Septicflesh - Codex Omega (2017)

Septicflesh have become such solid composers, and so synonymous within the symphonic death metal medium that it's hard to believe they could ever truly cock it up, and Codex Omega is another success in that category. It does falter in the same way that a lot of records of this style tend to, but in terms of capturing the Greeks' mythos and esoteric occult lyricism and themes, lending them a larger-than-life, exoticism, this is one of their better rounded efforts since Sumerian Daemons really kicked off this modern stint of their career. They do keep going back to that well, and it has become very heavily produced and for some a little too clean if you miss the hazier atmosphere of their early works, but it's hard not to put one of these 21st century 'flesh records on in your card and hear the rumbling orchestral apocalypse and not nod in admiration.

And that rhythmic battery and volume is so important to an album like Codex Omega, because it's the ticket to its grandiosity, just that modern, sweltering arrangement that washes over you like a cyclops or titan's boot on the way to its personal hot spring. Spiros continues with that bold if monotonous guttural that works so well in unison with the intense drumming, and the bass and orchestration are also highlights of its straight-to-the-dome mix. Back that all up with numerous guest vocals in tenor, alto, bass, and soprano and the fucking City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and you've got something lush and weirdly oriental, kind of like a throwback to Celtic Frost's To Mega Therion or Into the Pandemonium but built more in line with the needs of the modern brickwalled audience. Plenty of catchy, well-arranged tunes here that balance the orchestra with the death metal groove, "Martyr" and the dreamy "Faceless Queen" come to mind, tracks that remind me of what I loved so much about an album like The Great Mass. The clean vocals cut through quite nicely where they appear, reminding me of Therion's later 90s and early 00s output before they got a little too limp.

Codex Omega is great, and there's a lot of that, but if there's one area in which it lacks, it's that like so many of these heavily symphonic-infused efforts, the guitars are often reduced to just percussive chug offs that are meant to support the orchestration and choirs rather than strike out much on their own. To be fair, there are some mournful melodies in places, a little dissonance where needed, some solid acoustics, and there are far worse offenders out there, but I just wish the rhythm guitar wouldn't always be the sacrificial lamb in these cases. It's not that it feels terribly 'missed' here, because you've got all that loud chugging, and I don't think they ever had them in mind to begin with, but I'd like it more if they could use more melodies to blend with the other non-metal elements, or at least more complex rhythm patterns for the heavier parts. Maybe a few more tremolo-picked breaks, etc. They do exist here but it does bring the album a bit short of a masterpiece. That said, I don't think much of the audience for an album like this has quite the same concern, and there are some decent evil harmonic riffs and such to sort of fill in that space. Overall, a very good effort here, not their first and probably not their last.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10]

https://www.septicflesh.com/