Photo by Jon Simvonis
Since the ‘90s, Septicflesh have elevated death metal to a fine art. Alongside their Athenian brothers-in-arms Rotting Christ and Nightfall, real-life flesh and blood Spiros and Christos Antoniou rose from the Greek underground alongside virtuoso shredder Sotiris Vayenas. After the trio re-communed with drummer Fotis Benardo at the Season of Mist table during the 2000s, the maestros set to work on composing their greatest masterpiece.
“Septicflesh generated a swarm of buzz around The Great Mass, destroying pre-conceived notions about symphonic death metal”, Loudwire wrote upon naming it the best metal album of 2011.
Today, Season of Mist is celebrating 15 years of The Great Mass by announcing a special anniversary reissue. Fans can now own this classic album on transparent red-and-black marbled vinyl. This new edition also includes a color poster and embroidered patch.
“The Great Mass has passed the test of time”, says Septicflesh guitarist and vocalist Sotiris Vayenas. “Songs such as ‘The Vampire from Nazareth’ and ‘Pyramid God’ are among the most successful in our repertoire. Now, it’s time to celebrate the album with the 15th anniversary edition courtesy of Season of Mist”.
The 15th anniversary edition of The Great Mass comes out March 20 on Season of Mist. Pre-order HERE.
Listen on the Season of Mist YouTube channel:
If Communion was a breaking of bread, then The Great Mass is the coronation of Septicflesh as the titans of death metal. Instead of shifting further in one direction, the album doubled down on the band’s brutal symphony. The return of the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and the International Choir of Prague adds a gothic flair to the crushing lurch of immortal opener “The Vampire from Nazareth”. An army of strings, brass horns and riffs more blazing than the Sahara raise “Pyramid God” into an unshakeable setlist staple. No wonder Metal Hammer named this album one of the ten best symphonic metal albums of all time.
Tracklist
- The Vampire from Nazareth (4:08)
- A Great Mass of Death (4:46)
- Pyramid God (5:13)
- Five-Pointed Star (4:33)
- Oceans of Grey (5:11)
- The Undead Keep Dreaming (4:29)
- Rising (3:16)
- Apocalypse (3:55)
- Mad Architect (3:36)
- Therianthropy (4:28)
Septicflesh was formed in Greece in the early ’90s by Spyridon Antoniou (a.k.a. Seth Siro Anton): vocals/bass, Christos Antoniou: guitar and Sotirios Vagenas (a.k.a. Sotiris Anunnaki V.): guitar/ clean vocals. A debut Ep was released in 1991, entitled “Temple of The Lost Race”. Their first full-length album “Mystic Places of Dawn” was released in 1994, followed by “EΣΟΠΤΡΟΝ” that was released in 1995.
With the release of “Ophidian Wheel” in 1997, a female soprano vocalist (Natalie Rassoulis) was introduced, as the band moved towards a more symphonic style. “A Fallen Temple” (released in 1998) continued in the same musical direction. In 1999 “Revolution DNA” was released, followed by Sumerian Daemons in 2003, both albums produced by Fredrik Nordström.
Although the band’s popularity was growing, the band members decided to disband it, in order to focus on other personal projects and goals. But that wasn’t the end of the story… After a reunion, the band returned on Season of Mist with the album “Communion” in 2008, again with Fredrik Nordström at the helm of production. From that point and on, the symphonic element (composed by Christos Antoniou, that has a Master Degree in Concert Music) was fully implemented in the structure of the songs, with the collaboration of Filmharmonic Orchestra of Prague. Then followed “The Great Mass” (2011) with Peter Tägtgren as producer, “Titan” (2014) with Logan Mader as producer and “Codex Omega” (2017) with Jens Bogren as producer.
In 2020, the recording of the epic and fully orchestrated Live in Mexico entitled “Infernus Sinfonica MMXIX”, was released on CD/LP/DVD/Blu-Ray.
Septicflesh joined forces with Nuclear Blast records in 2021. The band released their latest album Modern Primitive in 2022. Once again Jens Bogren is responsible for the bombastic mix and sound production. Seth Siro Anton, who is also in charge of the visual aesthetics for the band, created a really intense cover and artwork. The band further developed its unique sound that combines emotional, symphonic/soundtrack music with Aggressive Death Metal. The songs have many layers, while on the same time they manage to be catchy. Besides the continuous collaboration with the Filmharmonic Orchestra of Prague, the band used a full adult choir, a full children choir and a variety of ethnic instruments.
The Great Mass Recording Lineup
Christos Antoniou – Guitars, Orchestrations
Seth “Spiros” Antoniou – Bass, Vocals (harsh)
Sotiris Anunnaki V – Guitars, Vocals (clean)
Fotis Benardo – Drums, Percussion
Production Credits
Produced and Mixed by Peter Tägtgren
Engineered by Fotis Benardo, George Emmanuel, Steve Venardo and Jan Holzner (orchestra)
Assistant engineering by Michael Hradisky
Mastered by Jonas Kjellgren
Cover Art
Seth “Spiros” Antoniuou
Bio
Adapted from the Septicflesh website
Follow Septicflesh
Official Website: http://www.septicflesh.com/
Bandcamp: http://septicflesh.bandcamp.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/septicflesh_band
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/septicfleshband
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/septicflesh/275730586
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5MlEt7qqXqNSReeX76xK6b
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHI1zZYZhGL1pMBQWM-Zu0w
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