Codex Omega

While the orchestral death metal of Septicflesh should have a decent amount of appeal to me, their albums always felt just short of interesting to me. Admittedly, 2011's 'The Great Mass' came close, but this year's 'Codex Omega' was the first Septicflesh album I pretty much enjoy start to finish. In essence, the elements that defined their last few albums are the same as those defining 'Codex Omega', but something has changed for the better. It is sort of hard to put my finger on what that is exactly, but let's make this review an analysis of the album's immense qualities.

First off, let's focus on what has changed since the somewhat lackluster predecessor 'Titan'. Most obviously, Septicflesh changed drummers. Former Decapitated drummer Kerim 'Krimh' Lechner is now on the stool and the band certainly profits from his approach to extreme metal drumming. His style seems to be a little looser and somewhat less predictable than that of most of his peers. Though I don't know big his role in the songwriting process was, the unconventional placement of his accents must have influenced the dynamics of segments like the intro of '3rd Testament (Codex Omega)' and the chorus of 'The Faceless Queen'.

In addition, Septicflesh worked with in-demand producer Jens Bogren for the first time, who did an incredible job. Mixing a Septicflesh album cannot be an easy task: there are bottom-heavy riffs that give the music its balls, but there are also huge orchestral parts that define Septicflesh' music. He managed to find a perfect balance between these two seemingly contrasting elements though, creating a surprisingly natural drum sound for Lechner in the process. The drums on many contemporary extreme metal records sound computerized to a fault. On 'Codex Omega', you can actually hear that a person is hitting them. Hard. Look no further than the intro to 'Dark Art' for proof.

Quite simply, the songwriting had a bit of a boost as well. 'Our Church, Below The Sea' could have easily been a dime a dozen extreme symphonic metal song, but the way the two guitar parts are interwoven creates an almost baroque guitar pattern. Opening track toys with expectations of tempo in a really powerful way, best expressed in the start-stop riff that occurs repeatedly throughout the song, while 'The Gospels Of Fear' is composed in an almost linear way that makes it feel like it is coming over you in waves. Closing track 'Trinity' is a masterpiece due to its relatively simple, yet extremely powerful rhythms and its effective use of dynamics and acoustic instruments, which lend an almost gothic-like feel to the track.

'Codex Omega' is the album on which Septicflesh finally makes use of its full potential. While the excellent work by the choir and the FILMharmonic Orchestra of Prague add an irresistible layer of bombast to the music, the album would not have worked nearly as good if the basic compositions were an less good than this. Even the most standard extreme metal riffs have been arranged in a way that it sounds just a little different. Easily the best death metal album released this year, symphonic or not.

Recommended tracks: '3rd Testament (Codex Omega)', 'Trinity', 'Dante's Inferno'

Originally written for my Kevy Metal weblog