Death metal veterans SIX FEET UNDER have entered the studio to begin recording their new album. The follow-up to 2017’s “Torment” is due later this year via Metal Blade Records.
SIX FEET UNDER revealed its recording activities in a social media post Thursday night (February 6). The band wrote: “Tracking for the new SFU album is underway… Marcos [Marco Pitruzzella] drums are complete .. Jack[Owen] is heading into the studio this weekend to start tracking guitars! Good stuff going on! Excited for you all to hear!!”
Back in 2018, SIX FEET UNDER issued a compilation album, titled “Unburied”, in digital format through Metal Blade Records. The disc was produced by vocalist Chris Barnes, and mixed and mastered by Chaz Najjarat Badlands Recording in Denver, Colorado. The LP consisted of nine songs recorded during sessions for the albums “Undead” (2012), “Unborn” (2013) and “Torment”.
In a 2017 interview with Metal Insider, Barnes spoke about the fact that he has been a Metal Blade recording artist for three decades. He said: “One of the reasons that I’m proud of it is because when I was getting a ride to that record store when I was a kid, I didn’t have a guide — maybe a couple magazines here and there like Metal Forces or Kerrang!, but you didn’t have much to go on. But if it was on Metal Blade Records, and if it was produced by Brian Slagel, if I saw his name on the record and it was a Metal Blade release, that’s what I bought. I could’ve had, like, three other choices, but if that one was there and if I saw that black on red, man, I bought that. [If] Slagel or Bill Metoyer mixed it, that was my guide. And seven years later, I’m in a band and I have a press package and I send it to Metal Blade Records, and the record label that I was a fan of that guided me through my metal years, they end up signing me. It was like a dream come true and me and Brianbecame friends over the years, and he’s one of my greatest friends.”
[Chuck Schuldiner] showed the foresight and courage to not only help create the rules of death metal, but to demonstrate how to break them. — Arthur von Nagel (Cormorant)
Charles Michael “Chuck” Schuldiner(May 13, 1967 – December 13, 2001) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist.
He founded the band Death in 1983 and was their lead vocalist until his death in 2001. His obituary in the January 5, 2002 issue of UK’s Kerrang!magazine said that “Chuck Schuldiner was one of the most significant figures in the history of metal.”
Schuldiner is referred to as “The Godfather of death metal”, although he was “uncomfortable” with this nickname, remarking that “I don’t think I should take the credits for this death metal stuff. I’m just a guy from a band, and I think Death is a metal band.”
Eighteen years ago this week, Schuldiner died after a two-year battle with brain cancer. To honor his legacy as a death metal pioneer, an inimitable vocalist and one of the best metal guitarists of all time heres a list of metal musicians writing about their favorite “Death” songs and what Schuldiner has meant to them.
Arthur von Nagel (Cormorant)
Zombie Ritual
from Scream Bloody Gore
by Death
I feel Chuck Schuldiner looked back on his ’80s albums with embarrassment. In interviews he dismissed the words to Scream Bloody Gore as childish blood ‘n’ guts fantasies, and the music as sloppy and poorly performed. He was right: The album’s lyrics are rife with slasher flick violence, misogyny, homophobia, and sexual aggression, traits which clashed with the narrative of self-discovery and acceptance he crafted around his later, more sophisticated works. The music, as exemplified by the pummeling “Zombie Ritual,” is gloriously raw, fast, and primitive (and ridiculously catchy). But for all the song’s Beavis and Butt-head-grade lyrics and flailing rhythms, Schuldiner had penned a powerful mission statement for all future death metal bands to follow. Chuck’s adolescent rage proved infectious, and perhaps in spite of themselves, Death and contemporaries Possessed spawned legions of imitators who solidified and improved upon the genre’s tropes.
But by the release of Human, Schuldiner wasn’t that angry teenager anymore. The most blatant evidence of his philosophical shift was Death’s logo, as Chuck famously cleaned up its cobwebs, mopped its the blood, banished the Reaper and righted the inverted crucifix. Some in the metal underground still view his embrace of progressive values (both musical and social) as a betrayal, a cop-out to political correctness and the same dreaded “artistic maturation” that had claimed Metallica. I can’t speak for Schuldiner’s motives for evolving his sound and image, but he placed himself in a unique historical position by having been one of the earliest codifiers of an orthodox death metal style, and then sacrilegiously expanding that very genre’s vocabulary by integrating elements of jazz fusion and progressive rock. Despite Chuck’s rug sweeping of his pubescent albums, to progress artistically demands a starting point to progress from. I firmly believe that every new Death album was a reaction to the last, and without a song like “Zombie Ritual” there could be no “The Philosopher.” It is precisely Schuldiner’s development as both a person and a musician that makes him so fascinating and divisive. He showed the foresight and courage to not only help create the rules of death metal, but to demonstrate how to break them. And there’s no shame in that.
