After becoming more a symphonic than death metal on their past two records (especially on Titan, an album stuffed with over-the-top compositions that turned the band’s signature sound into and an almost-parody of themselves) SepticFlesh return with Codex Omega where they push orchestrations to the background and once again break your skull with thick riffs and aggressive songwriting.
The album starts with thumping Dante’s Inferno, and instead of filling the air with classical diamond dust the band takes just a pinch of it while filling the scene with a thick handful of metal cuts. Similar story is to be heard on most other songs; heavy atmosphere with relatively fast pace along with occasional overture or two.
Portrait of A Headless Man and 3rd Testament show SepticFlesh’s accessible side, with simple but effective riffs and lots of catchy hooks. Production is spotless, with clear element separation, guitars and drums in the front along with once again terrific vocals by Seth Siro Anton (the guy sounds like an overly passionate minister who preaches about Revelation to John in growls instead of shouts and with Left-Hand path messages instead of Christian ones), and incredible drumming by a new member, Kerim Lechner (the guy is excellent at what it does, he has an instrumental band called Krimh where he plays all instruments, so be sure to check it out).
There are some incredible arrangements to be heard, where SepticFlesh comes very close to the grandness of their best work, like those found in twisted labyrinths of Dark Art. Catchy choruses are present in loads, showing how the band refined their songwriting, managing to construct lots of memorable sections that really get into ears.
But this also means that there’s not that much essence of the wild, a part that made Communion so special. You won’t be surprised (okay, will be but in just a few cases) with unexpected turns and twists, and while symphonic elements are pushed back, they don’t create a sense of blistering awe they so successfully managed to evoke on Communion.
When compared to the past two albums, Codex Omega is a clear winner. Titan was what it was, and The Great Mass was just too inconsistent a piece to be considered on even terms with this one.
The album does catch an atmosphere very similar to the one found on Communion, but the golden section is missed because by a couple of degrees. If production was just a bit rawer, the songs just a bit more uncontrolled and unpredicted, and the clash of classical elements with aggressive guitars and drums just a bit less tight, Codex Omega could have been considered a masterpiece. Instead, it can be described as an excellent record incapable of topping Communion, but we expected that anyway.
