The Greek gods of symphonic death metal Septicflesh have blessed us mortals with a triumphant new album titled Modern Primitive. The 11th studio album in the band's discography and they continue to perfect their sound with each release. For 32 years these guys have been crushing the metal scene!
Two months ago, the band released their first single for the new CD called "Heirophant". It begins with the most bombastic mix of symphony orchestra with metal that the band can muster. The chorus of the song which features the very nasally singing of Sotiris Vayenas. Spiros Antoniou, the harsh vocalist and bassist, is still every bit as monstrous as he has ever been.
The next music video that Nuclear Blast Records uploaded was the song called "Nueromancer". Sotiris isn't just the clean singer, he is also the acoustic guitar player. The first thing we see in that music video is him playing the instrument for a calm and soothing intro to yet another powerful song. After a few weeks, a lyrical video was added to the record label's channel. It was for their new song "A Desert Throne". The song starts out with the sound of a lovely choir before diving straight into pure metal madness. After a few seconds the symphony orchestra works its way into the groovy guitar riff becoming one angelic sound; the demonic vocals make it an unholy fusion.
This would be a great opportunity to point out how audible the bass is throughout the entirety of this album and the albums before it. If any album from these guys can hold a candle to 2017's Codex Omega its this one. On the day of this album's release which was on May 20th, Septicflesh had put out a 2nd lyrical video for their final single "Coming Storm". After the one minute mark the music abruptly stops so we can hear the eerie yet beautiful singing of what sounds like a siren. This goes on for a few seconds before plunging back into the chaos. Drummer Kerim Lechner delivers another outstanding performance in this track; he is nothing short of fantastic.
I also love the use of brass and wood instruments in this song. You can really hear those horns braying alongside the violins in some parts. The choir building up Sotiris appearance towards the end. It is truly difficult to pick a favorite song on this new album but this song is definitely one of my favorites.
I'm going to shine some light on the addition to the group. Psychon is the newest guitarist who has been added as a member of Septicflesh since 2018. He is doing very well from what I can hear. He plays perfectly in sync with the main guitarist/keyboard player Christos Antoniou. Yes, Christos and Spiros are brothers and are the two founding members of the band.
Now let's talk about the other songs on the record. Let's start with "The Collector". If you had your eyes closed during the song's intro, you could probably mentally teleport yourself to the most desolate sands on the sandy outskirts of ancient Egypt. That type of middle Eastern oriental music will take you to cultured civilizations along the country. It reminds me a lot of what Karl Sanders from Nile does.
"Self-Eater" is an angry song but it maintains a steady balance of aggression with a small choir of children singing. The ending of the song will give you chills. "Modern Primitives" is guaranteed to get stuck in your head. You will find yourself singing the words "modern primitive" while at work.
"Psychohistory" is another catchy one but only because the 2nd half of the song is only slightly repetitive but not enough to drive you crazy.
And finally, we have the last song titled "A Dreadful Muse". The last song happens to be my least favorite song of this otherwise spectacular album as there seemed to be no real memorable qualities about the music.
Septicflesh are one of my all-time favorite bands. Modern Primitives isn't my favorite album but it's at least in my top 5 of their releases. With that being said, I'm going to rate this near masterpiece as a fair 9.9 out of 10.