Stephan Gebédi (Hail Of Bullets)
Infernal Death
from Scream Bloody Gore
by Death
At the age of 15, I got heavily into the tape trading thing. I was about to form my first band (Thanatos) and me and the drummer-to-be in that band were trading tapes with people all over the world. Most of those people were 15-16 years old as well and some of them had also just formed or were about to form bands of their own. Among our pen pals were people like Killjoy (Necrophagia), Ken Owen and Bill Steer (Carcass) and guys from Florida called Kam Lee and Chuck Schuldiner. They had this band called Mantas going, but were about to change their name to Death. We traded demo tapes and live tapes and even recordings of rehearsals. I clearly remember a rather f—- up recording of a song called “Rigor Mortis” done with a microphone and a tape recorder, which was obviously about to die any day now. You could hear the microphone falling over and being put back again … hilarious! But the music itself wasn’t hilarious at all! When their new three-song demo tape arrived in the mail one day, we all knew we were listening to something special; the first power chords of the opening track, “Infernal Death,” sounded so brutal, raw and evil that we stared at each other in disbelief. It was unlike anything we’ve ever heard before. Right there we witnessed the birth of death metal. Death went on and became a more technical band and broadened their horizon. I pretty much like all the albums they’ve made, but the sheer intensity of Scream Bloody Gore, which featured the aforementioned track in its full glory, has never been matched again.
“Death by Metal!”
Matt Harvey (Exhumed)
Left to Die
from Leprosy
by Death
Picking a favourite Death song is pretty tough. When I was first starting to play guitar, I learned the Scream Bloody Gore album from front to back and played along with it religiously. Once I heard Leprosy later that same year (I believe it was 1988, but it may have been early ’89), it was clear that the ante had been upped, not just in terms of Death’s catalog, but for the entire fledgling genre of death metal. I truly believe that Leprosy is the album that ushered in the genre as we recognize it today and as such, may be the most important album in death metal altogether. It was the first album to feature the distinct sonic components of what we now recognize as death metal. From the triggered drum sounds to the technical (especially for the time) minor/harmonic minor riffs, the tremolo picking, tapping parts, marginal presence of the bass guitar in the mix, and somewhat baroque arrangements, Leprosy has everything that defines the genre to this day. Where Scream Bloody Gore got by on attitude and rawness, Leprosy was a brilliant balance of sheer power and revealing detail. I devoured the songs on the record, and within a few weeks was playing along to it in its entirety as well. My favorite song tends to change depending on my mood (or how many beers I’ve had — give me a 12 pack and I’ll swear that “Beyond the Unholy Grave” is the best song ever), but if I had to pick one, I guess it would have to be “Left to Die.”
It is just chock-full of great riffs from beginning to end and features some of Chuck’s most inspired vocals. The opening scream at 0:24 oozes brutality, the seemingly off-the-cuff ejaculation of “On this f—— earth” at 2:04 gives the song a great dash of snarling attitude, and the grunt at 2:54 when the beat turns around personally synthesizes my own transformation from a thrash metaller to a death metal devotee. But there are still more vocal highlights: the scream at 3:13 may be the best death metal vocal ever recorded, surpassing even Jeff Becerra’s scream at the end of Possessed’s song, “Death Metal.” The final touch is the emphasis of the word “death” in the lyrics at 3:30, providing a nice, knowing wink at the audience. Again, the brilliance of this album is as much in its nuance as it is in its brute force.
