 |
| 1999 Original Cover |
 |
| 2016 Reissue Cover |
In recent weeks, I have finally slain my white whale. Since about the spring/summer of 2009, I have been in a on-off pursuit for the album that’s covered today. An album from a band that I didn’t like back then, but one that I absolutely enjoy now. As you can see by the review title, the band in question is Septicflesh. I’ll get into further detail in my eventual overview of the band, but let’s just say I wasn’t a Death Metal fan back then. This album, however, is rather different. While it still comes from a Death Metal band, the music in question is.....unique. So I won’t waste any more of your time, and let’s check out a Septicflesh album that’s been lost to the shadows, Revolution DNA. Let the review begin!
Background
Taken from Season of Mist's website:
"‘Revolution DNA’, the fifth full-length in the 25-year career of Greek metal luminaries SEPTICFLESH, is finally about to be reissued on Season of Mist just like its four predecessors. Originally released in 1999, ‘Revolution DNA’ occupies a unique space in the band's history. Embracing melodic and atmospheric influences that got it filed in the gothic metal movement, the album ranks amongst SEPTICFLESH’s most avant-garde works to date. The heightened atmospherics, synthesized orchestration, and mesmerising clear vocals of Sotiris Vayenas affirmed the bold and adventurous creative direction the band had begun to follow with 1998's 'A Fallen Temple'. Adorned with brand new artwork and bonus tracks that were not included on the original edition, ‘Revolution DNA’ is also available on vinyl for the very first time. Side A: Science / Chaostar / Radioactive / Little Music Box Side B: Revolution / Nephilim Sons / DNA / Telescope Side C: Last Stop To Nowhere / Dictatorship Of The Mediocre / Android / Arctic Circle Side D: Age Of New Messiahs / Misery's King / The Thief Of Innocence / Telescope [French version] "
Basic Description
The lost Septicflesh album.
There’s a perfectly good reason why I put Revolution DNA in the “Obscurus Metalus” sub-section of my album reviews. In addition to finding little on this album’s background (Apart from the CD booklet & Season of Mist's website), there’s not a lot of people talking about this album (Apart from fans). It’s bad enough to the point where this album is practically a ghost, with the album’s before it & after getting way more attention. If I had to guess as to why Septicflesh fans don’t talk about this album much.....is because it is perhaps the band’s most experimental album to date.
Up until this album, Septicflesh has remained in the realm of Death Metal. They never strayed away from their comfort zone, but at the same time always tried something new with each release. With Revolution DNA, they reached the height of experimentation. For the first (and only) time, the band went in the direction of Industrial Metal. Yes, one of the biggest Death Metal bands in the world, went Industrial. Not necessarily full Industrial however, as there are some Death Metal elements within the album, along with bits & pieces of Gothic Rock & Metal. This mix of musical elements creates one of the most unique albums in the pantheon of Heavy Metal, and one in which should be listened to by anyone even remotely curious about it!
Best Song
Gonna turn a bunch of your heads when I say this, but I consider Last Stop to Nowhere to be the best song of this album. It’s a very Philip Glassian kind of song, but what do I mean exactly? Well, Mr. Glass’s music has repetitive vocal work, repetitive instrumentation, and even repetitive sound effects. From Koyaanisqatsi all the way back in 1982, to the Russain-produced Leviathan that’s as recent as 2014, Philip Glass has taken a minimalistic & repetitive approach to his songs.
However, it’s this repetition that simultaneously gives Last Stop to Nowhere it’s strength. A Dark, moody, almost gothic atmosphere is painted through how the band manipulates music, creating a depiction of purgatory, where a lost soul is waiting for a train to wherever he destined to go. It’s a song that’s actually a little moving, and that’s something I’ll always give a metal band credit for!
Last Stop to Nowhere
Honorable mentions, however, should go to 3 extra songs. The piano-driven & operatic like Misery's King, The Thief of Innocence, and a version of Telescope with some French vocals used in parts. It should be noted that the first 2 songs were originally cut off of the original track listing, as it actually put the album's running time to just past an hour. As for the French Version of Telescope, I'm not sure if it was meant for the original or not.
Misery's King
The Thief of Innocence
Telescope (French Version)
Worst Song
Android is about the only bad song on this album, and even then it’s not really all that terrible. It fits in with the rest of Revolution DNAs sci-fi atmosphere, with it’s references to technology & such, but I find the particular usage of vocal work & effects to be grating on my ears. The vocal work is this weird raspy kind of deal, and the sound effects are at a pitch that gets annoying a little into the track. You won’t be missing anything if you skip this song, but you won’t be wasting anytime listening to it either.
Android
Perhaps more than this track, Revolution DNAs biggest problem is availability! There is a reason why I labeled this review under my “Obscurus Metalus” sub-series: finding a physical copy of this album is quite rare. A few years back Septicflesh re-released some of their older material, but for whatever reason, this album wasn’t included along with them. As such, Revolution DNA will popup at random in the weirdest of places. Pricing itself can also vary, with the highest (From what I’ve heard) reaching into the hundreds, and this applies to the original releases as well. I was fortunate enough to see a used copy available on Amazon for the price of $66.66 (Go ahead & laugh), excluding tax. I had ordered it on Monday the 2nd of this month, and it was supposed to come in on the 9th at the earliest (25th was the latest), but it got shipped on Tuesday, and got to my house on Saturday, two days before the earliest arrival. That’s good service if you ask me!
However, a reissues of the album was finally put out on the 5th of August. More specifically, this is a reissue of the 2005 reissue (Which included the 3 previously mentioned songs). A tongue twister to be sure. Pricing of this reissue is incredibly more merciful than finding an original 1999 release: at this moment in time on Amazon a new copy starts out at a nice 10 dollars in price, and the lone used copy is almost 15 dollars. I pre-ordered mine a few days before, and that cost 17 dollars & 25 cents.
Overall Impression & Rating
Revolution DNA is just one of those albums that gets lost in a sea of popularity. It’s so unique with it’s variety of genres, that it might be off putting when compared to more contemporary records of it’s time. The 90s was always a time of musical chaos, but the late 90s were especially crazy. It’s a shame that Revolution DNA got lost in the shuffle (in a sense), as it’s uniqueness really sets it apart from more generic albums. You will not regret listening to this album. Not even for a moment!
Revolution DNA gets a 9 out of 10.
So this is the real ending to May. Again, I just couldn’t contain myself when I got a hold of this album. If any of you manage to snag a physical copy after reading this, then you got lucky like me. Even if you didn’t, the digital release is readily available. See you again in June!
***
If you want to listen to this album before you go out to purchase/download it, there’s a link right below:
Revolution DNA (Youtube)
(Updated on August 8, 2016. 9:24 PM, Eastern Standard Time)
No comments:
Post a Comment