“He’s turned into a curmudgeon,” Undeath Vocalist Claps Back At Chris Barnes

Martin Rulsch, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
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Alex Jones, a member of Undeath – one of the big up and coming bands in the modern death metal scene – has some words to say about Six Feet Under’s Chris Barnes. If you’ve somehow missed out on all the recent death metal drama, Chris Barnes recently shared how the current state of death metal makes him “physically ill” and how he “despises what this genre has become;” clapping back at Barnes was none other than Cannibal Corpse vocalist George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher, who shared that he is proud of what the genre is today.

This all started when Barnes watched Knotfest’s Death Metal Round Table discussion, featuring Fisher, The Black Dahlia Murder’s Trevor Strnad, Gatecreeper’s Chase Mason, and Undeath’s Alex Jones. Now in a new interview with Kevin Diers for Metal Shop on 99.9 KISW (Seattle), Jones talks about the significance of Barnes’ role in death metal, and why it is a shame he’s acting the way he is.

“Man, you know I just think it’s sad,” Jones said. “I’ll try not to be too dismissive here because I want to provide a serious answer to that question, but I think… you know, the guy’s a legend. He was an instrumental member on some of the most important death metal albums in history. I think if he had just stayed in his lane so to speak and not become like you know, a right-wing anti-vaxxer ghoul then he could be a very well respected, loved, beloved character in the metal scene. But I think he just made some very bad calls with the things that he chose to align himself with. I think he has kind of exposed some very obnoxious and kind of gross and frustrating beliefs in recent years. All in all, I knew all of that about him going into him saying what he said on Twitter, so I wasn’t surprised

He continues, “I wasn’t really expecting somebody like Chris Barnes at his current state to view that Knotfest video and say ‘wow, death metal is in great hands. I’m so proud of all these guys.’ Like, I know he’s turned into a curmudgeon over the past 15-20 years, but it is what it is. I’m unbothered by it and the rest of the guys in the band, we just kind of think it’s funny. Honestly, I need to send him a gift basket or something, because he’s given the new record a lot of free press over the past couple days.”

It’s cool of Jones to not throw back with shit talk – he’s just calling the situation what it is. It is undeniable how much Barnes has helped to shape death metal into the amazing force it is today, and rather than be a champion for the younger bands, he just comes off grumpy. Jones coming back with humor is a sweet move, not allowing himself to get thrown off by Barnes’ harsh comments.

We wonder if Jones will actually send that gift basket?

Undeath formed in 2018, releasing their debut studio album Lesions of a Different Kind in 2020. In 2022, Undeath will release their follow up LP, It’s Time.. to Rise from the Grave.

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Words by: Michael Pementel