Another entry from the land of Greece, this one by veteran band Septic Flesh and their latest for Season of Mist, Communion. The band has been away from the scene for a while, but with Communion they've made a triumphant return, mixing their black/death metal attack with an orchestra and choir, giving this CD a huge, bombastic flavor that will be of great interest to fans of the genre. In fact, Communion is almost like an extreme metal symphony or movie score, the Lovecraftian lyrical themes meshing with punishing guitars, blast beats, growled & clean vocals, electronic samples, orchestra and choir. It all adds up to a very enjoyable and adventurous ride, despite the ferocity all the tracks contain plenty of melody, a tune like "Anubis" containing the best of both worlds, soaring symphonic melodies doing battle with crushing riffs, while the demonic growls and gothic styled clean melodic vocals fight for supremacy. You also have pieces like the dramatic title track, a raging mix of black metal that's littered with chilling chants from the choir and bombastic swells from the orchestra, all the while the band is blasting out ravenous riffs and drum blasts, or the ultra catchy "Sunlight Moonlight", which contains one of the most addicting choruses on the CD. For a full peek into the 'film score' style I mentioned earlier, look no further than the massive, epic sounds of "Persepolis", and closer "Narcissus" is one of the most melodic and memorable examples of extreme metal you'll hear these days.
The metal world is quite lucky these guys decided to give things another go, as Communion is a great release and probably the best this band has offered up yet. For something unique and a little off the beaten path, Septic Flesh's Communion is well worth checking out.
Track Listing
- Lovecraft's Death
- Anubis
- Communion
- Babel's Gate
- We The Gods
- Sunlight Moonlight
- Persepolis
- Sangreal
- Narcissus
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