SIX FEET UNDER Announces New Album 'Next To Die', Shares 'Unmistakable Smell Of Death' Single

Long-running death metallers SIX FEET UNDER will release their new album, "Next To Die", on April 24 via Metal Blade Records.

"Next To Die", produced by SIX FEET UNDER guitarist Jack Owen and singer Chris Barnes and mixed and mastered by Mark Lewis of MRL Studios in Nashville, follows 2024's "Killing For Revenge". It's the third record that Barnes and Owen — both former members of CANNIBAL CORPSE — have created together since reuniting in 2017.

"Next To Die" track listing:

01. Approach Your Grave
02. Destroyed Remains
03. Mister Blood And Guts
04. Mutilated Corpse In The Woods
05. Unmistakable Smell Of Death
06. Wrath And Terror Takes Command
07. Skin Coffins
08. Mind Hell
09. Naked And Dismembered
10. Grasped From Beyond
11. Next To Die
12. Ill Wishes

"Next To Die" is a new creative high for SIX FEET UNDER, marking the band's fifteenth album since 1995's "Haunted".

"It started out as an album full of death metal songs with speed and aggression," says Owen. "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 emphasized 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."

The creative collaborative approach sees "Next To Die" essentially broken down into two different sides, Death and Groove, resulting in an aural masterwork that satisfies SIX FEET UNDER as artists, while also offering something for every fan.

"We don't discuss lyrical themes, we each write what we're feeling," explains Barnes. "We each just write what we find interesting."

SIX FEET UNDER did highly successful U.S. tours in 2025, the band's first U.S. tour since 2013, as well as a festival appearance in Mexico City in March '25.

Owen personally feels "grateful and fortunate. Grateful that we have a label, Metal Blade, who is 110 percent behind us. Fortunate that when we go out on the road, we have countless fans who come out and support us."

Those fans have a new set of killer songs to dive into on "Next To Die", including "The Unmistakable Smell Of Death", which sees Owen owning his blast and fast riffs with dynamic pull-offs and stop sections. Lyrically, "I'm writing from the perspective of a killer who toys with a victim and unties them, allowing them to fight," says Owen. "He underestimates their ability to fight, and they get the better of the killer."

"Mutilated Corpse In The Woods" tells a tale ripped from the headlines about a victim whose brutal assailant tied her to a tree and slit her throat, while "Mister Blood And Guts" found Owen writing music after a few days of 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 abouts the film," Owen says. "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.

To bring the songs to brutal life, Barnes recorded his vocals at the legendary Criteria Recording Studios in Miami.

"I've recorded 90% of my vocals for SIX FEET UNDER there with my longtime friend and engineer Chris Carroll," says Barnes. "Criteria has a long and rich history of recording some of the most famous and important albums in the history of music. I feel very comfortable working there."

SIX FEET UNDER was initially formed as a side project for Barnes during his final years with the band that he co-founded, CANNIBAL CORPSE. It became the frontman's sole focus in 1995, coinciding with the release of their debut, "Haunted". The current tour-honed lineup of Barnes, Owen, lead guitarist Ray Suhy, bassist Jeff Hughell, and drummer Marco Pitruzzella make for a devastating unit.

Owen tracked his rhythm guitar parts with Jason Suecof at AudioHammer Studios in Sanford, Florida. Suecof also has a guest guitar lead at the end of the song "Approach Your Grave". The rest of the musicians tracked their "Next To Die" parts at their home studios, for a remote collaboration that created a dozen cohesive tracks.

Barnes titled the record after the song "Next To Die", as it "best represents what is contained within the ideas/storylines of the lyrics of each song." The frontman urges close listening, saying, "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," Barnes believes.

Sandy Rezalmi's cover art perfectly brings to life the journey that the LP's lyrics and music take listeners on, and SIX FEET UNDER are excited to share that gory and glorious vision with listeners everywhere.

SIX FEET UNDER will return to stages this summer on a North American headlining tour. Set to begin on July 8 in Detroit and run through August 11 in Chicago, the tour features support from KATAKLYSM and WORMHOLE.

Comments Barnes: "July and August are gonna get ultra brutal on our headlining tour of North America in support of our new album 'Next To Die', with our old friends in KATAKLYSM and special guests WORMHOLE. Very psyched to get back on the road in the States, and really, really looking forward to playing Canada on this tour. I think it's our first time in Canada in decades… You do not want to miss these shows! See you all this summer!"

The North American journey will follow SIX FEET UNDER's previously announced European headlining tour this June with support from EMBRYONIC AUTOPSY.

Presales begin Thursday, March 12 using the password "GRAVE". General on sale date is Friday, March 13.

SIX FEET UNDER with KATAKLYSM, WORMHOLE:

July 08 - Sanctuary – Detroit, MI
July 09 - Lee's Palace – Toronto, ON ^
July 10 - Fairmount – Montreal, QC ^
July 11 - Overflow – Ottawa, ON ^
July 12 - Palladium Upstairs – Worcester, MA
July 13 - Space Ballroom – Hamden, CT
July 14 - Gramercy Theatre – New York, NY
July 15 - Broken Goblet – Bensalem, PA
July 16 - Chapel of Bones – Raleigh, NC
July 17 - Albatross – Jacksonville, FL
July 18 - Culture Room - Fort Lauderdale, FL
July 19 - Conduit – Orlando, FL
July 21 - Scout Bar – Houston, TX
July 22 - Come and Take It Live – Austin, TX
July 23 - Jake's – Lubbock, TX
July 24 - Lauter Haus – Farmington, NM
July 25 - Nile – Phoenix, AZ
July 26 - 1720 - Los Angeles, CA
July 27 - Strummer's – Fresno, CA
July 28 - Cornerstone – Berkeley, CA
July 29 - Goldfield – Roseville, CA
July 30 - Shredder – Boise, ID *
July 31 - Hawthorne Theatre – Portland, OR
August 01 - El Corazon – Seattle, WA
August 02 - Rickshaw – Vancouver, BC ^
August 04 - Arrowhead – Calgary, AB ^
August 05 - Starlite Room – Edmonton, AB ^
August 06 - Black Cat – Saskatoon, SK ^
August 07 - Park Theatre – Winnipeg, MB ^
August 08 - Skyway Theatre – Minneapolis, MN
August 09 - The Annex – Madison, WI
August 10 - Madison Theater – Covington, KY
August 11 - Reggies – Chicago, IL

* No KATAKLYSM
^ KATAKLYSM headlines

Photo by Jack Webb