UMUR
"Graveyard Classics" is the 4th full-length studio album by US, Florida based death metal act Six Feet Under. The album was released through Metal Blade Records in October 2000. It´s the successor to "Maximum Violence" from 1999. "Graveyard Classics" is not a "regular" studio album with original material, but as the title may suggest it´s a cover album featuring Six Feet Under´s take on classic heavy metal and hard rock tracks by artists like AC/DC, Deep Purple, Jimi Hendrix, Dead Kennedys, and Venom.
While the instrumental parts of the tracks are kept fairly true to the originals (although the album of course features a heavy death metal production), the vocals are brutal growling courtesy of Chris Barnes. Not all tracks work equally well and not surprisingly it´s the tracks, which were the most hard edged in their original form, which transform best to Six Feet Under´s sound. Tracks like "Piranha" by Exodus and "In League with Satan" by Venom (the Savatage cover "Holocaust" also holds up surprisingly well). Tracks like "Smoke on the Water" and "Purple Haze" function less great.
"Graveyard Classics" is both well produced and well played, but upon conclusion it is one of those albums where the novelty wears off around the middle of the album. Playing death metal covers of tracks which normally feature vocal lines which are sung and generally highly memorable melodies, just becomes a bit monotonous, and while Chris Barnes vocal performance is actually pretty strong on this album it just isn´t enough to save the day. "Graveyard Classics" is still a relatively good quality release though and a 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.