Chris Barnes (born December 29, 1967) is an American death metal vocalist who is the frontman of Six Feet Under.

Barnes was the co-founder and original lead vocalist and lyricist of Cannibal Corpse, staying with the band from 1988 to 1995.

In 1986, Barnes left Tirant Sin to join another New York-based death/thrash metal band named Leviathan that recorded the four-track demo "Legions of the Undead" in 1987, re-released on the 2005 Six Feet Under box set A Decade in the Grave.

Tirant Sin recorded three demos, all privately released: "Desecration of the Graves" in February 1987, "Chaotic Destruction" in fall 1987 with Dennis John on vocals, and "Mutant Supremacy" in 1988.

"[5] Barnes left Cannibal Corpse in 1995 during the recoring sessions for Vile due to creative and personal differences with the rest of the band.

"[6][7] His final vocal recordings with the band were for the "Created to Kill" sessions which were later re-recorded by his replacement George Fisher for the Vile album.

I think that it will continue to be thought of as one of the purest moments of death metal history, those first [Cannibal Corpse] records I was involved with."

"[11] Webster also stated that although he and Barnes had been cordial when the two encounter each other at festivals, Cannibal Corpse would probably not participate in a tour with Six Feet Under either, saying "you do your thing, we'll do ours.

"[13] However, Jack Owen has stated his belief that Barnes would be capable of cordiality towards George Fisher should the two bands ever tour together.

[14] Barnes' departure from Cannibal Corpse allowed him to devote his full attention to the band Six Feet Under, which had been his side project since 1993.

It saw the band returning to Morrisound Studios in Tampa, Florida, with Chris Carroll producing and mixing by Toby Wright (Slayer, Korn, In Flames, Fear Factory, etc.)

[20][additional citation(s) needed] On January 16, 2009, a message appeared on Six Feet Under's website saying "Just wanted to let all of our fans know that we are currently in the studio working on Graveyard Classics 3.

In November 2011, Rob Arnold and Matt DeVries posted statements saying they had left Chimaira to play in Six Feet Under full-time.

The band stated that Arnold would remain a central writing partner and collaborator on future Six Feet Under releases.

Barnes has stated that he developed his guttural vocal style as an attempt to blend into the music, or "become another instrument", as the band composed increasingly darker and more aggressive songs.

Many within the death metal scene believe Barnes to be among the first to employ the deeper guttural style in their growls, along with Chuck Schuldiner.

[25] Though his vocals on Butchered and Tomb of the Mutilated were characterized as an indecipherable "gurgle," beginning with The Bleeding, publications noted an increase in clarity in his enunciation.

"[26] Following his tenure with Cannibal Corpse, Barnes became widely known for his "eee" squeal on Six Feet Under releases, which would become his trademark.

"[26] Chris Barnes wrote plenty of entry-level slasher stuff like "Meat Hook Sodomy", but also entered truly nauseating territory with "Addicted To Vaginal Skin" and "Entrails Ripped From A Virgin's Cunt".

Graham Hartmann of Loudwire said, "lyrically, he was a deranged, murderous savage with a vivid imagination for extinguishing life, possessing an unquenchable bloodlust.

On his lyrical content on the first four Cannibal Corpse albums, he said: "It wasn't meaningless jargon written down to fast music.

And they are the [deadliest] things that we consume as human beings in our daily lives and they kill more people on the face of this planet than anything else that we use recreationally.

[37][38][39][40] However, Six Feet Under bandmate Jack Owen stated in a 2024 interview that Barnes has since adopted a more amicable stance on the genre's development.

[14] Barnes has called some of the survivors of the 2018 Parkland school shooting "crisis actors"[41] and the coronavirus a "false flag".

[42] Will Hodgkinson of The Times named Barnes as one of the best voices in heavy metal, and noted that there exist "entire YouTube compilations dedicated to [his] signature “eee” squeal."

"[9][24] Barnes said the controversy surrounding his lyrics on early Cannibal Corpse releases nearly got him shot and killed when gang members stormed the band's tour bus before a 1994 concert in Los Angeles.