As with most songs on the record, there are a lot of different riffs and tempos going on, presaging the hyper-ADD style arrangements that would become the norm in the genre in years to come. Luckily for a simple guy like me, the song still has a distinct structure — the same arrangement that figures heavily in most of Chuck’s songs: intro – verse – pre-chorus – chorus – bridge – lead – bridge –verse – pre-chorus – chorus – outro. Of course, some parts feature multiple riffs and time changes, but there is still a very coherent, recognizable structure to cling to in this song. The strangely modal intro riff is a harbinger of the scalar workouts that would figure so heavily in death metal’s transformation from a grime-covered sub-genre to a style obsessed with pushing the limits of instrumental technique, but the verse riff is the one that gets me. It’s a bludgeoning, hulking menace that throws its weight around with no regard for the listeners neck, which should immediately start whiplashing upon hearing it. The tremolo-picked chorus riff is also a bit more dissonant than most Death riffs, leaning heavily on a diminished pattern of D, F, A-flat, (which features prominently in about 99 percent of Exhumed songs) which is why it’s a favorite of mine. Chuck’s lead is, of course, tastefully dark with his trademark nervous vibrato heavily featured throughout, but in this song, I actually prefer the outro solo, a nice parting shot delivered by Rick “Rozz” Delilo, whose frenetic whammy bar abuse keeps the entire album from ever getting too melodic or anywhere near “pretty.” This is a truly great song on a truly classic, groundbreaking album. In fact, I’m almost convinced after writing this that it’s my all-time favorite Death song, but who knows, ask me again next week, and I may come up with 500 words describing why “Mutilation,” “Back from the Dead” or “Forgotten Past” is my favourite.
Paul Masvidal (Cynic)
Cosmic Sea
from Human
by Death
It’s difficult trying to articulate what it is about this instrumental Death song off Human — essentially arranged and written in the studio — that speaks to me. It doesn’t have Chuck’s voice in the literal sense, but it contains all the vital harmonic, melodic and rhythmic components that branded Death’s sound. But it also has something else. It’s reaching for truth, and it holds a majestic beauty that gave Death’s songs their greatest potency. What I’m remembering is the beginner mind approach in which this song took shape in the studio. It was driven by instinct and spontaneous creative freedom. Our collective energies united and we swam into the “Cosmic Sea,” trusting we wouldn’t need a life raft. Chuck’s story was liberated without words. “Cosmic Sea” is a journey straight into the heart of Death and, for me, an auditory memory of what an old friend felt like at his best.
Gene Hoglan (Fear Factory)
Flattening of Emotions
from Human
by Death
“Flattening of Emotions” from Human is an absolute masterpiece. From the “Hot for Teacher”-esque drum intro to the progressive approach of the opening bars of the song to the blistering salvos of double bass that pervade the entire composition, this tune achieves greatness as well as lays down the foundation for every Death song to have followed it. “Flattening of Emotions” is a benchmark, a performance pinnacle and furious mission statement; that death metal will no longer be relegated to mere brute strength, but will evolve past troglodytism into sublime art, where precision and passion will triumph over perfunctory extremism. With “Flattening of Emotions,” Death imposed its will on death metal, and secured its evolution. Death metal was given a choice: Adapt or Die. Adapt it did.
Richard Christy (Charred Walls Of The Damned)
Lack of Comprehension
from Human
by Death
I spent many Saturday nights in grade school and high school watching MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball. I was very fortunate that my parents had one of those old, massive, ugly giant satellite dishes that took up half our front yard and also made a great bird’s nest and lightning rod. Because we had MTV and also Canada’s Much Music channel since the early 1980s, I was able to discover many of my favorite bands through these TV channels, including Death. I remember the first time I saw the video for “Lack of Comprehension” and I was completely blown away. This song was the perfect mix of brutality and melody. Sean Reinert’s drumming also blew my mind. As a drummer, I was fascinated by his playing and I immediately wanted to learn more about Death. I also couldn’t believe that this song had brutal, guttural vocals, but was also very melodic and catchy — to me it sounded like the perfect mix of a band like Iron Maiden, and a band like Possessed. I immediately tried to learn the drum parts for this song and I have to humbly say that it took me about three years to do so.
Almost every day from the time I purchased the Human album in 1992 until I joined Death in 1997, I practiced drums to the Human album because I loved the music and drumming so much. Fortunately, when I auditioned for Death in July of 1997 I knew the Human album like the back of my hand and the first song Chuck Schuldiner and I played together was “Lack of Comprehension.” Chuck was very impressed that I knew the whole Human album and many other Death songs and this led to me joining my favorite band in the world and making friends with the most talented musician I’ve ever met and one of my heroes, Chuck Schuldiner. I miss Chuck so much and think of him every day and pretty much still listen to Death every day. When fans ask what drumming performance of mine that I’m most proud of, I always say The Sound of Perseverance album by Death. It is the highest honor as a metal fan and a dear friend of Chuck’s Schuldiner’s to say that I got to be in Death, my favorite band in the world.
