In a new, detailed interview, Six Feet Under frontman Chris Barnes has confirmed that the band’s upcoming album is completely recorded and offered an exciting preview of its diverse sound, stating it “encompasses just a lot of everything we’ve done.” He revealed the record features a significant lyrical collaboration with guitarist Jack Owen and will even include songs reminiscent of their time together in Cannibal Corpse.
Speaking on the “100 Songs That Define Heavy Metal” podcast, hosted by Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel, Barnes confirmed the recording process is complete.
“Well, the new album’s done. I finished vocals last week down in Miami, at the Criteria [studios],” he announced.
He then delved into the creative process for the follow-up to 2024’s Killing For Revenge, highlighting the expanded role of guitarist Jack Owen, his former bandmate in Cannibal Corpse.
“It’s a really interesting album… me and Jack [Owen] wrote the songs on this… This time he wrote half of the lyrics on the album; I wrote the other half,” Barnes revealed. “And that’s been really interesting for me too, to collaborate as a lyricist with someone… His writing style and his storytelling is very immersive as well. And I love the way Jack writes. He’s been a really amazing addition to Six Feet Under as far as progressing the band and keeping things interesting.”
Regarding the musical direction, Barnes promised a wide-ranging sound that touches upon all eras of the band’s history, and even earlier.
“This album, it encompasses just a lot of everything we’ve done,” he explained. “I mean, even going back to Haunted, there are some songs that are very rhythmic and I think more on the simple, straightforward side. And then there’s some songs that are very thrashy, which kind of came into play on the last album… And then there’s some songs — one of the songs really reminds me of like something we would’ve done on The Bleeding when I was in Cannibal Corpse, when [Jack and I] were both in Cannibal Corpse. So it’s really, really cool.”
The album, tentatively scheduled for an early 2026 release, will be mixed next month by Mark Lewis, who previously worked with the band on Undead and Unborn. Barnes cited Lewis‘s recent work with Dying Fetus as a key reason for bringing him back.
“I really liked his mix that he did on — he did the new Dying Fetus record… I was really, really a fan of that,” Barnes said. He added that Lewis is “really open to explore the production and the mix in an interesting way so that it complements these songs, ’cause they are very diverse from each other.”
Barnes also expressed his desire to move away from uniform “blanket productions,” stating, “I’m a big fan of making each song its own entity.”
