American death metal veterans Six Feet Under will release their fifteenth studio album, Next To Die, on April 24, 2026 via Metal Blade Records.
To preview the upcoming record, the band has dropped the new single “Unmistakable Smell Of Death”, a brutal track that showcases the band’s signature mix of speed and groove-driven death metal.
According to guitarist Jack Owen, Next To Die takes a unique structural approach. The album is essentially divided into two thematic halves, Death and Groove.
“It started out as an album full of death metal songs with speed and aggression,” Owen explains. “Then Chris had the idea to keep half of those songs and add some groovier material in the vein of early Six Feet Under.”
The concept allows the band to explore both sides of their sound, the ferocious blast-driven brutality and the slow, crushing groove metal that helped define their early catalog.
Frontman Chris Barnes, who originally formed the band while still in Cannibal Corpse, wrote lyrics independently from Owen’s music.
“We don’t discuss lyrical themes,” Barnes says. “We each just write what we find interesting.”
“Unmistakable Smell Of Death” highlights Owen’s aggressive riffing and dynamic songwriting approach. The track features blast-driven sections, stop-start riff transitions, and melodic leads performed by guitarist Ray Suhy.
Lyrically, Barnes tells a dark revenge tale from the perspective of a killer who underestimates his victim, ultimately becoming the one who dies.
“The ‘Unmistakable Smell Of Death’ is now that of the killer.”
Next To Die Tracklist
- Approach Your Grave
- Destroyed Remains
- Mister Blood And Guts
- Mutilated Corpse In The Woods
- Unmistakable Smell Of Death (Stream)
- Wrath And Terror Takes Command
- Skin Coffins
- Mind Hell
- Naked And Dismembered
- Grasped From Beyond
- Next To Die
- ILL Wishes
The album artwork was created by Sandy Rezalmi.
Find all preorders at metalblade.com/sixfeetunder
Next To Die will be released on CD, digital platforms, and several vinyl variants including:
- 180g Black (US)
- Red with Black Smoke (US)
- Bone Brown Marbled (EU – limited to 500)
- Blue Grey Marbled (EU – limited to 300)
- Blood Splatter (EU – limited to 300)
- Bone White / Green Splatter (EU – limited to 200)
Six Feet Under will support the album with a summer 2026 North American headlining tour featuring Kataklysm and Wormhole.
The trek runs July 8 – August 11 across the U.S. and Canada.
- 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
With fifteen albums under their belt and more than three decades of death metal history, Six Feet Under continue to push forward with Next To Die, delivering a record that balances old-school brutality with groove-heavy songwriting, a formula that has kept the band a staple of the extreme metal scene since the mid-90s.