Communion

Off the heels of their most polished and accessible album to date, Sumerian Daemons, and following a four year hiatus, Septic Flesh rebranded under the moniker Septicflesh and started releasing music again. Unfortunately, the pointless name change is the least cringeworthy part of their post-reunification maiden voyage, Communion.

Something that will strike you immediately is that the guitars are tuned somewhere between 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Journey to the Center of the Earth. They are LOWWWWWW, and their endless chugging and start-stop riffing when mixed with Spiros's processed growls and Fotis's proficient but robotic, trigger happy drumming conjures comparisons to not only NOT the Septic Flesh of old but not even Six Feet Under. It sounds like fucking Suicide Silence half of the time, just without the breakdowns, and I only wish I was being hyperbolic. Listen to We, The Gods and the second half of Persepolis for some of the greatest offenders, but you'll be hard pressed to find a song that doesn't have all three of these featured somewhere. Now it's worth noting that I doubt Septicflesh set out to record a deathcore album; rather, it's that the album accidentally approximated this genre due to the concessions made to their core sound in order to incorporate an orchestra.

And what of that major selling point, namely the entire City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra? They simultaneously comprise the album's least grating feature while also being, from what I can tell, the main reason this album sucks so much. Let me explain. For all of their previous albums, Septic Flesh injected copious amounts of decidedly Greek-sounding melancholic melody into their guitar riffs. While the prevalence of melody would increase with each successive release, downright sounding like melodic death metal in 1999's wacko DNA Revolution, it had been present since Temple of the Lost Race. When Communion rolled around, the band opted to relegate these signature melodies, the most defining characteristic of their sound, almost entirely to the orchestra, which introduced two critical issues: 1) the guitars needed to make room for the orchestra, hence the low tuning to allow the strings to operate in higher frequencies while still staying "metal" and 2) the guitars rarely can do anything interesting because most of the best bits are played by the orchestra. Consequently, most of the actual metal sounds bland at best and core-ish at worst.

So yes, if you took away the strings the album would be unlistenable dross not fit for a toilet because the metal on this thing mostly sucks. Yet if no orchestra had ever been written in, the guitars would at least be permitted to do something more interesting than chug chug chugging like a frat boy's asshole during a tailgate party, so the problem might solve itself.

Even still, I doubt the core (hah!) issue would be fully rectified. The melodies the strings play, while leaps and bounds more interesting than most anything the band does, aren't exactly John Williams. The "orchestra only" mix of Anubis, available as a bonus track on this version, sounds frequently like a symphony's tuneless warm-up session before a concert (a perennial annoyance throughout the album), and the soprano vocals at 2:15 literally made me laugh out loud the first time I heard it. Doesn't exactly give you confidence that beneath the chuggonometry and stock-standard tech death drumming there's competent songwriting lurking somewhere.

The album is irredeemably compromised because of its need to justify an orchestra by savaging the most endearing characteristic of their sound, and I'd be hard-pressed to find a single song I enjoyed all the way through. That isn't to say the album doesn't have its highlights though because it does: Babel's Gate ends on a truly breathtaking crescendo, where the pummeling riffs and drums, the grotesque vocals and a gorgeous solo team up with the orchestra to actually create something truly epic. It's just too bad the lead-up to it is neutered by the guitars frequently cutting out to make room for yet more orchestral warm-up warbling and drum noodling, ruining the flow of the song and blowing the payoff. Sunlight/Moonlight sounds like a rejected track off of Sumerian Daemons which would stick out like a sore thumb on that album, but here it's a highlight because it's at least competent: it features the return of the memorable twin guitar melodies and a catchy clean chorus courtesy of Sotris. Beyond those two tracks, there are only momentary glimpses of quality; the choral arrangement on the title track lends a nice atmosphere, only for the song to shit itself whenever the chorus isn't chorusing, and Narcissus has a spirited lead that would work great in a different song on a different album by a different band. Also, whenever the orchestra is playing something that isn't that warm-up routine, they can produce some decent melodies. And that's about it.

Communion is proof positive that you can hire the biggest orchestra in Eastern Europe, assemble the talents of a band that never released a duff album prior and throw them into a sparkling Nordström production, and still end up with a genuinely bad record. In brief, Septic Flesh rules, Septicflesh (on this album) drools and Communion is rotten to the deathcore.

