SEPTICFLESH
CODEX OMEGA
3.5/5
The mighty Greek death metal titans have returned with their latest offering Codex Omega, which seems to be yet another rehash of the orchestral death metal that they began when the band’s moniker changed over from Septic Flesh to SepticFlesh during the Communion era. But what I’ve noticed is that SepticFlesh have decided to go a more straight-forward route with their blend of orchestral death metal, turning completely away from the experimental sidesteps made in Titan. I understand that they were attempting to go into new territory with this one, but in all honesty; it just felt off in so many ways.
When the album begins with single “Dante’s Inferno” we’ll notice that the band are more or less playing with the orchestra, which I think melds together well enough to be a standout, though that’s not quite what the album is as a whole. When the next cut, “3rd Testament” begins, we are introduced to a more straightforward (dare I say modern Behemoth/Hate) approach, with only a little more to offer right near the end, as some nice leads are utilized there. “Portrait Of A Headless Man” brings the orchestra back, as well as a few clean vocals from Sotiris Vayenas. These are very brief, if not even all that necessary to the piece, which rumbles with rafter shaking orchestrations, folk influenced acoustics and barreling death metal. It’s very much the signature SepticFlesh sound and seems to be a bit heavier than the single. “Martyr” comes next, along with unexpected acoustics performed during the opening vocal lines, not to mention a tinge of slightly proggy and thrash bits during the break. I suppose this would be the guys at their most grandiose, perfectly mixing non-conventional instrumentations together with hard-hitting death metal to make a statement.
Much of the record focuses on orchestral compositions, which is not surprising considering the fact that guitarist Christos Antoniou is an accomplished composer who has worked with orchestras from Greece, London and Slovakia among others. He definitely wanted his work heard this time around, with “Enemy Of Truth” focusing just as much on orchestration as it does death metal. The orchestras can even drown out the death metal segments, sometimes even leaving drummer Kerim Lechner in the dust. When the choir comes in, some of the guitar leads on the piece are drowned out entirely, but there’s only so little that can be done about that as there is just so much going on in this record at one time. You’ve got the death metal, the full-blown orchestra, the choir and nearly the kitchen sink. Not everyone is going to have perfect clarity within this performance. But it’s still plenty heavy and I’d definitely have to say more forward-thinking than other death metal acts. You have to say something for Christos Antoniou’s guitar compositions as well, because he’s clearly trying to shove in a few melodies here and there, if one can even attempt to get around the thick symphonic mounds which he’s also built here. It’s almost like he’s crafted obstacles which he’s trying to maneuver around with his guitar, while Vayenas tries his very best on the cleans. Much of what I’ve described here is “Dark Art” which certainly sounds just as thunderous as you might expect, reading that equally thick mound of text.
The disc continues much along these lines, as the accompanying death metal soon joins again with clean vocals and clean melodies – but it’s nothing as memorable as “Anubis” for me. I always felt that particular song should have been longer, with a choral reiteration that it never received. On “Our Church, Below The Sea” you’ll notice that such a reiteration does occur. “Faceless Queen” is the longest track on the album, also featuring a clean chorus (there are a surprising number of these towards the back of the disc) which I find to be the missing link that I was looking for in “Anubis.” Granted, I’ve never felt that Vayenas was all that great of a singer, especially considering that some of the best clean singing approaches in the vain of power and traditional metal are right now coming from Greece. He could be easily replaced, but I always have to commend the fact that he really puts himself into these clean lines. It’s like guy you know who can’t sing, but puts so much of his heart in it, that you don’t mind.
“The Gospels Of Fear” is a straight-forward death metal track, which is only beefed by orchestral atmosphere and some light electronic synth. Other than that, it would be pretty threadbare. Alright, so maybe there is a rather crushing groove piece near the very end, and that does make it stand out just a “bit.” The last one on the disc is “Trinity” which starts off almost as something from Depeche Mode before it segues into crushing. They’re clearly experimenting again, which actually works here. To be honest, this one kind of goes way back – I’d almost say to the level of Ophidian Wheel or A Fallen Temple, when SepticFlesh were performing doom/death. If you missed that style, they at least show a glimpse of it on the track, letting us know that they haven’t completely forgotten about it. In all honesty, I think it might be a good idea for the band to revisit either those eras or the poorly received Revolution DNA era which could benefit from the thunderous bouts of death metal and electronic influences that have been displayed on Codex Omega.
There’s a bonus disc here, which I believe is completely necessary for this review. That being said, it’s orchestral. Two pieces are standalone originals, but the latter is just an orchestral version of “Portrait Of A Headless Man.” Before I get into these, let me explain that I’m not a fan of orchestrations on their own. I absolutely hate the idea that games are in the same category as movies and need their own grandiose scores. I’d also rather listen to John Carpenter’s film soundtracks than practically any other orchestra on the planet earth. That being said, I found myself highly pleased with these orchestrations. Why? Because they just sound so evil, so depraved, so demonic! I love it. I don’t like extremely happy orchestrations, and right from the start “Martyr Of Truth” invokes an element of fear. Now that I like. It does unfortunately get a little bit “movie trailer” but “Dark Testament” becomes downright evil towards the end. With the added choirs and thick woodwind instruments, I almost feel as if I’m staring up at the face of some great and powerful demon. Most will say that the music here is very “Clash Of The Titans” and I’ll agree that it is, but I’d definitely say that the experience does not lie on the pleasant side of things, which I found exciting.
All in all, I found Codex Omega to be a more pleasant experience than Titan. With a stronger focus in the world of death metal, though not completely stepping out of orchestral grandeur, SepticFlesh have certainly cemented themselves with another solid release. Again, I do feel that perhaps the need for an identity change is apparent; but I won’t complain all too much about what I feel is a rather potent and notable performance. It won’t be album of the year, but people won’t easily forget it either. (The Grim Lord)