Septicflesh - Mystic Places of Dawn (1994)^{Release ID: 2551}

Septicflesh has become my new favorite death metal band.  They understand proper application of symphonic and neoclassical theatrics, and it all started with their debut, which was built for expressing.  This is an album that switches from brutal death to gothic to death doom to symphonic black like it's absolutely nothing, and this kind of behavior is a major risk in the metal community as it can lead many to believe there's no focus.  So does this behavior pan out?

The opening title track has heavier guitars rather than drums, which feels appropriate considering the song's sense of despair.  It also showcase extremely sludgy vocals which remind you that you're listening to a genre called "death metal."  Out next song is Pale Beauty of the Past, which switches between melodic gothic synth-oriented sadness and raw extremities with occasional black touches.  It's a more "epic" track with a very different guitar style and a healthy progressive outlook on the constant changes that death metal songs go through.  This one song gives you every area of Septicflesh's love of variety.  It's almost like a Meat Loaf song.  Track 3, Return to Carthage doesn't hesitate with brutality, going close to slam and grind levels while boasting black metal tremelos that may be backed up by a gothic chorus.  There are even power solos that sound fresh out of an F-Zero soundtrack.  Crescent Moon is a much slower ballad, going into death doom territory with the kind of post-metal emotion you'd expect from Solstafir.  There's a simplistic side here that relies on the listener to be drowned in the reverb and melody in order for any theatrics to appear in the mind.  This song might be overlong, but it's a fantastic experience.

Chasing the Chimera starts out with a slower approach as well, but is more reliant on the deeper and more evil aesthetics of death metal.  There's also more room for melody, and this melody feels adventurous and intriguing, like something thrilling is about to happen to you in the real world.  Because of the stylistic and tonal choices, it feels like a spiritual sequel and even epilogue to the previous epic track.  The Underwater Garden continues this as well, leading me to hope for speed and aggression very soon.  It carries much stronger gothic elements this time around, using gothic guitars and heavy synths the like of which may stem from Emperor's sophomore album, Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk.  Thankfully, nearly two minutes in, there's a ferocious black metal section, leading me to believe the point of this seven-minute song is to be a magical journey into classical metal's various applications.  In fact, the middle section is just mocking you when it switches from death metal speed to neoclassical pianos and then combines the bass guitars with gothic melody.

Behind the mask is a three-minute symphonic black album which feels like something right out of Emperor's debut, if not for Spiros Antoniou's impressively guttural voice.  I definitely approve of this, having chosen Emperor as my favorite black metal band.  The fact that these guys maintained the Emperor approach while being themselves is impressive, especially since they effortlessly go into a death metal jam for most of the third act without losing the grip, before going back into the symphonic black metal but heavier than before.  Next comes a slow and heavy intro into Morpheus, which brings us some Therion violins to give us an ancient feel, a staple of several later albums.  This gothic / symphonic death song is all about that vibe, and doesn't waste any of the magic from previous gothic touches shown on this debut.  If the last track was Septicflesh's homage to Emperor, this is their homage to Therion, who used to be a death metal act before switching to symphonic metal, also with gothic tones.  We end with Mythos, an epic that first dives right into Prince of Egypt territory and continues into a classical world of war, magic, loss and victory.  Even though it's an entirely different genre, it keeps the best qualities of the album strong and healthy.  Great ending.

It would be unfair to say that Septicflesh were still developing their style, because they made it clear that they were fully aware of what they wanted their image and their music to be.  This album switches around more than a game of musical chairs.  I suppose the band took a massive risk when writing several songs that switched from every point between soft gothica to black death aggression in a whimsical way, but this album's identity keeps this aspect magical, and the album might diversify, but it risks losing the magic in that second act when it was being slow-paced for too long.  This is a bold debut challenging consistency by applying the right emotions and sensations to a plehora of metal genres, finally challenging the listener's dedication to the behavior of the band with a classical piece similarly composed to the most outrageous songs here.  Not quite perfect, but a masterwork in metal.

With my recent revisit of Septicflesh's comeback album Communion, I eventually thought "What about their earlier era?" These were the days when Septic Flesh (with a space between the two words) were more focused on death and a bit of the doom of the Peaceville 3, with symphonic synths used more sparsely and only fully displayed in tracks where it's used as the sole instrument. The debut Mystic Places of Dawn shows Spiros Antoniou and co. nicely blending brutality with atmosphere and historical lyrics...

The debut is more melancholic and longer (at a full one-hour length) than most other death metal albums back then, and it flows well when experienced entirely. Simple yet devastating guitars soar alongside crystalline synths in haunting melody.

The thunderous title opener has that deathly speed, though you'll find slower variation in the doomy sections. Blazing soloing plagues "Pale Beauty of the Past" in effective echo. It really does sound beautiful, even though the heavier fans of death metal prefer brutality over beauty. Next track "Return to Carthage" is a return to the heavier side of death metal with barely any of the crawling doom.

"Crescent Moon" is an amazing 8-minute doomy epic with guitarwork ranging from blissful to intense. And there's more of the slow doom in "Chasing the Chimera". The most of the pretty synths you'll get in one of the death metal tracks is "The Underwater Garden".

The fast "Behind the Iron Mask" is an explosive riff monster. It's great that they have the heaviest track deep into the album. It's a well-placed brutal break from the slowness. The most variant track here is "(Morpheus) The Dreamlord" with its slow melodic sections that then lead to a climatic buildup into eruptive blasts. The sonic firepower of the soloing would certainly burn away those slow melodies. Also that track was recorded a year before everything else in the album and had an actual drummer instead of a drum machine to add a more authentic kick to the sound. "Mythos" is the 9-minute two-part finale of nothing but symphonic synths. This was around the time when both Septic Flesh and Amorphis stunned the death metal realm with their synth usage. It's not for pure heavy metalheads, but it's certainly fitting for an epic journey to Atlantis.

So I actually enjoy Mystic Places of Dawn slightly more than I did a few years ago, and slightly more than Communion. As amazing as their debut is though, the mixing is a bit unclear, which is understandable when the band was first starting out. Still it has the right kind of mood to stand out in the rise of the Greek extreme metal scene led by black metal bands Necromantia and Rotting Christ. The album has some impressive writing and it promised an essential future for Septic Flesh and the more atmospheric side of death metal. Best recommended for death metal lovers who don't mind some doom and synthesized orchestration....

Favorites: "Mystic Places of Dawn", "Pale Beauty of the Past", "Crescent Moon", "Behind the Iron Mask", "(Morpheus) The Dreamlord"