After producing a number of albums in the 1990's and early 2000's, Septic Flesh (as it was then known) took a break after 2003's Sumerian Daemons. After this hiatus, the band reformed with both its original three members and with new drummer Fotis Benardo. Communion marked a new beginning as the band's first foray into both a modern death metal sound which featured a more polished production from Fredrik Nordstrom as well as world class drumming from Fotis.

This album was also different in that it was the bands first time using a real live orchestra for all the symphonic parts as opposed to merely synthesizers from before. The result is an album that combines an array of disparate influences that all seemingly work together. On one hand it is a death metal album due to the harsh vocals, chugging guitars and fast drumming, but what some people overlook is how much gothic influences the guitar players have. Instead of mindess shredding atonal solos that you hear in a lot of extreme metal bands, Christos and Sotiris put most of their emphasis on mid paced, melodic lead guitar lines that are both catchy and easy to follow.

Another element that works well in this band is the dynamic between Seth and Sotiris's vocals. Seth is a monster of a harsh vocalists and he literally sounds like a minotaur or some other creature from mythology. Sotiris on the other hand does the clean vocals which are done in a more gothic style. While the vocals tend to lean more towards the harsh side of things, there is enough diversity and contrast between the two to keep things interesting.

The greatest praise perhaps has to go to the overall songwriting and composition. This band succeeds where so many other symphonic metal bands fail is their use of the orchestra. While many metal bands would rely simply on cellos following the rhythm guitar lines, Septicflesh uses the orchestras in a more dynamic way, in that while it is sometimes overpowering and bombastic, it is placed properly within the the context of the songs and restrained somewhat. For example in the song "Persepolis" the orchestra is used as a counterpoint to the main guitar lines and punctuates lulls in the guitar riffs, as opposed to simply following them the whole time. This seems to largely be due to guitarist Christos training as an actual composer, and he actually writes all of the orchestrations for the band himself (alot of bands simply farm this out to other composers who are likely not familiar with the metal genre) Christos unique position of understanding both sides of the coin helps this project and his ability to use an orchestra to contrast the metal elements and not simply sugarcoat them is what makes Septicflesh standout from most of their peers.

Much credit also has to be given to guitarist Sotiris for his lyrics. In contrast to the topical allusions that plague many modern metal bands, Sotiris instead uses subject matter as diverse as Greek mythology in "Narcissus" and HP Lovecraft in "Lovecraft's Death". Sotiris uses the lyrics to further uplift the music as opposed to having vocals as an instrument over top. For example, in "Anubis"; which is by far the most powerful song on the album. The lyrics help further uplift the intense emotional heights reached by the music. Especially the line:

"Anubis
My soul is so light
And as this feather I can fly
Anubis
Don't let me wither and die"

So you're coming out of a hiatus and are announcing a new full-length album for 2008. How do you do it? Simply by making the heaviest record in your discography. Septicflesh did that with Communion and it is jam packed with memorable songs. One of these factors stem from the usage of the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, which was also utilized on Dimmu Borgir's landmark album Death Cult Armageddon. However, the orchestra on here is much heavier than that album.

Main highlight "Anubis" use the orchestra for a bombastic and bouncy atmosphere, coupled with some very Opeth-inspired vocals by Spiros Antoniou. "Lovecraft's Death" is also an excellent number that uses the orchestra for a more theatrical effect, reminiscent of iconic Square Enix video games. I also like "Sunlight/Moonlight" for being the most guitar-based song on Communion, having more in common with melodic death metal than the symphonic death metal sound that mostly displayed on the album. The clean vocals within the chorus are catchy and give the song of a good vs. evil theme of sorts. It's a shame that Sotiris Vayenas doesn't usually perform with Septicflesh live.

