Rockezine.com concert review for Six Feet Under on Feb 27, 2004 in the Effenaar/Eindhoven

Six Feet Under

Effenaar-Eindhoven

Feb 27, 2004

Well, this evening sure started bad. When I wanted to leave for Eindhoven I discovered I had a flat tire so I had the take the train. This was a time-consuming effort so I arrived at De Effenaar at a quarter to eight while the bill stated it would start at half past seven. Naturally I was anxious to get inside but then my name wasn’t on the press list! Eventually it all sorted out so finally I could get inside to regain some warmth.

Criminal
When I enter De Effenaar at eight o’clock Criminal are just about to begin their set; perfect timing guys! The music these Chilean metal heads bring to Eindhoven is not easy to define. I hear a lot of Strapping Young Lad influences but Criminal is more straightforward in their approach. The keyboards and synthesizers create an atmosphere not unlike SYL by not playing melodies but merely creating a layer on top of the guitars that has an enormous massive impact. Drummer Zac O’Neil beats the skins with great aggression without losing track of the song. I don’t like the vocals at first because they sound a bit monotonous; but after a while I have to give the singer some credit for being so persistent. He looks very focused on stage and his singing is likewise. Still, a bit more variation would bring Criminal to a higher level. I didn’t know them before; but I’ll check out their latest output “No Gods, No Masters” because it sounds very promising.

Fleshcrawl
Fleshcrawl is next and the Germans-who-sound-more-Swedish-than-Swedish-bands start their set with a lot of confidence; which is justified by the crowd’s reaction. Off they go for a good 3 quarters of an hour of old school death metal. These guys are among the most stable bands around. Roughly every two years they deliver an album full of quality death metal which never surprises nor disappoints. Live gigs are the same I discovered; not one second I’m surprised but goddamn it sure sounds great! Songs like “Under The Banner Of Death”, “Flesh Bloody Flesh” and “As Blood Rains From The Sky” are welcomed with enthusiasm and played very tight. It doesn’t matter if they play old songs or songs from their latest album “Made Of Flesh”, it all sounds very old fashioned but nobody seems to care; and right they are.

Six Feet Under
After a much too long pause the curtains of De Effenaar sweep open and Six Feet Under start a set of old school death metal hits with “Victim Of The Paranoid”. I must confess that I’m a fan of their debut CD and the EP that followed; but their other CD’s are a lot weaker in my opinion. Their latest record “Bringer Of Blood” sounds more like the Chris Barnes show than a death metal album with his voice being twice as loud as the music. But enough of that, in a live situation they kick ass! Chris is not the greatest death metal vocalist of all time and

I’m sure SFU wouldn’t be as big as they are now if he hadn’t been in Cannibal Corpse; but live he sounds even more brutal and filthy than on record. Classic songs like “The Enemy Inside”, Beneath A Black Sky”, “Suffering In Ecstasy” and “Silent Violence” are fired upon the crowd who can’t seem to get enough. The newer songs like “Murder In The Basement” are stronger live than on record, proof that they should release a live album soon. Mr. Barnes proves to be a strong front man, a big contrast with the rather anonymously operating other band members. The concert was going well and I had a great time until it was time to go, in order to catch the train. It‘s always a sad thing to go home early but this night it was even sadder, because SFU was playing a great gig.

So in conclusion: 3 great bands, 1 short evening, 1 long journey back home, trains suck, death metal rules!

(Review: Roy van den Brink
Pics: Marcia Gransbergen)

more pictures