One of the strangest, most alluring and yet challenging of all the metal bands is Greece’s Septic Flesh. If you expect traditional anything with this group, you’re abound to get spit on right then and there. Spitting directly in the face of metal elitism, this Greek group incorporates heavy elements of gothic rock such as Fields of The Nephilim (with no lack of their mysticism) and especially Paradise Lost (whom they have recorded covers of), dark ambience ala Megaptera and Das Ich, dark classical and industrial into their already strange brand of doom/gothic metal. The beginning track, "Behold The Land Of Promise," is as cold and unforgiving a landscape as it gets, draped with foreboding opera vocals drenched over unsettling chimes and bells, all coated with some of the darkest synth work this side of Antigen Shift. I’m glad as hell they were lying about getting rid of all those classical and goth influences in their music, as it does effectively add to it. Next comes the lo-fi tornado "Unbeliever", which blends together a strange brew of dark speed metal and goth rock, only to switch off into a dark neo-classical structure very soon afterwards. Many will note the Paradise Lost influences on the songs "When All Is None" and "Virtues Of The Beast", with it’s distinctive riff laden gothic metal. To even more spit in the face of metal elitists out there who say it’s wrong to experiment, they even blend some slow death folk and industrial on "When All Is None", all with those menacingly low growls of the singer. All this CD is a journey into a very bizarre and unsettling occult world, and the lyrics in part reflect that. Covering such subjects as space travel and the overall subject of how man’s base nature is behind every piece of technology, the lyrics are anamorphous and fluid at the same time, foreboding and inspiring all at once. And the artwork is sure to delight any Gieger nut like me. The artwork, all done masterfully by band member Seth, is something that you’ll surely be looking at as the music dares you to dig just a little deeper. Pictures of the singer with a bloody hole in his hand with a coachroach in it, along with pictures of some otherworldly inhuman figures in many tortured poses is something to keep you guessing. Not to mention the Hellraiser-esque pictures of the band. I’m echoing the sentiments of many metalheads and Goths I know who have heard this CD: It is a fucking masterpiece, hands down. But it is also a crowning example of how genres can be blended seamlessly and not even be noticed until you pick it apart in the end, bringing together hardcore Goths, Rivetheads and Metalheads in the end perfectly. This CD is not just for one of those, it is for anyone who appreciates music that defies idiot ideas such as crowds and genres. There is no genre for this... ... ... ... ... ..It is simply Septic Flesh. Rating: 10 Also recommended are Rotting Christ and of course Paradise Lost. Also of note is Chaostar, which is Septic Flesh’s dark ambient and classical project. But I’d heavily advise that only those truly into dark music listen to it, it’s not an easy listen otherwise.