With that being said, the vocals on Communion are a high point. Spiros Antoniou utilizes some of the deepest death growls known to man. They are best described as a mix between the vocals of Mikael Åkerfeldt (Opeth) and Nick Holmes (Paradise Lost), who have coincidentally both performed in Bloodbath. Sotiris Vayenas' clean vocals are one of the defining moments of Communion, with his performance on "Anubis" compliments the overall heaviness rather nicely. Fotis Benardo's drumming is a step up from the slow tempo of Septicflesh's death-doom era albums. Benardo will use the drums for atmosphere akin to Gojira and uses blast beats more often on Communion than on albums prior to it. His drumming on the title track shows this renewed aggression perfectly. I also think Spiros' bass playing benefits Communion rather well, as his playing coupled with the orchestra make this a rather dense album. Compared to previous albums, Christos Antoniou is the underdog on Communion, but his guitar play shines the most on sections where the orchestra takes back seat, such as on "Sangreal".

So how real is this album? Communion was not only Septicflesh's return statement, but it is also considered in retrospect to be the band's crowning achievement. The album is considered to be one of the best death metal albums of 2008, and is responsible for putting Septicflesh at the top of the symphonic death metal scene (along with Fleshgod Apocalypse). As such, I consider Communion to be the alpha in terms of beginning Septicflesh's discography, as it is the band's most essential album. 100% pure Greek metal.

If you don’t already know this, these guys have been one of my favourite bands for quite a while now. Their discography across the span of 22 years has been the epitome of consistency as well as change which is definitely not something most metal bands out there can boast of. For a lot of the die-hard fans the band’s shift into a more symphonic metal template post Sumerian Daemons leading up to this very album, was not well received leading to accusations of the band selling out and sounding like generic symphonic metallers Dimmu Borgir losing most of the elements that made them unique in the first place. Now if you’re still reading, kindly allow me to clear up the sheer ridiculousness of that previous sentence.

To all of you still wondering - No, the band has not lost any of their unique elements whatsoever and to clarify the change in sound, yes they have. However while Dimmu Borgir probably have some of the most boring riff progressions out there using simple chug riffs as a background for the symphonies to become overwhelming and wank all over the place, Septicflesh plant their flag firmly in the middle of both genres, i.e this album is literally equal parts symphony and metal with some really sick ass riffs to boot. The ratio is actually 50:50 and unlike Dimmu Borgir, There are actual RIFFS and the orchestral/symphonic arrangements never feel overwhelming or forced in the slightest plus the arrangements actually interact with the heavier guitar parts and the snarling vocals/growls in a way that is rarely seen in most of the symphonic metal acts out there. There are times when it’s just the vocals and the sinister arrangements on display giving you the feeling of being trapped in the very depths and bowels of a Lovecraftian nightmare. It’s hard to properly articulate and get my point across regarding this but you’ll see what I mean once you’re done listening to this album. Just so you know, the orchestral arrangements are bombastically epic and creepy as hell. The blistering opener "Lovecraft's Death", (one heck of a name) the skin-peeling riffs and bombast of "We, The Gods" and the fast paced operatic intro of the epic title track should be enough of an indication for the uninitiated. The arrangements give the feel of a climatic march towards the battlefield back in the time of the Romans and the like. There are even clean vocals in “Anubis”, “Sunlight/Moonlight” (with its amazing harmonized leads) and “Sangreal” (what an epic intro) adding a remarkable diverse element to the album as well that most of the other symphonic metal bands lack. "Narcissus" is a bit like the aftermath of the storm with a boatload of melodic leads and riffs that you can almost hum to, sounding almost like an Iron Maiden song on a death metal template. An incredible song and a perfect way to end the album.

The riffs are simply ungodly, with a combination of some manic hyper speedy chugs, addictive blackened death metal riffs, even a bit of thrash here and there and a nasty bit of tremolo along with some scintillating melodies to boot. Really tasty riffage that you can sink your teeth in and dig for a long time. Crude I know, but I had to use that twisted analogy to get the point across. Also "Babel's Gate" has an unexpected melodic breakdown at 2:12 right after the epic classical build-up creating a really interesting study in contrasts that a lot of bands out there would do well to learn from and take notes. "Persepolis" is the longest song on the album sporting pretty much a checklist of everything that makes Septicflesh the band it is - weaving melodies, chugging riffs, explosive flourishes of the orchestral arrangements interwoven with the amazing songwriting that the band has always been know for, you name it! As much as I want to proclaim this as my favourite on the album, I simply cannot as pretty much every single other song on the album is as kickass as this one with killer songwriting as well as inducing the spasmodic headbanging reflex. Yep I said it.