John Dyer Baizley (Baroness)
Philosopher
from Individual Thought Patterns [Remixed, Remastered, Repackaged & Expanded]
by Death
Individual Thought Patterns is the masterpiece Death record for me. It’s the record where songwriting, production, lyrics, musicianship and hooks all converge to form a classic album. I remember being stuck in a tour van on some rural Eastern European road, and someone put the CD in the stereo. You can deny neither the skills nor the cohesion of the players on this record. Each musician is an institution unto himself, and this album goes right where so many sum-of-parts records go wrong. [Guitarist] Andy LaRoque’s surprising inclusion is a true stroke of genius. The real treat is that after an initial listen to such a progressive and technical record, I actually remembered most of the songs, most notably “The Philospher.” This was a death metal song that was instantly stuck in my head.
From the iconic opening guitar arpeggios, to the audible (!) groove of the bass line and one of the heaviest and most memorable choruses in the Death canon, this song hits every nail on the head. The guitar soloing is effortlessly fluid and melodic; and nothing negative ever needs to be said about Gene Hoglan’s acumen behind the kit.
Too often, the best you can hope for in metal lyricism is base comedy and adolescent sloganeering. Chuck stands apart as a lyricist in that he brazenly and unapologetically writes personal and insightful lyrics. While they may adhere to the tried-and-true vocal cadence of his peers, there is an openness and candor to them that is hard to deny. In “The Philosopher” he tackles subjects that fly in the face of the knuckle-dragging-Metal-orthodoxy, as he discusses and condemns narrow-minded bigotry and undue sexual judgementalism. His message, unlike so many of his contemporaries, is a universal and human message of tolerance, unadorned with the ignoble trappings generally associated with the genre.
Kevin Conway (East Of The Wall)
Overactive Imagination
from Individual Thought Patterns [Remixed, Remastered, Repackaged & Expanded]
by Death
As a middle-schooler who was acquainted with only the most obvious and basic metal staples, I had absolutely no frame of reference for what I was hearing the first time I heard Death’s “Overactive Imagination.” The level of technical precision was beyond anything I had ever heard, but the technicality wasn’t the entire story. The songs were structured in a way that was compelling, yet totally natural. It was everything I ever wanted to hear, but never knew existed. I would only get about six years of Death fandom before Chuck’s untimely demise. I would never get to see them live either. In spite of all that, there are very few bands that have shaped me as much as Death did, both as a musician and as a listener.
Elizabeth Schall (Dreaming Dead)
Crystal Mountain
from Symbolic
by Death
Symbolic is by far my most favorite Death album; mainly because of the higher pitched growls and the guitars having a more progressive approach than in previous releases. And 10 years after Chuck Schuldiner’s death, it is easy to say the legacy he left behind continues to influence musicians all over the world. But it wasn’t until the summer of 2009 when my appreciation of this album came full circle, when I met [former Death bassist] Kelly Conlon on tour with Monstrosity. We spoke of many things such as life and music; I shared pictures of my cats and he of his dog back on the East Coast that he missed and loved so much. Death not only left their music and a lasting impression on me, but also a great friend.
Anthony Buda (Revocation)
Without Judgement
from Symbolic
by Death
After first hearing the music of Death in my mid-teens, it didn’t take long for me to identify Chuck Shuldiner as a primary musical and creative role model. Touched by the power, energy and uniqueness of Death’s music in a way that I had never before experienced, it seemed an obvious and foregone conclusion to idolize “Evil” Chuck. And unlike the vast majority of his early death metal peers, Chuck was unafraid to go beyond the lyrical comfort zone of terror and malevolence.
The song “Without Judgment,” from Death’s masterful Symbolic, resonated strongly with me as a teenager not only for its awesome composition, arrangement and performances, but also because the lyrics stimulated my imagination and my desire to understand and integrate with the world around me. In the decade or so since first falling in love with the song, I have realized that its most significant impact has been to plant this seed of desire for understanding: “Without judgment what would we do? / Perception would increase a million times.” By accessing the non-judgmental, integrative awareness of our creative minds, temporarily silencing the persistent self-definition and differentiation of the ego, we gain a sense of the beautiful unity of existence. But, Chuck warns, the path to this level of awareness is not without its pitfalls: The only way out is down: “When pain is acknowledged, frivolous calculations will be abolished.”
