American death metal pioneers SIX FEET UNDER will unleash their Next To Die full-length on April 24th through Metal Blade Records.

Next To Die marks a new creative high for SIX FEET UNDER, its dozen songs 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 guitarist Jack Owen. "Then [vocalist] Chris [Barnes] 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.

The record was produced by Owen and Barnes and mixed and mastered by Mark Lewis of MRL Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, and follows 2024's Killing For Revenge. It's the third record that Barnes and Owen have created together since reuniting in 2017. "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 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 lineup of Barnes, Owen, lead guitarist Ray Suhy, bassist Jeff Hughell, and drummer Marco Pitruzzella make for a devastating unit.

That sonic devastation shines on lead single, "Unmistakable Smell Of Death," which sees Owen owning his blast and fast riffs with dynamic pull-offs and stop sections. "This song began musically before I had any lyrical ideas in mind," says Owen. "I dug through my riff archive for some blast and fast riffs and updated them with some pull-offs and stop sections. The middle section riffs were also from my riff archive. I do scratch leads on my demos, but Ray always does a much better job with the leads.

BUY SIX FEET UNDER'S NEXT TO DIE HERE: https://amzn.to/4b9IPWc

"Lyrically, I'm writing from the perspective of a killer who toys with a victim and unties them, allowing them to fight. He underestimates their ability to fight, and they get the better of the killer, ultimately impaling and beheading him. The 'Unmistakable Smell Of Death' is now that of the killer!"

Watch SIX FEET UNDER's visualizer for "Unmistakable Smell Of Death" HERE.

Next To Die comes swathed in the cover art of Sandy Rezalmi and will be released on CD and digital formats as well as vinyl in the following color variants:

180g Black (EU)
Red w/ Black Smoke (US)
Bone Brown Marbled (EU - Ltd. 500)
Blue Grey Marbled (EU - Ltd. 300)
Blood Splatter (EU - Ltd. 300)
Bone White Green Splatter (EU - Ltd. 200)

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

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

Comments Barnes, "July and August are gonna get ultra brutal on our headline 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 the band's previously announced European headlining tour this June with support from Embryonic Autopsy.

Presales begin Thursday, March 12th password: GRAVE. General onsale date is Friday, March 13th. See all confirmed dates below.

SIX FEET UNDER w/ Kataklysm, Wormhole:
7/08/2026 Sanctuary - Detroit, MI
7/09/2026 Lee's Palace - Toronto, ON ^
7/10/2026 Fairmount - Montreal, QC ^
7/11/2026 Overflow - Ottawa, ON ^
7/12/2026 Palladium Upstairs - Worcester, MA
7/13/2026 Space Ballroom - Hamden, CT
7/14/2026 Gramercy Theatre - New York, NY
7/15/2026 Broken Goblet - Bensalem, PA
7/16/2026 Chapel of Bones - Raleigh, NC
7/17/2026 Albatross - Jacksonville, FL
7/18/2026 Culture Room - Fort Lauderdale, FL
7/19/2026 Conduit - Orlando, FL
7/21/2026 Scout Bar - Houston, TX
7/22/2026 Come and Take It Live - Austin, TX
7/23/2026 Jake's - Lubbock, TX
7/24/2026 Lauter Haus - Farmington, NM
7/25/2026 Nile - Phoenix, AZ
7/26/2026 1720 - Los Angeles, CA
7/27/2026 Strummer's - Fresno, CA
7/28/2026 Cornerstone - Berkeley, CA
7/29/2026 Goldfield - Roseville, CA
7/30/2026 Shredder - Boise, ID *
7/31/2026 Hawthorne Theatre - Portland, OR
8/01/2026 El Corazon - Seattle, WA
8/02/2026 Rickshaw - Vancouver, BC ^
8/04/2026 Arrowhead - Calgary, AB ^
8/05/2026 Starlite Room - Edmonton, AB ^
8/06/2026 Black Cat - Saskatoon, SK ^
8/07/2026 Park Theatre - Winnipeg, MB ^
8/08/2026 Skyway Theatre - Minneapolis, MN
8/09/2026 The Annex - Madison, WI
8/10/2026 Madison Theater - Covington, KY
8/11/2026 Reggies - Chicago, IL
* No Kataklysm
^ Kataklysm headlines

European Tour w/ Embryonic Autopsy:
6/03/2026 Mystic Festival - Gdańsk, PL
6/04/2026 Franz - Berlin, DE
6/05/2026 Pitfest - Maastricht, NL
6/06/2026 Gebäude 9 - Cologne, DE
6/07/2026 The Garage - Saarbrücken, DE
6/10/2026 Colosseum - Košice, SK
6/12/2026 Nova Rock- Nickelsdorf, AT
6/13/2026 A38 - Budapest, HU
6/14/2026 Orto - Bar Ljubljana, SI
6/16/2026 Kaminwerk - Memmingen, DE
6/17/2026 Backstage Halle - Munich, DE
6/19/2026 Colo-Saal - Aschaffenburg, DE
6/20/2026 Graspop Festival - Dessel, BE
6/21/2026 Hellfest - Clisson, FR
6/23/2026 Logo - Hamburg, DE
6/24/2026 Copenhell - Copenhagen, DK
6/26/2026 Basinfire Festival - Spálené Poříčí, CZ
6/27/2026 Abyss Festival - Hauteville, CH