I don't care about anyone else's opinion on the matter - this is hands down, one of the best symphonic death metal albums I've heard. Now bugger off and listen to it if you haven't already.

Lovecraft's Death? Anubis? We, the Gods? Communion has some of the best tracks of Septicflesh's career. After transitioning to a much cleaner, orchestral sound on Sumerian Daemons; Communion picks up right where they left off. Compositions have been further tightened, but the same elements are at play. You've got the doomy guitar chords, gothic string arrangements, arena drumming, and of course that intense death metal growl.

So why do I not score this as highly as, say, Titan? All of the best songs are in the first half of the record. In my opinion, the album ends with the spectacularly crushing We the Gods. Afterward, this engine loses all of its steam. Part of what has made the latter Septicflesh albums so great is that they have used the clean vocals more sparingly for greater effect. It's not that this guy can't sing. In fact, he has a very unique voice that works well when used right. Unfortunately on tracks like Sunlight/Moonlight, the vocal melodies sound cheesy and the writing of the music is extremely bland. These last four tracks can't hold a candle to the first five.

The worst offender is Sangreal. Despite being considered as a standout single, I cannot stand this track. “Sangreal...How Real...” How about not? These lyrics are so hilariously bad I have to hit skip pretty much every time. This tends to be a recurring complaint I have with groups not so well versed in English that choose to forgo their native tongue. However, I find the rest of the lyrics on the growling parts to be quite competent. I think it has more to do with a desire to create an easily singable hook. However, the results are atrocious.

At only 39 minutes, this is still a really good album. Even if you are like me and don't enjoy the second half, you don't have to suffer it for long. The longest of the latter tracks, Persepolis, actually has some enjoyable moments to help break up the crummier ones. If you are looking for for the same ideas presented here but more consistently, grab the spectacular The Great Mass an Titan.

One of the great things about metal music these days is the need for innovation and integration. There are many bands that combine elements of other genres, such as classical and operatic influences that really bring the music up a notch with regards to the power of the musical message being offered to the listener. There are some bands that take this approach of integration to a whole new level. One such band that comes to the top of my mental list is The Project Hate MCMXCIX. Their bombastic classical arrangements compliment the sheer aggression of the music and gives the listener an exquisite extreme metal experience. Another such band is Septic Flesh (or in this case, Septicflesh). These Greeks are one of the great bands coming out of the Aegean and set the bar high for others to follow.

Here we have "Communion", their first full length release post breakup. This was my first introduction to the band, and I was impressed with the elements of powerful classical music; namely a nod toward Gustav Holst's "The Planets", and Wagnerian emotive movements. There are many huge horn sections, especially in the first five songs. We get a hint of some of the later tracks and what they will offer, which would be from the track "Anubis Gate". In this track, we not only have hard-hitting horns and driving extreme metal melodies. We are also introduced to a semi-power metal vocal style that is coupled with the death metal growls. A typical recipe for these songs is driving blast-beat laden death metal with the growling vocals for the verses, and headbang-worthy bridges and choruses. This is also where the heaviest orchestrations take place, and the songs are elevated from "pretty good" to "fucking awesome" within a few bars of music. A great example of this is the first track Lovecraft's Death, as well as We, The Gods. Unfortunately, this excellent formula goes awry, and it will be here that I attempt to convey my irritation for the deviation about to take place.

First and foremost, there is a brooding, and angry tone to the entire album that brings thoughts of Dante's Inferno, and the deepest depths of Hades. The only major deviations are the tracks Sunlight/Moonlight, as well as Narcissus. These deviations are what throws the wheels off this speeding freight train. To me, these songs turn the momentum gained from the first half of the album into something akin to an 18-wheeler needing to use the runaway truck off-ramps that are nothing but big sand pits. This album is plowing away, eating up the miles of the musical highway, until there is a big old sand pit right in front of it, and saps all momentum in a flash. Sunlight/Moonlight is a song that would have a fitting place on Therion's album "Gothic Kabbalah". Sure there is the death metal element, and growling vocals, but if you take a look at the musical elements and lyrics, something doesn't match up right. It has a pop metal feel, with the clean pseudo-power metal vocals, a complete lack of underlying anger, and the subject matter in the lyrics are MUCH less mythological and occult-like in nature. It feels completely out of place, and the same exact thing can be said about the final track on the album, Narcissus. This song is another track that has no place on this mammoth album, and has a less playful feel than Sunlight/Moonlight, but still does not fit the motif of the overall album. There is absolutely no atmosphere and is a straight-up mid-paced melodic death metal song. What it is lacking in atmosphere, it does make up in a mid-song solo, which is not too bad; but the damage is done.

