Artist: Septic Flesh
Label: Holy Records
Release Date: 1995
Rating: 5 Skulls
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Title: Esoptron Artist: Septic Flesh Label: Holy Records Release Date: 1995
Rating: 5 Skulls |
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Reviewed by Requiem:
When one thinks Greece, one may think of mythology, ancient ruins, or even the Olympics. In the world of metal, Rotting Christ or Septic Flesh comes to mind first and foremost. While both bear somewhat ridiculous monikers, they both have a inherent skill for creating some of the best melodic death metal out there. The latter, definitely the lesser known of the two, has created some beautiful music in their time that I think should be deemed legendary. That is why Septic Flesh is now appearing in Metal Judgment's Classics section. Let the worship begin.Growth is an inevitable part of a band’s duration, but many of us want our favorite bands to recreate their best work, as if freezing a moment in time and merely duplicating it. Often times a band continues to change outside of our expectations, losing our interest in the process. Septic Flesh grew as a band, starting as a fairly bad death metal band, but smoothing out their sound for their debut, Mystic Places of Dawn. This saw the incorporation of melodic elements in a way that was genuine and valuable to what was going on in the melodic death metal world. However, it was only by their second album, Esoptron, that they could do no wrong. The creative genius of two individuals by the names of Spiros and Sotiris generated a doom/death concoction that was all at once beautiful, brilliant and brutal. Their later work lost me for a while, but we're here to take a snapshot of Septic Flesh, circa 1995. To this day, Esoptron is one of my favorite albums of all time and Septic Flesh has attained god-like status.
Not only were they able to craft some of the catchiest melodic doom/death material I'd heard yet, there was something about the whole guitar tone to the vocals to the drum beats that left me frothing at the mouth. To start, the guitars have a digital-sounding quality, which I'm generally not a fan of, but here it works perfectly for them. The drums sound digital as well, but apparently are handled by a session drummer by the name of Kostas. Not only is every riff in itself downright amazingly catchy, but the drumbeats are key, going outside of the circle to create unique rhythms that make the songs classic material. This is evident by the first track, "Esoptron", which demonstrates some crafty footwork come chorus time. I've always thought that unique bass drum placement is the key to a killer beat and Kostas show that he's got a golden foot not only here, but throughout the entire album.
Next order of business: vocals. Hearing death metal vocals this guttural in nature atop such harmonious and pretty melodies is almost like picking daisies in the depths of hell, but here it works, and I wouldn't have it any other way. "Ice Castle" demonstrates this with its clean chorus-drenched guitar melodies all over the place and those same guttural death growls seem to hold it all together so well. Last but not least, Sotiris is responsible for making all the guitar harmonies and keyboards as heavenly as they are. Somehow he is able to fuse heaven and hell into his guitar playing, creating heartfelt melodies that bring tears to one's eyes against crushing doom segments that call for mass destruction. Every song is a work of perfection, and the band, if need be, could have turned shit to gold. Septic Flesh manages to touch upon various moods and styles, almost making it difficult to categorize them, but one familiar with the Holy Records roster knows damn well that originality is part of the package. No one previously achieved a sound remotely like theirs and Garden of Shadows has been the only one to really achieve a sound as good since. But too many imitators will ruin the party for all of us, so if Septic Flesh remains a well-kept secret I'm cool with that. Just figured I'd share the secret with you.
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