SIX FEET UNDER Frontman Looks Back On His Time With CANNIBAL CORPSE With 'Fond Memories'

SIX FEET UNDER vocalist Chris Barnes recently spoke to Lucem Fero's Welsh interviewer Anthony Morgan. Topics of discussion included the Florida group's seventh album, "Commandment", plans for the third TORTURE KILLER album and his HDK project. Several excerpts from the interview follow:

Lucem Fero: How did the new album come about?

Chris Barnes: "The new album? The new album is called 'Commandment', it came out about a month or a month and a half ago, and we're very pleased with it. It's the seventh full-length original CD from SIX FEET UNDER, we worked very hard on it, and we love the way it turned out. All the fans out there are enjoying it."

Lucem Fero: Is there a reason why you went back to that sound of the earlier material?

Chris Barnes: "I don't think we really did. I think that's how a lot are interpreting it, which is fine. I just feel myself, being involved in the writing so much, I really don't think like that. It's our next album, and the next evolutionary step in the band, so I kind of have a different outlook on it. That is due to not being a fan, and not looking the same way as others look at it."

Lucem Fero: How did you find recording in a place you'd never recorded before?

Chris Barnes: "It was good, and I think it felt comfortable. We wrote in a rehearsal space for roughly three weeks before the recording, so that got us comfortable with our surroundings. That didn't take us out of our element, as far as writing in a different location is concerned. We came into the studio and had to get used to that new location, a studio that we'd never been in before. On that note it was ok and wasn't too bad than what we're used to, being in there and writing etc. It was a little bit different working and laying down the tracks with a different person. I recorded my vocals where I usually work at, in Miami at the Hit Factory, and that felt very comfortable. It was a good session for me in many ways."

Lucem Fero: Could you tell me about the biblical connotations of "Commandment"?

Chris Barnes: "Like I said, I think on that level it's more of the idea behind the commandments and how they were put in place; the reason, and the history behind that. I think it's an invention, and it's worked pretty well. If you're good and you don't do these things then you go to Heaven, but if you don't then you'll go to Hell and suffer forever. I think that's kind of used by politicians and by those in power to put the population in their place, and in fear of punishment."

Lucem Fero: A lot of the names sound biblical, like "Doomsday", "Thou Shall Kill" and that kind of thing.

Chris Barnes: "Sure, sure. 'Resurrection of the Rotten'... there's little symbols in this yes. It's the way I write; I like to have a little bit more there to entice the readers, and just because it's of value."

Lucem Fero: What plans are there for a new TORTURE KILLER album?

Chris Barnes: "The guys are over in Finland, and I think they've pretty much finished writing the new CD. We're just planning our studio preparations, and we'll be recording all the basic tracks in Finland. I'll of course be recording the vocals down in Miami with Chris (Carroll),and most likely mix it down there as well in fact — I'm not 100% sure on that yet."

Lucem Fero: Is there a date pencilled in for recording?

Chris Barnes: "We're definitely looking at sometime in November time to lay down the tracks. Hopefully I can record my vocals in time, but if not we'll finish the record sometime in the holidays."

Lucem Fero: How do you feel about your time with CANNIBAL CORPSE looking back?

Chris Barnes: "I look back on it with a lot of fond memories. It was pretty much my starting point — it wasn't exactly my starting point, but it was as a professional musician. I think that I really helped bring about a certain style of music, and with that band I really outlined what most people think death metal vocals sound like — I'm part of that. I'm really proud of the imagery, and the lyrical stories that I put together on all those albums. We set out to conquer the world though, and I think we did as far as our corner of the world was concerned."

Lucem Fero: Was it hard to soldier on when you left CANNIBAL CORPSE? Was it hard to lift yourself up and carry on with SIX FEET UNDER as your main band?

Chris Barnes: "No. Like I said, I wasn't happy during the last year and a half when I was with those guys. I was really going to quit anyway after that record, but I was on tour with SIX FEET UNDER and got back from that tour which was really successful for a first album. We then parted ways — it wasn't really hard at all, and I wasn't depressed or anything. I was actually relieved; there was such relief that I didn't have to go back to being around people that I didn't like as friends. I just dreaded being around them everyday."

Lucem Fero: Was there a reason for that? Why you didn't get on?

Chris Barnes: "It's just because their attitudes were negative, and I think that they looked at me as... I think that a lot of.... I hate to say it but there was a lot of jealousy there because I was getting a lot of attention. They used their anger over that as a way to make me the brunt of a lot of jokes, and I just didn't appreciate being talked to in a certain way and not being given the respect that I felt like I deserved. When I started playing with SIX FEET UNDER though, I just had this really mellow feeling in our environment. I felt like, 'You know what? This feels like a band of mature people,' whereas being in CANNIBAL CORPSE was like being in a band with a bunch of ten year olds. Being in SIX FEET UNDER really made me feel comfortable though, and I felt we had the utmost respect for each other because we all came from bands that were really successful. Besides those little type things that I was involved in with CANNIBAL CORPSE, it's been about being in a band, writing some good music and exploring ourselves. It really widened my horizons when I got into SIX FEET UNDER because I was so over being in a band of people that were so immature for their age. Being with a group of people that were on my same wavelength and respect me as a person and as an artist was like a breath of fresh air. I was so relieved about being out of CANNIBAL CORPSE though; it was one of the best things I ever did I think (laughs)."

Lucem Fero: But you'd still like to do a live gig with CANNIBAL CORPSE?

Chris Barnes: "Sure. I'd love to do a date where I come out and maybe just sing four or five songs or whatever they want to do — I would be up for it. Like I said, I have no qualms about any of it. It's been put in their court for many years now."

Lucem Fero: I feel as though if George ("Corpsegrinder" Fisher) wasn't there, they might do it.

Chris Barnes: "Oh no, I even said to them, "Hey, I'd do it if George wants to sing a duet."

Read the entire interview at www.lucemfero.com.