These two tracks seem to me to be thrown in there willy-nilly because they were out of ideas, material, or both, and does a huge disservice to the rest of the recording. What makes things worse, is these two out of place tracks bookend songs of the same vein as the first half and make the misstep even more grossly apparent to the listener. Despite this however, this is a whale of an album, and is a great listen. I highly recommend this for fans of bands like The Project Hate, and Rotting Christ, as well as any other death metal band that infuses crushing death metal with classical influences.

The 21st century Septic Flesh, which takes its sweet time plotting and refining its Gothic death metal legacy into blazing, unforgettable hymns of eloquent brutality and extravagance, has continued to scale in quality which each consecutive release. Sumerian Daemons went beyond a just recompense for the seasoned Greeks' sole stumbling block (Revolution DNA), and through Communion, they've honed and polished their modus operandi to new, streamlined heights with even better balanced and catchier songwriting than nearly any of their back catalog, and the one exception, Ophidian Wheel, simply can't match the stunning production values here; rich and fulfilling, dark and exotic, an impeccable median between modernism and antiquity.

Communion is, at its core, a celebration of all of the band's previous iterations, a hybrid of Goth and death and doom, with an undercurrent of weighted grooves and searing, longing melodies that even succeeds in one-upping Revolution DNA at its own game. The architecture is truly extraordinary, with each track providing both refreshing thrills and memorable compositions that the listener will be constantly rewarded with. The orchestration is perfectly laid out behind the central chug and churn so as to rob it of ever succumbing to ennui, and the guttural vocals and choirs incessantly struggle with one another as if a grudge match of the seraphic and unholy, with that same Far Eastern melodic mysticism bands like Therion and Celtic Frost once tapped into during their primes. Some might balk at the Greeks' constant use of chugging, prevalent low end guitars here, but I can assure you that they are all means to a glorious, mighty end that excuses their cultural primacy.

Fuck, even the COVER of this album won't let you forget it. A paean of old. A patient, pagan beast. Staring.

The hooks are immediate here, with "Lovecraft's Death" ensnaring the listener with its tide of male and female choirs, layered bark and rasp, incendiary melodic glaze, double bass barrage, and the roiling, thickness of its muted substrate. The horns cut straight through, conjuring images of the fell empires, mad Arabs and arcane abominations implicit in the titular author. But then, just as quickly, Septic Flesh have changed up the formula with their tribute to Egypt's jackal faced death deity, "Anubis", which opens with dreary, memorable clean guitars before the sailing, desert melodies ensues. The title track receives merit for its chaotic surge into one of the more belligerent, ominous bridges on the album, just after the minute mark, in which Fotis Benardo beats the living fuck out of his kit while cautionary orchestration bleats out in the background and Spiros' vocals grumble like an earthquake. A few further tracks mirror this formula ("We the Gods", "Babel's Gate"), but there is further deviation as the band crank out a couple cuts in the mold of A Fallen Temple, Gothic tinged death/doom elegies like "Sunlight Moonlight" and "Narcissus".

Hell, they even one-up Revolution DNA with a similar creation called "Sangreal" which sows the same, accessible seeds of sharper, clean vocals over driving rock chords, but then manages to tilt back the scale with its brutal bridge. The one area in which I didn't find myself completely drawn in to the album was the lyrics, which often feel a bit cliche and simplistic. For example, their tribute to H.P. Lovecraft plays like a potpourri of fanboy references rather than allusion of truly obscure horror which the man deserves. Only the final lines 'you stared at the abyss/you'll never rest in peace' feel even remotely poignant. "We the Gods", "Anubis" and "Sunlight/Moonlight" also feel rather half-assed. It's not that I can't appreciate the simplicity of the images, but I too often felt that the music itself was more poetic than the words. However, as I've been reminded many times by fellow metal fans that they pay attention to lyrics about as often as delinquent medical bills, I suppose this is not the most capacious of gripes. And in every other category, Communion is one of this band's highlights, a sensor staring into both the future and the past.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

In all honesty when I first heard the name Septicflesh I was not all that interested in hearing them. Call it ignorance or basing a band solely on their name, but I thought they were a grindcore band more than anything. I mean with a name like Septicflesh surely most would come to that assumption.