Steffen Kummerer (Obscura)
Flesh and the Power It Holds
from Sound of Perseverance
by Death
“Flesh and the Power it Holds” was one of the first tracks I discovered of Death and actually the first song I was able to play on guitar. Pretty good choice, great songwriting and fantastic riffs that itches under your skin. While the whole last album is a classic, the earlier material such as Human got me and since the first listen I have been a fan. “Flesh and the Power it Holds” is a pretty long song, but it never gets boring; it keeps you listening from the first to the last note. Still one of my all time favourites.
Super Metal World recently conducted an interview with frontwoman Tatiana Shmailyuk of Ukrainian modern metal frontrunners JINJER. You can listen to the entire chat at this location.
On the reaction to their new studio album, “Macro”:
Tatiana: “So far, I haven’t yet heard any negative reactions to the album, so, that’s good. I’m not the one who is surfing the Internet in search of comments and reactions. I don’t care what people think because I have a lot of things to do. I don’t know…so far so good. Again, I haven’t heard shitty responses to the album.”
On the songwriting approach to “Macro”:
Tatiana: “I don’t take part in composing music. Everything I do I’m just writing lyrics and trying to feed them into already-written material. I don’t take part in composing it and they, the rest of the guys, write music at their home and they don’t even ask me about my opinion about the material.”
On whether “Pisces” was the song that broke JINJERinto the mainstream:
Tatiana: “Unfortunately, ‘Pisces’ lost its charm. It became viral, which I don’t like. I don’t like the huge hype that we’re having right now. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. This song is very personal and believe me, Pisces are not those people who are begging for our attention. I don’t like this word, ‘mainstream.’ The people made it mainstream; we didn’t. We didn’t really want it to be like this. But nevertheless, on the other hand, it’s really good. It’s really good that this song is so much appreciated.”
On whether she feels “jaded” about JINJER‘s recent popularity:
Tatiana: “The only thing I can say about that, [is] me personally, I feel under the pressure. I feel the pressure a bit, but, I’m sure that people are going to say, ‘Okay, but this is what you wanted, so don’t complain.’ And I will say that when I dreamt about being a singer in a band, I was 11, and believe me, I had no idea that musicians had their own reality to face. I had no idea. And I didn’t read any articles or didn’t watch any interviews because, first of all, I didn’t have any Internet connection on my computer. I imagined it to be a fucking fairytale. [Laughs] Obviously it’s not like that. I didn’t know that I had to do so many interviews. [Laughs] I feel like being a musician in the 21st century is a completely different thing than being a musician in the 20th century in the ’90s, for example, and the ’70s and ’80s. So, I probably cannot compare because I never lived in those times.”
On whether she still gets joy out of being in JINJER:
Tatiana: “Yeah, of course. Of course. Sometimes your exhaustion or your tiredness is so overwhelming that you kind of stop seeing those beautiful things every day. You have to always be focused. I have to be focused all the time on the good which is a really hard thing for me. [Laughs] But I’m trying to be grateful and trying to learn.”
On whether her rough Ukrainian upbringing has any effect on her perspective on the music industry:
Tatiana: “No. I think I was born like this. I believe that, well, a lot of people think that you can shift energies from negative to positive. I think, to my mind, people are born with a certain kind of energy. Someone was born sad and someone was born, I don’t know, very happy and positive and no matter what happens in their life, they are always positive. They don’t even have to make any effort to stay positive. This is genuine energy. And someone is seeing everything in black and white. It’s really hard.”
On whether she’s an introvert:
Tatiana: “Yes. Two-hundred percent introverted. [Laughs] It’s not bad, and again, I analyze myself all the time. Sometimes people make me think I’m kind of retarded or handicapped being an introvert. A lot of people don’t even know that there is a term ‘extrovert’ and ‘introvert.’ They think that those shy people, there is something wrong with them, but hell no, I remember once in my childhood, I was very extroverted, but then something clicked in my head. When I was dancing, like in a circle of our relatives at parties, holidays, then something clicked in my head and I started avoiding people. When our relatives came to celebrate some holiday, I was hiding under my bed because there were very crazy dudes. Like not really my uncle, he’s not my relative, there’s not blood relationships, and he was really loud. [Laughs] And I was hiding from him. I was hiding under my bed so that he didn’t disturb me.”
