1-First of all thank you for your precious time and welcome to metalitty webzine! So let's start by a little biography of the band
- We hail from Greece and we are on the metal scene for quite a long time, from 1990. Until now we have released 9 full length albums: Mystic Places of Dawn (1994), Esoptron (1995), The Ophidian Wheel (1997), A Fallen Temple (1998), Revolution DNA (1999), Sumerian Daemons (2003), Communion (2008), The Great Mass (2011) and Titan (2014).
2-You just released you 9th full length-album entitled TITAN, can you talk to me about this masterpiece ?
-I think the title of the album, describes well its musical content. Considering the production, we worked for the first time with Logan Mader (ex-Machine Head guitarist) as we were impressed from his work with bands as Fear Factory, Cavalera Conspiracy, Gojira, W.A.S.P etc. About the symphonic parts, once again we collaborated with the Fimharmonic orchestra of Prague.
3-what's the concept and the message behind the artwork cover?
- The cover is intentionally minimal avoiding many distracting elements on the background, focusing on the main protagonists. The main figures display an intense bipolarity, provoking second thoughts about what actually is taking place on the scene. After a long gaze at the picture the roles between them change to opposite directions. Is it really a lamb lying on the floor, or a masked predator disguised as a lamb (take notice of the wolf teeth...)? Is the vague humanoid form what it initially seems to be, or something else? And there is much more, mind blowing and thought provoking artwork inside the album.
4- What do the lyrics deal with?
- There is a variety of themes on “Titan” and each song can stand out on its own story. However, some songs can be interlinked. For example, “Burn” is about the fire of knowledge and therefore can be connected the song Prometheus that refers to the specific Titan that gave the secret knowledge of fire to man. Also “Ground Zero”, besides telling a story of annihilation in a dark poetic way, is also actually setting the post-apocalyptic environment for the final song of the album “the First Immortal”.
5-According to you, which is more difficult: Writing lyrics or composing music?
- Both pose their challenges and demand a lot of time and effort. Actually, I work both in a parallel way as I want to provide to the audience the most appropriate “images” and emotions, in alliance with the musical background, created a unified result.
6- What makes TITAN different from other albums ?
- Titan is build upon the most powerful elements that characterize the sound of Septicflesh, while also going one step further. And definitely it is the most homogenous and focused piece of music that we have created so far, having a very intense and specific “aura”. Considering the metal parts, it demonstrates a more blackened death metal attitude, bringing a primeval rage fitting to an album called Titan. There are also more demanding drum rhythms on the songs and more challenging classical orchestrations. Finally, considering the vocals, besides the normal adult choir that we are using, we utilized for the first time a complete children’s choir bringing a “spooky” and cinematic sensation to the songs.
7- Are you planning in making a video for one of the album songs?
- Yes, we want to make a video-clip but for the time being we are focused on touring. So probably if all goes well, we will manage to do it at the beginning of the next year, as we want to have time to focus on it, in order to create something visually enchanting and not just rush on it.
8-The band was formed in 1990 and split in 2003 then reunited in 2007 right? Do you think the band changed after 20 years of existence?
- There was a continuous evolution, while the core identity of the band was always present. Surely, we were never afraid to experiment and push our boundaries. That is one of the main characteristics of Septicflesh. We have developed a very distinct musical identity, a specific musical portal to strange mystical worlds.
9-you're just back from a tour with the Italian band Fleshgod apocalypse tell me more about that tour , and septicflesh news and upcoming events.
-We are like brothers with Fleshgod Apocalypse. They are great to work with and of course great musicians. So it is always fun touring together. The latest USA tour this Summer, was very successful. Next week we will return on USA, this time following the “In the Minds of Evil” North American tour of Deicide.
10-Thank you again, and is there anything else you would like to add?
Stand tall as Titans.
