SEPTEM are a Heavy Metal band from Italy formed in 2003. Pseudonica is their third album and is released through Nadir Music. The opening track "Limbo" is really a very short intro to the album with a loud foghorn type sound accompanied with disembodied keys. A folk-like vocal melody comes in briefly. It's an odd track and actually is a bit out of place. "The Other Side" however is a slice of classic old-school metal with a punchy fist-pumping chorus. It reminds me a little of IRON MAIDEN in its execution and should have been the opening track. There's some satisfying lead guitar over the melodic rhythm and it is one of my favourite songs on the album.

"Blood and Soul" goes full on thrash and is a much darker track. The harsh vocals of Luca pave the way for a more melodic chorus though wasn't a fan of his gruff tones. I enjoyed the song overall but feel it would be better without the harsh vocals which, for me detracted from the track. The next two songs are probably my favourite tracks on the whole album for different reasons. The first is "Man On The Bridge" which has some fantastic melodic guitar riffage throughout the track and is definitely one to headbang vigorously to.  Daniele's vocals whilst not amazing are decent enough particularly in the verse.

The second "Sa Femmina Accabadora" is the longest track at 8 minutes and starts off with gentle vocals and guitar before building into a more melodic metal track with a great chorus. Some Italian female spoken vocals accompany a short stop-start heavy riff before galloping to a faster thrashier track. I liked how all the elements came together and it made for an enjoyable track. The chorus is the best bit of "Pseudonica" which fails to excite and reintroduces the harsh vocals of Luca over a dark Black-Metalesque riff before returning to old-school Heavy Metal.

You'd probably do someone some damage if you pounded away to the heaviness of "The Lust Within" which I thought was the obligatory ballad until I heard it. It's not a bad track but "Devil In Disguise" is much better until Luca's harsh vocals come in which again detracts from the track. It's not that I don't like harsh vocals but this just seems out of place where it occurs in the old-school metal riffage. Fortunately it only appears twice in the song but is nonetheless unnecessary. "Call of Love" IS the obligatory ballad and apart from some nice lead guitar is generally unforgettable.

Fortunately the album ends on a bang and not a whimper with the pummeling thrash guitar of "The North Star" which makes for a satisfyingly track with some great lead guitar towards the end. Generally the production is very good though I wanted the drums to be more in your face in the mix. The musicianship is also good with the guitars melding nicely together. The songwriting is a bit hit and miss, particularly with Luca's vocals which were just annoying and failed to add anything to the tracks. Daniele's vocals are decent though I wasn't blown away by his vocal style. With Pseudonica, SEPTEM have tried to craft an album that meshes old-school metal with more modern stylings and whilst some of it didn't work for me, they have created a decent album which fans of Heavy Metal will enjoy.