“Macro” was released on October 25 via Napalm Records. Punishing riffs, aggressively blended vocals and astonishingly deep lyrics make “Macro”JINJER‘s most advanced and undeniable album yet — taking the listener on a journey of trauma, power struggle and greed with a progressive groove metal backdrop.
Rapper uses Cattle Decapitations cover art for new up-coming album “Death Atlas” for his mixed tape and doesn’t even bother removing their logo so the band took to social media and decided to create a teeshirt out of the whole situation available for only 24 hours on their website. See below.
YES, THIS IS FOR REAL
Recently, a rapper took the cover of our new album “Death Atlas” and used it for his mixtape. Here’s a one-time-only T-Shirt available for the next 24 hrs ONLY! ORDER HERE DURING THE NEXT 24 HRS ONLY AND THEN ITS GONE FOREVER: https://indiemerch.com/cattledecap/item/78571
Their long awaited 9th studio album, “Death Atlas” is due out November 29th 2019. PRE-ORDER NOW
Death Atlas
Cattle Decapitation have never shied away from confronting the awfulness wrought upon the natural world by the human race, and Death Atlas is their bleakest offering to date. The cover art says it all: a stooped, skeletal Grim Reaper carrying the burnt-out husk of our planet on his back. “The core concept of this record is humanity’s insignificance despite what we’ve convinced ourselves,” explains vocalist Travis Ryan. “That’s kind of why this album cover takes place in space, to remind you that ‘the universe always finds a way to purge’. In the grand scheme of things, our species is merely a fleeting thought.” This imagery is backed up with a ferocious soundtrack, which includes elements of death metal, grindcore, black metal, sludge, doom, drone – with Ryan’s vocals broader and more fully realized than ever before.
Produced once again by Dave Otero (http://www.flatlineaudio.com), Death Atlas also features a number of guests: Laure Le Prunenec (Igorrr, Ricinn), Riccardo Conforti (Void of Silence), Dis Pater (Midnight Odyssey), Jon Fishman (Phish) – plus, brass instrumentalists from Ottone Pesante. The end result of these experimentations and collaborations is one of the most devastating records of 2019, and it demands an emotional response.
As the band prepares to tour and hopefully reach places they have yet play, what Ryan wants listeners to take away from Death Atlas is clear: “I want people to be shocked into thinking more about their futures, their loved ones, the pain they’re potentially subjecting their future generations to. Everyone just seems to live in the now with no care for tomorrow, and that’s incorrect thinking, as far as today goes. Don’t make tomorrow a cancelled check.”
Tour Dates:
Nov. 22 — Austin, Texas @ Empire Control Room Nov. 23 — Dallas, Texas @ Gas Monkey Bar & Grill Nov. 24 — Houston, Texas @ White Oak Music Hall Nov. 25 — New Orleans, La. @ The Parish @ House Of Blues Nov. 26 — Orlando, Fla. @ The Abbey Nov. 27 — Fort Lauderdale, Fla. @ Culture Room + Nov. 29 — Atlanta, Ga. @ Hell @ Masquerade + Nov. 30 — Richmond, Va. @ Canal Club Dec. 01 — New York, N.Y. @ Le Poisson Rouge Dec. 02 — Boston, Mass. @ Brighton Music Hall Dec. 03 — Philadelphia, Pa. @ The Foundry @ The Fillmore Dec. 04 — Toronto, Ontario @ Opera House Dec. 05 — Chicago, Ill. @ Metro w/ Atheist, Primitive Man, Author & Punisher, Vitriol Dec. 06 — Lawrence, Kan. @ Granada Theater Dec. 07 — Denver, Colo. @ The Oriental Dec. 08 — Grand Junction, Colo. @ Mesa Theater Dec. 10 — Albuquerque, N.M. @ El Rey Theater Dec. 11 — Mesa, Ariz. @ Club Red Dec. 12 — Los Angeles, Calif. @ Decibel Pre-Party @ The Regent Dec. 13 — Las Vegas, Nev. @ Fremont Country Club Dec. 14 — Fresno, Calif. @ Strummers Dec. 15 — Berkeley, Calif. @ UC Theatre Dec. 17 — Seattle, Wash. @ The Showbox Dec. 18 — Portland, Ore. @ Bossanova Ballroom Dec. 19 — Sacramento, Calif. @ Holy Diver Dec. 20 — Pomona, Calif. @ The Glass House Dec. 22 — San Diego, Calif. @ Brick By Brick + No Author & Punisher
There is absolutely no way that when Suaka drummer John Mollusk took teenage environmental activist Greta Thunberg’s recent UN speech and turned it into a death metal song that he knew how popular the track would become. But the thing has truly taken on a life of its own, going viral not just in metal circles, but in the “real world,” too (i.e. friends who don’t care about metal have asked me about it). Why, Thunberg herself gave it the thumbs up!
