Voice of the Underground

SIX: KICKING PEOPLE IN THE FACE!

by Don Sill

"Every band looks and sounds exactly the same and kinda feels like it did when heavy metal got really bad in the '80s," explains Lauren, the frustrated front man of the hard hitting metal outfit, Six. "Every band is a cookie-cutter of each other and it goes even down to the way a band's gonna move on stage. You can actually predict a bands movements. In my opinion it's all just really boring….it's like we got Bon Jovi and Winger all over again."

While nobody wants to relive the '80s hair-band formula fiasco one has to ask, "How can you possibly stop the machine?"

Lauren's reply is simple, "Well, we just do our own thing," the singer said. "All the major labels are so busy chasing all these trends and loosing money on everything they do. They can't seem to figure out anything. The independent companies and independent bands are the ones who are out there pushing something new instead of another Avril Lavigne record.

"The only way we could make a statement is to do our version of what we think is cool. If it sucks then- so be it. We just wanna give our version of what we think is good. We'd much rather be that new band that's gonna kick everybody in the face rather then be the band that's gonna adapt to all the retarded music that's going on right now."

Cool? Damn right it's cool. Lauren is a passionate rocker who refuses to bend to radio's shallow standards and get caught up within all of the mainstream glitz. His independent mind frame and work ethic has even gone beyond the music itself and into marketing as well. By launching his own record label, 1605 Records, Lauren and his mates completely control their own destinies.

"I was just frustrated with everything that was going on, so I decided to just do it all myself." said Lauren, "So for fun, I got together with Alfunction (guitarist) and that first day together we wrote three songs. We were on the exact same page and it was much more fun then dealing with any industry bullshit."

Lauren and Alfunction formed Six during the summer of 2001 in the Hardcore/punk circles of Orange County, California. Their mission like most new bands on the scene- break free from all the commercial stuff and present our own version of what's cool.

But unlike so many other new bands, Lauren and Six meant it.

By incorporating an array of influences that included everything from Bowie, U2, AC/DC and Metallica, they created a blistering sound with a hard-edged metal style that'll grab your collar and throw you around a room.

Together, with drummer Rob Woods, bassist Deven Rahl and guitarist Frank Abbatecola, Six hit the circuit and toured with Clutch. There they introduced themselves to the metalheads and blew audiences away with their metal/industrial/thrash sound giving an impressive alternative to the punk and emo that controlled the scene. "It was a hell of a way to start the band," the singer explained with a satisfied laugh, "The first night we played was in North Carolina and we ended up selling a ton of CD's and the reaction right out of the gate was positive.

"We're really excited about what we do and we wrote all of our songs with the soul intention of playing lots of shows. We just wanted to get out there with our version of heavy music and just kick people in the face with it."

Their latest album, "The Price of Faith", stays true to Six's beliefs as track after track is filled with straight-ahead rock blasting full throttle that hits with intensity that can not be denied.

Tracks, such as "Everything", "Stranger, Killer, King", "Leave Me Dry" demonstrate Six's power and gut wrenched energy that is both exciting and addictive. With fiery guitar riffs, pounding rhythms and aggressive vocals Six are destined for greatness as well as fueling the metal scene and getting kids fully charged in the pit.

"We're a live band. We go out there and we play," says Lauren. "We are a full assault, man. We're 100 percent energy, 100 percent power…We want to bring a larger than life power to the stage, similar to Pantera. We're not some guys in tight clothes up there whining. We're full blown, everything on ten, with a ton of energy and we just love to grab fans by the throat and shove our shit down their throat and kick em' right in the face."