Band:
Seth Siro Anton – bass, vocals, artwork
Sotiris V. – guitar, clean vocals
Christos Antoniou – guitar, samplers, orchestration
Fotis Benardo – drums
Discography:
Mystic Places of Dawn (1994)
Esoptron (1995)
The Ophidian Wheel (1997)
A Fallen Temple (1998)
Revolution DNA (1999)
Sumerian Daemons (2003)
Communion (2008)
Guests:
Info
Orchestration written by Christos Antoniou and recorded by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.
Produced by Peter Tägtgren.
Released 18/4-2011
Reviewed 13/7-2011
Links:
septicflesh.com
myspace
season of mist
Judging from the name it seems like a medical workout is to come but what it really is about is actually religious stuff, at least if we are to read the song titles and also the album title. I have no idea if that assumption is true as I have not really cared about what they really do sing about on this album. I have something of an excuse for not bothering as well, it is not easy hearing what they sing about.
This band is a hybrid, a hybrid between the really heavy and dark and the beautiful, of the extreme metal and the symphonic orchestral music. It is an album of contrasts they have conjured up this band from greece. The vocals are mostly extreme but not entirely, there are ten songs and just under 44 minutes of music. The production from Peter Tägtgren see the bad bringing out a very modern sound, clean and energetic without loosing the raw feel. This is what you can sink your teeth into when starting this album.
The name Septicflesh does not really promise much as I usually loathe bands with names that reflect a medical condition or similar, they usually make horrible rubbish music. That is not the case with Septicflesh though as their music of contrast work really well and I find myself enjoying listening to their music. The symphonic parts made with the help of the Prague Symphony Orchestra and the extremely heavy parts all blend together in a way that really works well. The third track called Pyramid God I find being really good.
There are despite said positives also something I do not fancy that much and that is the growling, I like to be able to make out what is sung and that is something that I cannot do when listening to this album. The singer growls in a way that sort of makes it sound more like noise than singing. But other than the growling I find most aspects of this album being very good, and the growling may be due to bite marks in the CD.
The Great Mass have to be considered a positive surprise since I was really expecting it to be rubbish but it was actually quite good so with that I think it is safe to conclude that it is a positive surprise this album. And I think that anyone who like death or black metal especially with symphonic elements will enjoy this album, for you it is really something to sink your teeth into. It is dark and evil while still being beautiful which is quite the good achievement, had it not been for the vocals though. Still It is a good album, but be careful so you to not make bite marks when sinking your teeth into it.
HHHHHHH
