Septic Flesh
The Great Mass

Atmospheric orchestral death metal.

Said like that, it would even send the undersigned into wild squaraus, who knows a little about bad musical tastes. And, indeed, when talking about extreme metal bastardized by orchestra, little keyboards, choruses, and various patisserie, the first name that usually comes to mind is: Dimmu Borgir, as well as all the rubbish they served us in the past decade up to the mediocre “Abrahadabra.” No wonder when a few years ago I heard about Septicflesh and their musical proposal, I was quite discouraged, thus reluctantly lending myself to listening to “Communion” (2008), an explosive comeback of the group after disbanding in 2003. Needless to say, the work done by these four Greek demons seemed to me to be, fortunately, not one, but ten levels above their “little cousins” (ex-)blacksters from cold Norway.

Not to mention that no member of the band wants to dress up as if they were going to participate in the true grim carnival of Oslo complete with a real octopus-headgear and Sailor Moon scepter, the Greek quartet has a slightly more honest and direct attitude with their audience: in short, they focus more on the meat than on the smoke. And if with “Communion” we had enough meat to satisfy us, I can assure you that this new “Great Mass” (2011) is destined to become, over time, a “Great Barbecue”. Of human flesh, but those are details.

However, it must be said that this time Septicflesh wanted to do things big: supported by a massive dose of advertising, stellar production, and again, an entire orchestra with choirs included, they deliver what is their most ambitious work and, to the speaker's mind, also their most complete and mature work ever.

What are the differences compared to “Communion”? In reality, few, if any. The genre remains the same: rocky death metal (but not too much), fleshed out by an ever-present orchestra (but not too much), enriched by Middle Eastern nuances ( not only musical!) that seem to echo the latest works of Behemoth, Nile, and various Akkadian-Assyrian-Babylonian-whos-the-heck-knows company. At the same time, however, we can notice a greater fullness in the compositions (this time really well-curated, varied, unpredictable, rich in detail) and an even more versatile and consistent use of orchestrations, which have become the true backbone of the tracks. In short: almost zero novelty, but impeccable consolidation work; and it's no coincidence that they are making such a name for themselves in the metal scene for this latest release!

To confirm what has been said so far, just listen to the opener and appetizer single “The Vampire From Nazareth”, followed at breakneck speed by “A Great Mass Of Death”: the first is frighteningly cinematic, a ruthless and elegant tank driven by Pazuzu himself ready to make its dirty impression live, while the second daringly unfolds through epic openings, contained yet very tight rhythms, classical interludes worthy of a soundtrack, only to finally crash full throttle into an orgy of metallic clanking, frantic choirs, and orgasmic orchestrations. And this was just the opening double!

“Pyramid God” is an intense mid-tempo climb destined to also be swallowed by the philharmonic at the end, and episodes like the unsettling “The Undead Keep Dreaming” and especially the desert-like “Oceans Of Grey” (the reviewer's favorite!) only enhance the aura of sinister mysticism that permeates this great mass/barbecue. Not to mention the manic “Mad Architect” where our Greeks seem to have drunk a few liters too much coffee and the whole translates into a paroxysmal parade of horrors, nightmares, ancestral visions and whatever else.

Special note for Sotiris's clean vocals: personally I have always found them out of place (if not irritating), especially in the tracks where they are truly the protagonists: in this case “Rising” echoes the “Sunlight/Moonlight” from “Communion” and the result is more or less the same, that is to say flaccid and lacking bite. It almost seems like Septicflesh want to vary at all costs, and perhaps they don't realize they don't really need such tricks. Unfortunately, history repeats itself with the last track “Therianthropy”: after all the bounty from Di... um, Ishtar that has been offered until now, Septicflesh decide to conclude by relying once again on arrangements that are indeed elegant, but a bit bland and flattened by Sotiris's nasal timbre; in short, after the colossal mega-barbecue, Clerici arrives with her grand soleil to ruin everything.

Despite certain minor tonal drops, however, a class act like “The Great Mass” is a real godsend for the metal market of recent times, especially when compared to various pretentious “Abrahadabra” efforts that manage only to vulgarize a musical genre now squeezed and twisted to the point of incredibility. In any case, we are facing a little gem of rare quality destined to enter the 2011 charts of the most indefatigable metalheads, among whom I place myself with a certain caution...

Meanwhile, dear Shagrath, take note.

P.S. no one clutch that limited box edition at Mariposa; it's mine!!