Send "Septic Flesh " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Metalunderground |
 When a record label or PR firm sends out a press release, it’s all too easy to dismiss grandiose band descriptions as hype meant to keep people in business, whether the music is actually good or not. When Septicflesh is described as a “legendary Greek demonic horde,” it’s one time when the hype actually matches reality. The band’s last album, “Communion” (reviewed here), was rightly hailed as a masterpiece for its blend of death metal and symphonic elements that was both amazingly atmospheric and absurdly heavy. Somehow, Septicflesh has surpassed even the high standard set by the last album, as “The Great Mass” is a truly monstrous follow-up that actually deserves the overused title of “epic.”While the last album seemed to have a slightly different premise and overall feel on each song, “The Great Mass” is tightly focused and maintains a clear theme throughout the entire disc. The theatrical and horror movie style elements are nearly always present, but rest assured that doesn’t mean a lack of variety. To the contrary, there’s almost too much going on in the songs, and that’s not a criticism. Huge choir chants and death metal growls work alongside black metal screams and prog-style clean male vocals. The album has all the elements that made “Communion” great, but also uses a better distribution of symphonic elements so they don’t get lost in the heavy guitars as often. To get an idea of “The Great Mass,” imagine if all of Cradle of Filth’s or Dimmu Borgir’s over the top theatrics were channeled and re-directed into something that could actually be taken seriously and was more heavy than Behemoth. From start to finish, the songs are relentlessly massive and consistently crushing. Considering that the Prague Filharmonic Orchestra was recruited for the recording, it shouldn’t be surprising that multiple instruments, from the most symphonic to the most brutal, are constantly tearing their way out of the album and crashing against the listener. Those rare moments when only a single voice or instrument can be heard actually manage to be more epic by comparison, just through the cavernous echo from where more destructive sounds resided a moment before....full text |
| Angrymetalguy |
| Yet another highly anticipated 2011 release is upon us! This is the eighth crusade by the Greek masters of blackened death Septic Flesh and they brought a few new tricks with them as they refine their crazed classical music meets brutality approach. 2008′s Communion was hailed as a highly creative accomplishment and The Great Mass is a continuation and enlargement of that sound and concept. Taking their basic blackened death style and merging it with performances from the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and a full choir, Septic Flesh have now become a full blown orchestral/symphonic death metal juggernaut. With a full orchestra involved, this is obviously going to be a bigger, more bombastic album and its hardly easy listening. While they traffic in the same over-the-top, dramatic theatrics as Therion, they manage to keep things much more linear (and therefore much more listenable). While bands like Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir have long employed symphonic orchestration to accent their sound, Septic Flesh have now embedded it into their core and made it an integral part of their make up and identity. Opening track “The Vampire From Nazareth” gives you a great view of what to expect from The Great Mass. After a gentle intro with haunting female vocals, the instrumentation slowly swells and then erupts with the evil, rafter-shaking death roar of Spiros Antonious and staccato Behemoth styled riffing. From there it’s an insane ride as the death bludgeoning races alongside blasting horn sections and lunatic string sections sawing away. At 1:12 it sounds like a hellish carnival ride or the soundtrack to some psychopath’s dreams. My girlfriend dubbed this far too creepy to listen to and wanted none of it. At 2:50 it becomes more tranquil with gentle keys and moody chanting. This is an impressive song and heavy as hell. From there they deliver insane coaster rides with standouts like the eerie black metal inspired vibe of “A Great Mass of Death” (including a great moody, melodic interlude at 1:31), the oddly catchy, gothic-tinged death rocker “Pyramid God” and the near Euro-Power metal of “Therianthropy.” Partly a horror soundtrack, partly satanic ritual music, things never get boring, that’s for sure....full text |
| Thenewreview |
| I love classical music: Mozart, Chopin, Vivaldi—all the greats. I also love metal. However, it is quite rare to find an artist that joins together these vastly different styles well. (No, Apocalyptica does not either. Begin your whining.) This being said, when I was assigned Septicflesh’s latest album and found out that it included a full orchestra and a choir respectively composed of 80 musicians and 32 singers, I was skeptical. However, The Great Mass has shaped up to be the biggest surprise of the year for me so far. The Great Mass begins with “The Vampire From Nazareth”, and undoubtedly sets the tone as a first track should. Two things struck me as surprising in this first track. One was the inclusion of a calm, yet powerful refrain complete with clean singing by Sotiris Vayenas and a soaring guitar lead. The result was a harmony of orchestra and metal, all the while driving an intriguing, very Egyptian-esque sung chant of “We offer the sun”. Secondly, was a brilliantly placed and designed breakdown, complete with a vicious call-out. What surprised me about that latter was that this is the only true breakdown in the entire album. That, coupled with the fact that Septicflesh’s style of music usually shuns these instances of brutality added another dimension to Septicflesh’s already diverse aural assault. As for the rest of the album, Septicflesh consistently creates songs with a heavenly balance of brutality and beauty. One second, you will be assaulted by the infamous “wall of sound” as heard in Behemoth and Dimmu Borgir songs, and the next you are surrounded by floating melodies and a dark, maniacal atmosphere. The latter is something Septicflesh does so well by encompassing the orchestra. At times, the strings and horns can invoke an air of fear and uncertainty, similar to the soundtrack of a horror or epic fantasy movie (“A Great Mass Of Death”, “Five-Pointed Star”, “The Undead Keep Dreaming”), while other times they can push the already uplifting aura of certain guitar riffs to a new level. All in all, The Great Mass is one of the single best albums I have ever heard atmosphere-wise....full text |
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