SEPTICFLESH — The Great Mass (review)

SEPTICFLESH — The Great Mass album cover Album · 2011 · Death Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
The Block
Septicflesh, hailing from Greece, has been around for about 20 years leading up to this release, yet never once have I heard their music. That being said, this sure was a great introduction. Mixing brutal death metal with brilliant orchestra sections, Septicflesh has created their own unique brand of symphonic death metal. All throughout “The Great Mass”, blast beats and powerful guitar riffs also adorn the beautiful orchestration. Though this may be a turn off for some metal fans, it adds a different, yet great aspect to the music that, at least to me, adds to the overall enjoyment of this album.

“The Great Mass” is an almost perfect balance between symphonic metal and death metal. Take, for example, the first track “The Vampire from Nazareth” which, besides being a great intro, starts out very symphonic and almost atmospheric and then transfers into heavier riffs in an almost seamless fashion. The death metal sections of this album definitely lean towards the melodic side of death metal rather than the straight up, hardcore death metal fashion. While most people might not be used to this combination of music, many will soon figure out that it is, in face, quite good.

Another thing that I like about this album is that there are both harsh growls and clean vocals. The growls of Spiros Antoniou are pretty normal, yet they contribute very well to the bands style. This is especially evident on “Five- Pointed Star”, which is definitely one of the best songs on the album. Sotiris Vayenas’s clean vocals are a whole other matter. His voice is very odd, leaning into a weird almost crazy pitch during most of the album, but it sounds really cool with the rest of the music. Perhaps the best part of this album is the keyboards, played by Sotiris Vayenas, which add a nice over tone to the whole album.

While being a relatively old death metal band, Septicflesh has still found a way to continue to release very good material. “The Great Mass” isn’t necessarily ground breaking but it provides lots of enjoyment through its music. The orchestration on this album is fantastic, and the production of it is clear and crisp, making everything much better. For a great release Septicflesh gets 4 stars.
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J-Man wrote:
more than 2 years ago
I really enjoyed this one as well... one of the best so far this year. Great band! \m/
Xaxaar wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Yeah, this album is great. But if you were to look for more Septic Flesh, I'd just listen to Communion and then seek no further. Everything previous to that isn't my favorite, but I do love their two most recent albums. But going back to Communion, DEFINITELY give that a shot if you like this album.

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