SIX FEET UNDER:
Chris Barnes - vocals
Jack Owen - guitars
Marco Pitruzzella - drums
Jeff Hughell - bass
Ray Suhy - guitars

Is the modern music industry more interested in your talent or your search history? Guernica Mancini joins the show to discuss why the Swedish media is obsessed with "clickbait drama" instead of the evolution of the music. We dig into the hidden financial realities of "royalty debt" and why the band is choosing the hard road of self-management over the mainstream script. Can a band truly survive today without a major label pulling the strings, or is the "Year of the Snake" a warning for the entire industry?

GET THE GEMS' YEAR OF THE SNAKE HERE: https://amzn.to/4bZ3Rcr

- The "Clickbait" Obsession: Why Drama Sells More Than Music
- Year of the Snake: Transformation, Evolution, and Total Growth
- The Royalty Debt Trap: How Modern Labels Really Work
- No Robots Allowed: The Gems’ Stance Against AI in Art
- Real Rock Logistics: Tour Life, Motherhood, and Selective Stages

🚀 SUPPORT THE SHOW:

Rumble: https://www.rumble.com/c/cms
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@classicmetalshow
Locals: https://classicmetalshow.locals.com
Substack: https://cmspn.substack.com
X: https://www.x.com/cmsrocks

🎙️ ABOUT CHRIS AKIN PRESENTS... Hard Rock. Heavy Metal. No Filter. 🤘 Join legendary journalist Chris Akin daily for the most honest rants in the industry. From exclusive interviews with rock’s biggest icons to the "real talk" on cord-cutting, movies, and pop culture, Chris Akin Presents… is the home for fans who hate the mainstream script.

📺 WHAT WE COVER:

- Heavyweight Interviews: Unfiltered chats with Hard Rock & Metal’s elite.
- Pop Culture Rants: The truth about Movies, TV, and the streaming wars.
- Cord Cutting: Navigating the modern media mess without getting ripped off.
- Music News: The stories the labels don't want you to focus on.

BUENOS AIRES — The "Junior" era of Megadeth didn't just end; it imploded. In a blistering new interview on the Quemar Un Patrullero podcast, former bassist David Ellefson has pulled back the curtain on his 2021 dismissal, calling out leader Dave Mustaine for "deflectionary" tactics and a lack of "human heart."

While the heavy metal world watched the fallout of a leaked private video in 2021, Ellefson reveals that the real tragedy wasn't the internet scandal—it was the death of a forty-year brotherhood.

The "Starbucks" Brotherhood vs. The Business

Ellefson painted a picture of a relationship that was, at its core, deeply personal. He recalled the years following his 2010 return as a time of genuine connection.

"There were periods of closeness as men, as brothers," Ellefson told host Gustavo Olmedo. "It was just me and him... at Starbucks drinking coffee, whatever. Those moments were genuine, they were sincere, they were heartfelt."

But that sincerity allegedly vanished during the sessions for the band’s 2022 album, The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead!. Ellefson claims Mustaine grew resentful, eventually scrubbing Ellefson’s bass tracks and lyrics—specifically from the track "Soldier On!"—after his firing.

Ellefson didn't mince words comparing his treatment to Mustaine's own history: "When Dave got fired from Metallica, at least they kept his words and his music and they paid him... Dave wasn't so kind to me."

The Firing: "Nothing to Keep Away"

Addressing the 2021 scandal involving a leaked video with a 19-year-old Dutch woman, Ellefson remains steadfast that his dismissal was a "moral high ground" play by Mustaine rather than a necessity.

• The Call: Ellefson says he told the band there was "nothing here" and it was "nonsense on the internet."

• The Legal View: His attorneys reportedly called the band's handling of the situation "unconscionable."

• The Deflection: Ellefson believes Mustaine’s public statement—which referenced "aspects of David’s private life"—was a calculated move to distance the brand from a non-existent legal threat.

"Drop the Rope"

The tension reached a boiling point recently when Mustaine suggested on Trunk Nation that he couldn't bring back former members for a farewell tour due to the "behavior of one person."

Ellefson’s response was blunt: "You know what? Fuck off. Just fuck off... I didn't do anything that would prevent me from coming back at all."

Despite the sharp words, Ellefson insists he has found peace where Mustaine has not. Comparing himself to his former bandmate, who famously spent decades vocalizing his grudge against Metallica, Ellefson says he is "set free."

"There’s two ways to win in tug of war," Ellefson quipped. "I either pull you over the line or I just drop the rope and let you fall on your ass. I’ve chosen to do — drop the rope."