Mollusk is putting the track’s popularity to good use, too: he’s teamed with Despotz Records to release the song, now called “How Dare You,” under the moniker G.T (which I assumed stands for “Greta Thunberg”), with all proceeds going to Greenpeace. You can get it on all the various platforms here, with some sweet cover art (above) to boot.
And here’s the original viral video, if you missed it:
The cover was created by John Merideth of New York City-based metal trio Suaka. “When I saw her speech, I was very impressed by her passion and outrage,” John told Rolling Stone. “And the words she chose just evoked the darkness of the metal music I love: Entombed, Gojira, At the Gates, Sepultura…I guess I didn’t really have a specific intent other than to turn her brutal words into a metal song. My personal stance is that individuals need to do their part to strive to conserve and preserve our environment…
“Teen angst can be a powerful and important driving force in society, for instance the Arab spring,” he continued. “But there is an element of satire and levity regarding the tone and the music.”
Among the fans of the adaptation? Thunberg herself.
Titled “Greta Thunberg sings Swedish Death Metal,” the video, created by a musician, sets Thunberg’s speech to harsh guitar chords and distorts the 16-year-old Swedish girl’s voice into a growl.
“This is all wrong,” Thunberg roars in the video as the screen flashes different colors and drums bang.
“I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back at school on the other side of the ocean.”
The music climaxes each time after Thunberg, holding back tears, asks world leaders: “How dare you?”
The video, uploaded last Wednesday by user John Mollusk, had more than 3.1 million views as of Monday morning. Over the weekend, Thunberg tweeted out a link to it, joking, “I have moved on from this climate thing… From now on I will be doing death metal only!!”
The creator did not immediately return a request for comment from NBC News. But in an interview last week with Rolling Stone magazine, which identified the creator as thrash-metal drummer John Meredith, he said he was prompted to make the video because he agreed with Thunberg’s perspective and also thought her searing language lent itself to metal.
“When I saw her speech, I was very impressed by her passion and outrage,” he told the magazine, adding, “I guess I didn’t really have a specific intent other than to turn her brutal words into a metal song.”
Thunberg is no stranger to having her words turned into music.
Rebranded to reflect the increasingly disturbing and disgustingly heavy nature of their music, Cranial Bleeding have now morphed into the twisted Purulent Necrosis – and Purulent Necrosis are ready to unveil their terrifying debut album, Cadaverized Humanity, an unrelenting assault on the senses.
The standard terms for defining extreme music are simply inadequate to describe the horrific onslaught of tracks like ‘Throne Of Carnage’. These blood-chilling outbursts of inhuman depravity go beyond the normal barriers of acceptability even for brutal death metal. Purulent Necrosis are beyond ‘heavy’, beyond ‘extreme’ and Cadaverized Humanity attacks like a hammer-wielding lunatic from start to finish. The rusted riffs that form the warped exoskeleton of ‘Calculated Acts Of Retribution’ must surely be the product of warped minds and the bestial vocals of Justin Downs are barely recognisable as human. This is not a listening experience; it’s a test of your endurance and your sanity, a trip into the abyss, the foulest recesses of human depravity.
Line-up: Justin Downs – Vocals Blake Scott – Guitars Steve Green – Guitars Matthew Green – Drums Jason Keating – Bass
Like handing knives to monstrous predators, Comatose Music have recklessly agreed to release Purulent Necrosis’ insane violence into the world on November 1st. From that date Cadaverized Humanity will be lurking in the cellars and alleyways of your town, waiting hungrily for blood. Indiscriminate killing on an unprecedented scale is sure to follow.
Genre: Brutal Death Metal For fans of: Devourment | Skinless | Internal Bleeding | Guttural Secrete
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