Recently, a friend of mine sent me one of their songs, which was "Lovecraft's Death." I listened to it and let me just say I know when I am wrong and I am not afraid to admit it. Hailing from Grece, the same country as Rotting Christ, a band I am also quite fond of, Septic Flesh offer the same atmosphere as Rotting Christ, but they are a great deal heavier.

What really struck me about this album first of all was the use of the synth. This provided the album with a very eerie atmosphere at some parts of the record, but at other parts for example in "Sunlight Moonlight" it provided more of an uplifting atmosphere. Albums with such mood altering use of atmosphere are very rare to me, but this is what makes this album so enjoyable.

The second aspect that struck a chord with me (no pun intended) was the riffing. The guitars do not sound overly complex, however they are very audible and provide some parts in songs that would make any metal fan want to headbang along. I also really enjoyed the drumming. It may not have been technical either, but it kept a great tempo that flowed nicely with the guitar.

Now, I am only rating this album at an 80 % for one very simple reason. The only drawback I find in this album is that the vocals seem to take a back seat to the instruments. I would like to be able to have the vocals a little more audible, but this may be because I myself am a death metal vocalist and I am biased towards vocals over anything else.

Aside from this one minor detail Septicflesh's Communion offers an emotion provoking listen coupled with excellent musicianship. I would strongly recommend this release to anyone who is a fan of Rotting Christ or other atmospheric bands who are interested

‘Communion’ the latest opus of Greek lords Septic Flesh, is something of an unusual album, in that it is abundantly clear from the album’s first play that normal parameters for a band commonly painted with the ‘atmospheric’ brush have been almost entirely disregarded. Few of the traditional conceits about atmosphere and mood are present here, but despite this overt subversion of expectation, the music still leaps forth from the speakers and leaves an indelible mark in an entirely different fashion.


Songs such as ‘We, The Gods’ and ‘Sunlight/Moonlight’ are not compositions dripping in ominous mood, largely due to the fact that the aggressive force of Septic Flesh’s heavier side runs riot around the grandiose cries of the plentiful orchestration used throughout, and very little time seems to be given to ambience of the menacing sort.
Instead, ‘Communion’ dives headlong into the task of blending chaotic and refreshingly unpredictable death metal with a classically-influenced taste for grand, melodic textures. Standout tracks such as the ambitious opener ‘Lovecraft’s Death’ and the storming war-cry of the title piece see Septic Flesh meld these metallic pretensions seamlessly with haunted choral passages and towering orchestration – and this is orchestration done extraordinarily well, neither underdone through a lone synthesizer nor overdone with a mammoth philharmonic of musicians.


With a production that is enjoyable unpolished, yet still sharp and defined, assisting matters no end, the album is a supremely in-depth and rich experience. Deep, bellowing horns clash with shrieking, writhing violas on a constant basis, creating a surprisingly varied sound despite the band’s (wise) decision to avoid loading down the record with unnecessary pompous embellishments.
These elements, backed up with the additional influence of clean harmonised vocalisations and lead passages, serve both to underscore and valiantly progress the satisfyingly hard-hitting work of the conventionally amped-up Septic boys, rather than hijack the material and become a prop for the material to stand precariously up against.


Make no mistake, as a pure extreme metal album, ‘Communion’ is powerful all in its own right – those who will care little for the orchestration can revel in compositions that have masterfully retained an innate sense for heaviness; blast beats, grooving headbang-worthy passages and some purely superb riffs are all here. The masterstroke of ‘Communion’ in short is that it is an album that engages openly and expertly in a myriad of ideas and concepts, while still remaining in possession of a forceful drive that just begs a listener to start a bout of pit-based violence to it.


Septic Flesh have bridged a gap between extreme metal audiences with sublime ease here. ‘Communion’ is an album of extraordinary maturity and depth of thought, and yet it will still appeal unendingly to those out for a purely heavy modern death metal album. An album to suit every musical pallet, Septic Flesh have outdone themselves superbly well.

