Septicflesh - The Great Mass [2011]

Septicflesh was one of the first Greek death metal bands to rise in the early nineties, and they've been steadily cranking out well-received albums ever since. From what I understand, they've slowly been adding more symphonic elements with each subsequent full-length, only fully exploding into orchestral accompaniment after their reunion with the release of Communion in 2008. The Great Mass is my first experience with Septicflesh, and it strongly makes me regret not listening to them earlier; because let me tell you, this is one of the best albums I've heard in quite a while and the greatest entry of the year so far. Some parts are startlingly beautiful, some are undeniably catchy, and some are intensely heavy, but when all's said and done, The Great Mass bleeds quality through and through.

This certainly isn't your typical death metal release. The emphasis here is less on riff power and more on orchestral composition. Nonetheless, I never get the feeling that The Great Mass lacks metallic direction. This is helped by the deep bellows of Vayenas and a crushing modern guitar tone. There isn't a second that comes off as too light, and although the orchestration plays as loud and as often as the riffs, neither ever overshadows the other. In fact, these elements are most successful when used in harmony. The result of their strong fusion can most notably be seen in album highlight "Oceans of Grey;" when the chorus comes in with those haunting female vocals and the orchestra begins to play, the chills come creeping down my spine as well. The most surprising aspect of The Great Mass, however, is the way it opens up as it goes on.

The album seems to have a set routine vocally at first, but as it gets into the second half, more and more clean vocals are utilized. These unique low-range parts make tracks like "The Undead Keep Dreaming" and the fascinatingly strange closer "Therianthropry" that much more interesting, and even go as far as to make the simplistic "Rising" sound like a minimalistic power metal song. They're not completely absent on the album's first half, either; the great repeated clean part at the end of "The Vampire of Nazareth" makes an otherwise tame opener sound brilliant. Those opposed to a great amount of these kinds of vocals in their music shouldn't panic, however; I'm only describing specific parts. This is definitely a death dominated release: just see classics like "Pyramid God," "Five-Pointed Star," and the panicked "Mad Architect" to see evidence of that. "Apocalypse" also deserves mention for having an amazing chorus that blows me away every time.

There's no filler or even slightly inadequate track here. Okay, so maybe "The Vampire of Nazareth" is a mere snack compared to the feast that is the rest of the album, but I prefer to look at it as an appetizer for the deliciousness to come. It's a consistent, versatile symphony of cosmic proportions. This is a CD with high replay value, and it's been in my rotation consistently since its release. It can be argued that The Great Mass is somewhat short, but that's how I like 'em. There's less of a chance to be bored or have needless tracks that way, and pulling off ten winners in a row is a good achievement already. If you have not yet succumbed to Septicflesh's awesomeness, you better do so now, because I doubt there's ever been a better time to do so.

   Overall: 9.75/10 (Incredible)