Review Summary: Septicflesh continues their streak of exceptional symphonic death metal.
Septicflesh returns after a 5 year long wait with their 11th studio album,
Modern Primitive. It carries on their strong and cinematic style of symphonic death metal that they are best known for and yet again, they have excelled at it. But not without a few faults that keep the record from being one of their stronger releases.
Modern Primitive begins with Spanish styled acoustic guitars alongside strings with
The Collector. It is evident from the beginning that Septicflesh has not lost their innate talent of writing theatrical symphonic sections that effortlessly go side by side with death metal growls and punishing riffs. The symphony enhances the bands sound.
Hierophant is a clear example of this as the heavy chorus is boosted by the strings creating an immense soundscape. The band fully lets loose on
Coming Storm where the bombastic and intense strings take centre stage. This track feels like a movie and perfectly captures the chaotic and unpredictable nature of a storm. It is one of the heavier cuts with it’s general insanity, brutal breakdown and guttural vocals but, it also contains some the best quieter symphonic moments.
Self-Eater showcases the bands ability to make an anthemic chorus. It is memorable and is one of the best off the record. The song also features some great female vocals in the more melodic moments.
Modern Primitive consists of grandiose strings and cleanly sung vocals that create a solid hook. One of the strongest elements of
Modern Primitive is Spiros Antoniou’s vocals. His deep and demanding death growls remains unmatched and never left me thinking that a single second lacked power.
Psychohistory is a great example of his impressive screams. His clean vocals, while nothing to write home about, do perfectly compliment the style this band is going for.
However,
Modern Primitive does have some major weaknesses. Septicflesh has put every ounce of their creativity into their symphony and yes, it does certainty pay off but, it leaves me wanting more attention to be put into other areas. For example, the guitar work is mostly forgettable. The riffs work alongside the music fine enough but it comes off as it is just their to fill the void rather than having many creative solo’s and riffs. There are moments of exceptional guitar work such as the melodic lead in
A Dreadful Muse but the album needs more. Their early work shows they are capable of this. A small criticism is that there has been little change from their previous few records but
Modern Primitive still holds multiple notable highlights.
Overall,
Modern Primitive demonstrates the fact that Septicflesh still know what they are doing. They still shine with their fundamental symphonic sound and the vocals are just as dynamic and potent as always. The record holds numerous formidable tracks such as
Coming Storm and
Hierophant. There are some shortcomings such as the guitar work that leaves me wanting more and that the band could experiment with their sound a bit more. Nevertheless,
Modern Primitive is another great album amongst Septicflesh’s discography and I definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested or already a fan of symphonic death metal.
