Death metal veterans SIX FEET UNDER have announced a lineup change at the drum kit, confirming that Marco Pitruzzella has departed the band and been replaced by Ruston Grosse. The news comes during the band's ongoing North American tour in support of their latest album "Next To Die," released April 24 via Metal Blade Records.
The band confirmed they had been working with Grosse for several months, having formally transitioned to the new lineup since early May. The split with Pitruzzella was described as amicable, with no specific reason given for the change.
Grosse brings a strong extreme metal pedigree to the position. The South Florida-based drummer has previously served with MASTER, SKELETAL REMAINS, BRUTALITY, INHUMAN CONDITION, and filled in live for INCANTATION. He is thoroughly versed in the technical demands of brutal death metal.
Pitruzzella had been one of the most prolific extreme metal session and touring drummers of his generation, with stints behind the kit for CANNIBAL CORPSE, ABYSMAL DAWN, and DECREPIT BIRTH, among others. His tenure with SIX FEET UNDER — led by vocalist and founding member Chris Barnes — lasted several years, during which the band released multiple albums.
SIX FEET UNDER have remained a divisive but persistently active presence in death metal since their formation in the early 1990s by Barnes following his departure from CANNIBAL CORPSE. "Next To Die" marked their latest studio entry — the band's eighteenth full-length — and drew the expected reactions from a fanbase that holds Barnes to a demanding standard set by his early work.
Chris Barnes built his reputation as one of the most distinctive extreme vocalists of the early 1990s, particularly through his work on CANNIBAL CORPSE's debut albums. SIX FEET UNDER have kept that spirit alive, however divisively, for over three decades. With Grosse now settled into the touring lineup, the band shows no signs of slowing their relentless pace.