Sumerian Demons, the last album released by this Greek extreme metal band in 2003 was simply stunning and the band’s best. After that, for whatever reason the band decided to disband and I thought that was it for the band. However, the band decided to reform in late 2007 and earlier this year released Communion.

Septic Flesh was always an ambitious band and Communion is no different. The music is mostly death metal but what makes the songs stand out is the use of an orchestra and a bombastic over the top symphonic feel to the music that is more militaristic than classical.

The album opens with the stunning Lovecraft’s Death with its chugging groove and what sounds like a horn section merrily blasting away. The choirs and synth effects push this song up to Therion standards while the deathly rasp is a particularly effective vocal style for this music. Lovecraft’s Death sets the blueprint for the rest of the album. It’s all mostly chuggy death metal with some very inventive use of an orchestra, synth and choir with some melodic underpinnings and the occasional clean sung vocal.

Stand out tracks include the superb Annubis with its epic feel and the rampaging title track Communion which again makes terrific use of the orchestra. Babel’s Gate is probably the heaviest song on the album and again boasts of some very cool use of the orchestra and terrific drumming to ensure that the song has a very unique vibe while still retaining its death metal feel. There’s some Therion in the music in the sense of a death metal band combining orchestration and a full blown choir but the comparison is made at the surface level. At the end of the day this is Septic Flesh as they’ve always been, epic, grand sounding and absolutely fearless when it comes to experimenting. Another thing that works for the album is that it’s all wrapped up in less than forty minutes and the songs are mostly short and to the point. There’s plenty of experimentation but luckily very little wankery.

The band is pretty much the same except for a new drummer who sounds terrific. The vocalist is still one of the most brutal fuckers around in extreme metal but uses a fair amount of effects this time round. All in all, the band are in terrific shape and have put out an album that’s as good as Sumerian Demons if not better.

Communion is an album that is going to make long time fans of the band very happy indeed and at the same time if you’ve never heard this band before then Communion is pretty much the perfect place to start.

Originally written for http://www.kvltsite.com

Like many other modern symphonic metal albums having an actual orchestra to bolster up their sound, Communion forgets substance over style. Guitars are blunt and pretty simple, mostly there to underline and accentuate growled/shouted vocals and keep the rhythm solid. Songwriting-wise this album contains many promises but does not come through with all of them. A few times it is found that the songs do not grow to satisfactory endings, instead opting to repeat old parts in a semi-aimless fashion. "Babel's Gate" or "Communion" are good examples of this, with very interesting beginnings but slightly disappointing (if enthralling) endings.

The mood, while slightly impersonal because of all the overbearing epicness, will grow to useful heights at times thanks to several subtle factors. Lyrics for one are unusual and fitting to the sound, consisting of strange mystic ideas and atmospheric stories. Choirs and chamber music parts also enhance the precious mystic edge this album has. It has to be mentioned here that the album's mix and overall sound is clean, clear and almost perfect - it helps too.

Great for a few listens but then it starts to wear thin. Hopefully they realize their full power before next release, because their style and ideas have a lot of potential.

They're back with a vengeance. One of the founding fathers of the Greek death metal scene and probably the best known act abroad alongside with Rotting Christ, really delivered with their latest release "Communion". It has been a total mystery to me why this formidable band decided to follow separate ways after the release of the much praised "Sumerian Daemons" album. Fortunately, they are back together creating quality music once again.


This album is characterized by maturity in compositions and a very well polished sound. It sums up many of the various musical paths the band has once followed since it combines atmosphere, melody and raw power. Thus, while the first half up to "We, the Gods" could be characterized as brutal and straight forward, the remaining four tracks are more mid tempo and quite melodic bringing back memories from their "Revolution DNA" experimental period. The blending of brutal and clean vocals is in an optimal analogy, balancing successfully on the thin line of power and emotion.


A special note should be made for Christos Antoniou's orchestrations that add a unique touch to the final result. Not many musicians out there can claim to possess such musical prowess. Get this album and I guarantee you won't be disappointed. Don't expect a new "ESOPTRON" or "Ophidian Wheel" (my personal favorites) as masterpieces don't come out every day, but expect a robust death metal release from a band that has never stopped evolving.