Alive and Dead

Alive and Dead...I think it's the first Six Feet Under record I bought back in the late nineties.
And now, almost 25 years later, I'm able to write a review of this short but sweet introduction to this band.

The first track "Insect" is probably the most relaxed death metal song I've ever heard. It starts off simple with a nice flow and ends aggressive and focused on groove. This track is the perfect introduction to people who are not used to this brutal kind of music. Faster drums or shredding guitars would be inappropriate because of the mellow nature of this song. Chris' vocals are heavy overall leaning more towards what he did in Cannibal Corpse than his later work in Six Feet Under. Some higher pitched vocals are used here and there but he just didn't have the range at that time like he developed on later Six Feet Under albums. The next track "Drowning" is another exclusive for this release. I was reading the lyrics while visualizing how it must feel to drown myself and experience it the way it is described here. First struggling to survive, panicking, eventually accepting your death and finally to decompose and dissolve. For a moment I myself stopped breathing due to the intensity of it all. The guitars sound very ominous and set the mood perfectly for these lyrics. This is old-school death metal the way it was meant to be.

Up next is a cover of Judas Priest's Grinder; a song I was not familiar with at the time. Chris adds his own personal touch without overdoing it. Early signs of what Six Feet Under will develop into can be heard when Chris recites some of his favourite curse words at the end of this song. The song is worthwhile for this alone. The music is virtually the same as the original except the guitars have a fuller sound and the bass is more prominent in the mix. The last four tracks are live recordings of songs found on the Haunted album they released the year before this EP. The performance of these songs is very enthousiastic and shows that the band is a well-oiled machine (the tempo is quite a bit faster than on the album). The guitars are heavy, the drums are tight and alongside Chris' excellent live performance didn't take long for me to start screaming along to the lyrics. My favourite tracks here are those recorded in Switzerland as these have a clearer sound overall.

This EP really grew on me; at first this was an okay extra for the fans but it turned out to be an underrated one.
Two exclusive songs, a cover and four excellent live tracks make this a great introduction to early Six Feet Under.