Septicflesh are taking their symphonic extremity to new levels of grandeur.
Featuring an actual classical composer in the band, Septicflesh have long been at the vanguard of the extreme symphonic metal scene, but they’re still infused with a revolutionary spirit
We’re only a few minutes into our conversation and already Septicflesh’s bassist/vocalist Spiros Antoniou is bristling. The issue being raised is that according to certain sections of the Greek quartet’s fanbase, their symphonically bombastic death metal had become formulaic, daresay ‘safe’, upon the release of 2014 opus, Titan. “Tell me a band that doesn’t have a formula,” asserts Spiros, with rich Grecian inflection. “Iron Maiden – are they a ‘safe’ band?”
They have a formula, we agree. “Exactly,” he pounces. “Everyone has a formula. I saw these comments about Titan. Of course we have a formula! The orchestra is our fifth weapon, and we will try on every album to make the best combination; to express our feelings through the orchestra and through the extreme music we play, so if you want my opinion, I don’t agree at all with this type of safety – what do they want from us?!” Far from the standard line from most bands that fan feedback means little, Spiros, who for the rest of the conversation is genial and passionate, evidently cares about how the music that his band painstakingly compose is received – ‘compose’ very much being the operative word.
Spiros founded Septic Flesh (they later got rid of the space) in 1990 at the tender age of 16, alongside his 14-year-old brother, guitarist/classically trained composer Christos, and guitarist/keyboardist Sotiris Vayenas. Their journey began in gothic realms of death/doom, evolving with each release before taking the brave step of going on hiatus in 2003 after the release of sixth album, Sumerian Daemons, just when they were beginning to break out. It’s a move few in the same situation would have made.
“We wanted to finish our education,” explains Spiros. At the time he’d been studying for a degree in fine art, a skill that has since seen him oversee the visual aspects of not only his own band, but the album covers of several metal luminaries – Paradise Lost, Exodus and Nile to name but a few. “My brother was in London studying classical composition, so it was impossible to be active, to be touring.”
It was a bold move that paid off, the training that Christos gained becoming an extremely important string in the band’s bow. It dictated a change in direction towards symphonic extremity that the band have now explored across four records, 2008’s Communion, 2011’s The Great Mass, Titan, and the recently released Codex Omega, seeking ever further synergy between the two elements.
“It was a new beginning, and I think we made the correct decision,” believes Spiros. Codex Omega is a record that the band are supremely proud of, and with good reason. Thematically it sees them step away from their mythological past.
“Codex Omega is a highly anti-religious title,” explains Spiros. “It’s a sarcastic remark that all bibles were conceived by a human mind. The most effective way to rule the actions of somebody is to rule their thoughts. Humans at all times have suffered because of religion – it will never end, my friend,” he laughs, darkly.
It’s also an album that represents their most successful combination of orchestral elements with brutally groovy, implacably blast-riven death metal. Septicflesh aren’t messing about with violin samples on a keyboard; this is a band who, not for the first time, have just recorded an album with the Prague Symphony Orchestra – all 100 of them not including the choir. Fully integrating epic classical movements with rhythmically punishing heft, Codex Omega sounds huge.
“It’s the best combination of the previous three albums,” Spiros surmises. “It’s more alive, has more energy, more dynamics. I’m really, really satisfied with the final result.”
Metal is their Alpha, classical their Omega, fuelled in part by their love of soundtracks, Hans Zimmer’s score for Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy being a personal favourite of Spiros’s. To outsiders the two musical styles may seem aeons apart, but, as many a discerning metalhead knows, they have much in common. Extreme metal in particular, with its multi-layered approach to contrasting rhythms, melodies and time signatures, not to mention its awesome power and complexity, holds much in common with the sonic hallmarks of an orchestra, a genetic ancestor without which metal would simply not be the same.
Another important element at play comes down to innovation. From its original forms to its modern interpretations, classical music has sought to break new ground, its revelations never losing their power to fascinate. Nowadays, metal is arguably the classical of our time, despite the majority of public opinion ignorantly convinced of its lowbrow status. Groundbreaking artists are experimenting at the very fringes of sonic possibility, inventing new ways to combine instrumentation, rhythm, time and melody. It’s a subject Spiros discusses with great enthusiasm.
“In the past, we’ve seen revolution in classical music from Bach, Mozart and Beethoven to the modern composers such as Stravinsky and Boulez. In the metal scene, in the extreme music we play, there are bands like Meshuggah and Gojira, where I see something new, a new way of researching how you can play riffs, how you can compose, how you can blend guitar riffs with drums and play with the rhythm structure. You don’t have to play classical music to experiment with a more high-end formula.”
Septicflesh are finding ever more potent ways to inject classical music with venom – just don’t expect to see them live with an orchestra any time soon. Spiros is convinced that a backing track is the only way forward due to the practical and financial implications of trying to co-ordinate the live performance of such a massive ensemble without Christos, who plays guitar live, able to conduct.
“Only Hans Zimmer could do it,” jokes Spiros, “I’ll send him an email!” he laughs. “For us it’s a fantasy. Septicflesh want to have the same atmosphere live as the album – if you bring just four violins, four cellos, it’s not going to be massive, so we don’t want to do it.”
One day perhaps they will realise their dream. “Let’s see,” muses Spiros, “But don’t forget we are Greek! We are in financial crisis,” he says soberingly, bringing to mind reality’s contemporary woes, before pondering: “I like to escape reality. With metal you can dream. You can search the universe, ancient civilisations, mythology. Classical music is really connected with metal. Why? Because with these instruments you can dream.”
“SAFE? IT’S A FORMULA! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM US?!” SPIROS ANTONIOU IS UNIMPRESSED BY CYNICAL FANS