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An unforgettable, unique modern day Metal experience.-
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| Septicflesh: The Great Mass |
Death Metal
Season of Mist Records
April 19th, 2011
- The Vampire from Nazareth - 4:08
- A Great Mass of Death - 4:46
- Pyramid God - 5:13
- Five-Pointed Star - 4:33
- Oceans of Grey - 5:11
- The Undead Keep Dreaming - 4:29
- Rising - 3:16
- Apocalypse - 3:55
- Mad Architect - 3:36
- Therianthropy - 4:28
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| Review Information |
Release length: 43:35
Review posted on April 18th, 2011
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| | Overall Score: 10/10 |
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| Discography |
Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed. |
| Full-Length(s): |
Mystic Places of Dawn (1994) • Esoptron (1995) • Ophidian Wheel (1997) • A Fallen Temple (1998) • Revolution DNA (1999)
Sumerian Daemons (2003) • Communion (2008) • The Great Mass (2011)
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| EP(s): |
Temple of the Lost Race (1991) • The Eldest Cosmonaut (1998)
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| CD Single(s): |
The Vampire from Nazareth (2010)
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| Demo(s): |
Forgotten Path (1991) • Morpheus Awakes (1993)
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| Compilation(s): |
Forgotten Paths (The Early Days) (2000)
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| Review |
Septicflesh, or Septic Flesh as some may remember prior to the official name change, formed back in 1990, and anyone who is into Death Metal has at least heard of the band, if not owned one of their releases at some point in their life. The music has always been strong and very atmospheric at times. The Greek band had broken up in 2003, but was reactivated again in 2007 when the band felt that their personal activities would not heavily interfere with the group. However, this release really sets the the band apart from that earlier material, as guitarist "Christos Antoniou" had been studying classical composition for a while, and has officially concluded his studies with honours and distinction, and it becomes clearly felt with The Great Mass, an album that will forever raise the bar for all "symphonic" Metal bands out there.
Not since the discovery of Folkearth had a symphonic element to original compositions been so important in recent years. Granted, Metallica had included a symphony for a live recording, but that was added later, and Therion hasb een around for ages and became the definition of classical music, but even they no longer have the proper mixture of Death Metal and classical/operatic elements. The Great Mass finds Septicflesh using a live orchestra for the source material recordings, and not just a tacked on element later in their career to make everything more moving. This really gives it an authentic and clearly unique vibe that works well with the band's already distinguished atmosphere-driven brand of Death Metal. The music here, with the help of that classical compositions, just really breathes new life into it, making the music sound both epic in the purest definition of the word, as well as often nightmarish, evil, and all around like stepping right into Hell. "The Vampire from Nazareth" has been issued as the band's lead single, and it's definitely a strong song that properly sets the mood of the recording, slowly building up the orchestra to the point where you lterally feel as if you had walked into Hell with it's crushing music and orchestra aiding the band in painting an ancient biblical setting of metaphoric fire licking your body with great intensity coupled with sinister, commanding gutterals.
But, of course, the lyrical content to the recording is often more occult related, so some tracks will seem to step away from having that Hellish vibe, and take on more the atmosphere of a high budget epic blockbuster movie event vibe that said orchestra would introduce some of the bigger, darker plot twists to the film. "Pyramid God", for example, is a fantastic piece of pounding Death Metal with a decent number of musical changes to really make the song sound original, and with the orchestra, the band paints a vivid picture of an Egyptian backdrop to accompany the obvious lyrical setting. The song truly feels epic, pushing towards the top without going overboard, setting up a truly awe-inspiring atmosphere to accompany a simply brutal, non-stop Death Metal song that hammers away at the listener like an Egyptian slave to his or her emperor's minions. Then you have the track "Oceans of Grey", a song that traditionally would just feel like it seems to go nowhere, and in some instances it does seem to revert backwards more then it moves forward, but from the band's part, that's all they had to do. The orchestra really adds that extra layer where the song simply pounds away at the listener in a manner that perfectly suits the song and helps it progress, leaving the actual Death Metal to, at times, feel more supportive to the classical composition and performance thent he other way around. The overall end result of the song is an emotional song of beauty and nightmares coupled together in the most awe-inspiring of manners, easily one of the most epic tracks on the recording that simply must be heard to be believed.
However, what is easily the most impressive aspect of this album is the band's ability to adopt the classical compositions that orchestra would give off and execute them through the Death Metal itself to give off a still rather unique Death Metal performance. "Rising" takes on more of an epic performance one might find on an Amon Amarth album, but thanks to the guitars acting in place of some of the classical instruments utilized throughout the album, such as the distinct sounds the violins would incorporate, but simply never stopping from start to finish, and a more classical clean vocal performance that appears through the chorus, the band manages to bring in a more traditional Metal epic vibe to the song for a track that stands strong on it's own, as well as proves Septicflesh doesn't necessarily need the orchestra behind them. The only dilemma with this track is that the orchestra is present throughout the whole album, and that song, in the end, feels more like it was added to the album after the orchestra had fulfilled their contract, or something along those lines. Despite that, the song is heavy, and another epic track in the most readitional of means. While it won't have your head banging as hard as it would to the punishing classical overtones and Death Metal that comes with "Oceans of Grey" and the pure speed and fury on "A Great Mass of Death", it's still a strong track that commands attention from the band. And while it's a great track to hear, it's great to see the band introduce the orchestra once more on "Apocalypse", incorporating the more classical-sounding clean vocals once more in a similar method to "Rising" throughout, and allowing that orchestra to truly give off an ominous, end of the world vibe to the music that really takes hold of the listener by the throat and drags him or her to the edge of their seat, continuing through the atmospherically appropriate "Mad Architect", giving off a desperate sensation to the music to all conclude with "Therianthropy", a song that feels like a genuine climax to such a unique offering from Septicflesh, making it all feel like you set through a genuine Metal opera, and leaving the listener satisfied and ready to go at it once more.
The Great Mass by Septicflesh is the album that many Metal fans into Classical music, outside of the growing generic keyboard-Symphonic sound that many acts like Behemoth and Dimmu Borgir have been pushing for the past few years, have been waiting for. This album is one of the most unique original compositions you are going to find outside of some entries into the Avante-Garde style, obviously. The only track that feels like a weak link comes up with "Rising", but that's simply because each track has an orchestra behind it, while this song doesn't for some reason. It's odd, a little awkward, and feels out of place honestly, but it does show the band is still the driving force behind the music, and is far from a terrible song by any means. Septicflesh have truly outdone themselves, putting together one of the most epic of modern day Metal releases in the most literal of musical terms, and one can only hope that more musicians will see the potential of utilizing a real orchestra, of bringing in genuine classical compositions, and using all of those musical elements that have stood the test of time. The Great Mass is epic, brutal, sick, intense, and worth every penny you spend in order to make it part of your Metal collection as soon as humanly, even inhumanly possible.
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Digital review copy of this release provided by:
Season of Mist Records.
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