking selections from each disc and cramming them onto a single one. Really though, its simply a good thing that Im familiar with the entirety of Six Feet Unders catalogue or this disc would be insufficient and the review pointless. I understand not sending me the entire box set for review and I'm only kidding, but it's always fun to joke with Metal Blade about their infamous 3-song samplers. Plus, this little unique disc make's a nice collector's item, so thanks Metal Blade!
Now, to get down to business, the A Decade in the Grave box set contains four audio discs and one DVD, obviously meant to chronicle the career of the band. Many of the early period favorites such as Feasting on the Blood of the Insane, Revenge of the Zombie, Victim of the Paranoid, and The Enemy Inside are represented here, alongside instant classics such as Shadow of the Reaper, Deathklaat, and When Skin Turns Blue, which this compilation has made me love as a great SFU song. Many nice choices were made, but I was irked by the absence of the awesome 4:20 at any point in the set as well as by the lack of Somewhere in the Darkness, Manipulation, Torn to the Bone, and the Haunted final album cuts of Beneath a Black Sky, and Tomorrows Victim. It also would have been nice to see cool cuts like One Bullet Left and War Machine make an appearance, though I can understand why they were left out. Overall though, we all have our preferences and itd be impossible to satisfy every fan. The band made some good choices and Im happy with them, as Im sure they are.
Aside from the two-disc, Greatest Hits segment of the box set, we have another two discs that serve as the real gems of this set. They contain demo material and are made up of the 5 song Haunted demo, two song Bringer of Blood demo, 3 new songs from the 13 recording sessions, and a live set from the Maximum Violence tour. On a separate disc, we also have 9 songs from Chris Barnes earliest band, Leviathan. This demo material is what draws me into this box set the most and it was nice to get to hear some rougher versions of favorite songs like Beneath a Black Sky. The Leviathan material though, is what truly sells this set above all else. Already owning a lot of what is presented here, the two demo discs are a great treat and the Leviathan album should be enough to make anyone with an interest in Chris Barnes music want to have this set. Leviathan is essentially death/thrash in its early, purest sense, though its more traditional 80s thrash with extreme touches than anything death metal. The band sounds little like Barnes later pure death bands and its 80s thrashin vibe should appeal to both fans of his later musical output and purists of the era who wouldnt be as interested in Corpse or SFU. On the Leviathan material, Barnes had yet to institute his famous low, bellowing growl and instead uses a Sodom-like distorted clean voice that made me constantly think of that bands Agent Orange album. The demo material found on discs three and four is really the meat of the set and Id recommend any SFU fan to look into A Decade in the Grave for these two discs, if nothing else.
The set finally rounds out with a fifth disc, a DVD capturing Six Feet Under live in concert, but seeing as how I dont have a copy of it, Ill reserve judgement until a later date. Though, if Double Dead and Live With Full Force are any indication, Id expect to see SFU performing some of their classics with vigor and entertaining the fans.
To me, this box set is simply more of a good thing and I look forward to picking it up and taking in the rarities it holds. Another huge 2005 release for me, but to the casual fan, the value of this set lies in how much SFU material theyll gain from this release and how much of that is worth the cost to them. Depending on what albums you have and how much the rare material and DVD are worth to you, this is something every listener will have to judge for themselves, but for me, its a sure buy.
8.5/10
Official Six Feet Under Website
Official Metal Blade Records Website
Metal Blade October 18th, 2005
By Josh Phillips
Just as its hard to get a proper idea of the quality of an album from a three-song sampler, its hard to judge the quality of a box set from a single disc. Though this sample is also not one of the discs Ill encounter in the box set, it serves to give me a fair idea of the material Ill hear on it by taking selections from each disc and cramming them onto a single one. Really though, its simply a good thing that Im familiar with the entirety of Six Feet Unders catalogue or this disc would be insufficient and the review pointless. I understand not sending me the entire box set for review and I'm only kidding, but it's always fun to joke with Metal Blade about their infamous 3-song samplers. Plus, this little unique disc make's a nice collector's item, so thanks Metal Blade!
Now, to get down to business, the A Decade in the Grave box set contains four audio discs and one DVD, obviously meant to chronicle the career of the band. Many of the early period favorites such as Feasting on the Blood of the Insane, Revenge of the Zombie, Victim of the Paranoid, and The Enemy Inside are represented here, alongside instant classics such as Shadow of the Reaper, Deathklaat, and When Skin Turns Blue, which this compilation has made me love as a great SFU song. Many nice choices were made, but I was irked by the absence of the awesome 4:20 at any point in the set as well as by the lack of Somewhere in the Darkness, Manipulation, Torn to the Bone, and the Haunted final album cuts of Beneath a Black Sky, and Tomorrows Victim. It also would have been nice to see cool cuts like One Bullet Left and War Machine make an appearance, though I can understand why they were left out. Overall though, we all have our preferences and itd be impossible to satisfy every fan. The band made some good choices and Im happy with them, as Im sure they are.
Aside from the two-disc, Greatest Hits segment of the box set, we have another two discs that serve as the real gems of this set. They contain demo material and are made up of the 5 song Haunted demo, two song Bringer of Blood demo, 3 new songs from the 13 recording sessions, and a live set from the Maximum Violence tour. On a separate disc, we also have 9 songs from Chris Barnes earliest band, Leviathan. This demo material is what draws me into this box set the most and it was nice to get to hear some rougher versions of favorite songs like Beneath a Black Sky. The Leviathan material though, is what truly sells this set above all else. Already owning a lot of what is presented here, the two demo discs are a great treat and the Leviathan album should be enough to make anyone with an interest in Chris Barnes music want to have this set. Leviathan is essentially death/thrash in its early, purest sense, though its more traditional 80s thrash with extreme touches than anything death metal. The band sounds little like Barnes later pure death bands and its 80s thrashin vibe should appeal to both fans of his later musical output and purists of the era who wouldnt be as interested in Corpse or SFU. On the Leviathan material, Barnes had yet to institute his famous low, bellowing growl and instead uses a Sodom-like distorted clean voice that made me constantly think of that bands Agent Orange album. The demo material found on discs three and four is really the meat of the set and Id recommend any SFU fan to look into A Decade in the Grave for these two discs, if nothing else.
The set finally rounds out with a fifth disc, a DVD capturing Six Feet Under live in concert, but seeing as how I dont have a copy of it, Ill reserve judgement until a later date. Though, if Double Dead and Live With Full Force are any indication, Id expect to see SFU performing some of their classics with vigor and entertaining the fans.
To me, this box set is simply more of a good thing and I look forward to picking it up and taking in the rarities it holds. Another huge 2005 release for me, but to the casual fan, the value of this set lies in how much SFU material theyll gain from this release and how much of that is worth the cost to them. Depending on what albums you have and how much the rare material and DVD are worth to you, this is something every listener will have to judge for themselves, but for me, its a sure buy.
8.5/10
Official Six Feet Under Website
Official Metal Blade Records Website
