Six Feet Under

Death metal outfit Six Feet Under (SFU) have always subscribed to taking both their art and selves quite seriously. That's why their series of cover albums, dubbed Graveyard Classics, are so interesting. It's a chance for them to drop the austere mentality and let their light-hearted side shine. As with its forerunners, this third instalment manages to cover a wide array of bases SFU might not have otherwise broached. The inevitable renditions of Slayer, Metallica and to a lesser degree, Anvil are obvious and well done, seeing as thrash isn't a far cry from SFU's barbaric death metal. It's when they broach other territory/lesser-known influences though that this disc shines. From a rousing version of the Ramones' "Pychotherapy" to Van Halen's "On Fire" and even a Bachman-Turner Overdrive selection, the flipping of punk and rock into guttural blasts of detuned madness is fun and slightly silly, but entirely enjoyable. Maybe even more so than some of SFU's original material.