I never liked SEPTIC FLESH. There! I said it! They were never my cup of tea; they always had though my respect as a band, a respect they have earned with solid releases and a vast fan base. And who am I to question them? Well they did it for me, they" questioned" themselves; they questioned 13 years of existence by releasing "Communion" under a  -somewhat- new moniker, SEPTICFLESH. They reshuffled the elements that consist the core of their "trademark" sound and delivered something that hailed from many as an amazing album and a great return to the metal scene. "The Great Mass" three years later will prove SEPTICFLESH either wrong or right in their decision to "evolve" and not treading on the safe paths of their fame and glory of the past!

You do know that the name change (from SEPTIC FLESH to SEPTICFLESH) was for aesthetic reasons or so they say. If you want my humble opinion, they are the -almost- the same people but they musically "changed" or evolved.  SEPTICFLESH went full on force into something massive, something that wants to rip your neck out and hang it out like a trophy.  "The Great Mass" starts off really threating with "The Vampire From Nazareth" and the first single from the album (cliché much?).  Yeah I know, DIMMU BORGIR comes to mind A LOT but you need to be willing to see past it mainly because that's just rough judgment over very few similarities. SEPTICFLESH embraced the symphonic element -like no other band- without letting it consume the brutality of the songs. "Guilty" of this is Christos Antoniou and his classical composition studies, together with the help of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Prague. The lyricism of every track is amazing, from the ceremonial "The Great Mass Of Death" and the unholy melody of "Pyramid God" to the haunting "The Undead Keep Dreaming" and the abysmal riff of "Rising". The drumming in every song is what you would expect from the likes of Fotis Bernando, relentless, solid and really a benchmark for your subwoofer.  The best song of the album though and personal favorite is "Therianthropy"; nothing and I really mean nothing can prepare you for the first forty-five seconds.  The clean vocal start (courtesy of Sotiris Vayenas) leading to the main riff of the song together with a growl of agony from Spiros Antoniou is by far the best moment of the album.

The presence of the great Peter Tägtgren behind the mixing console really helped the material to breathe and invade your mind without sounding overproduced or flat. You can clearly see a pattern in almost every composition (symphonic/melodic start - pause/slower tempo around in the middle of the song - repeat of the main riff), solos are non-existent but somehow SEPTICFLESH managed to create an album with no fillers and with great flow. "Communion" might be "harder" and more "punishing" to the ear but "The Great Mass" is a more honest approach in what the group wants to do and sounds better in general.

If a "hater" gives you kudos then you clearly did something right. Even if hate is a strong word, you must be blind or naive to ignore the overall quality of the "The Great Mass". SEPTICFLESH proved once more that they are clearly the best metal group Greece has to offer -and one of the best metal bands that are active nowadays- by releasing one of the contenders for the best album of 2011. There isn't much to tell at this point, "The Great Mass" needs to be listened and loud! And if you are living on the other side of the Atlantic make sure you pay them a visit to a venue near you together with OBSCURA, DEVIN TOWNSEND and CHILDREN OF BODOM.