The extreme metal scene that flourished in the late ’80s/early ’90s in Greece attained distinction and a particular reputation in the underground for most bands’ heightened incorporation of melody and affinity with traditional heavy metal that immediately distinguished them from their peers in Norway or, for that matter, the rest of the world. Sharing the thematic obsessions of other bands at the time but presenting a less radical and destructive rupture with the past, the works of Varathron and Rotting Christ, for example, provide a clearer continuum between black/death metal and the preceding musical traditions from which it sprang forth. The two bands we’ve choose to highlight on this brief article went on to develop unique voices that set them apart even from their regional context; we want to focus, however, on some of their earlier material, showing how in many ways it already displayed their particular idiosyncrasies before they crystallized in more famous works.
Septicflesh’s earliest efforts already make their aspirations towards grandiose gestures and mythical compositions perfectly clear. Although their first full-length offering would reveal confidence and elaboration on a wholly different scale, the template for the band’s ambitious songwriting is already fully on display here. Unlike later releases, “Temple of the Lost Race” doesn’t indulge as much in the doom-paced sections carrying monumental melancholy and providing much of the next opus’ dramatic weight. Here the band opts instead for the interplay between melodic, blastbeat-backed tremolo’d riffs, slower passages and the frequent intervention of synths and lead guitar. Songs like the title track already display a relatively sophisticated compositional character, with a long instrumental bridge that feels purposeful due to the intuitive organization of its elements and adds a sense of triumph to the reprisal of the previous riffs at the end. Of course, all of these qualities would be refined to an even further extent on “Mystic Places of Dawn”, an album that in my estimation represents one of the peaks in metal composition. In any case, this early EP is an admirably resolute offering whose lingering impression is that of a young band still comfortably steeped in the framework and tropes of typical death metal but attempting to use them for their own unique purposes.
Despite sharing some aesthetic tendencies, the lesser known band Horrified could be said to represent an almost opposite modus operandi within this realm of extreme metal. For once, the “atmospheric” epithet is an apt description of most of their work. Beautiful melodic themes take the centre stage in the two songs of this 10-minute EP, offset by more conventional death metal riffing and techniques to provide a minimum of contrast necessary for the songs’ dynamic drive. Although the band’s method is not as “atmospheric” as in later albums, the compositions on this EP already point in that direction; the second song, for example, is entirely grounded on a main melodic riff which finds ways to successively reinstate itself after other excursions, granting it a robust sense of cohesion. We could say this work is situated at the middle road between the usual “riff-maze” mode of the best death metal and the band’s later output, wherein some songs are wholly derived from a main theme which is given harmonic development throughout their course. Such a compromise might be the ideal for the fan of the genre seeking to become familiar with this idiosyncratic band, providing an ideal introduction.
There is an abundance of bands that went through painful and laborious mutations throughout their existence yielding various results, from the “selling out” accusation to genuine artistic growth. Besides, the “demo” phase of most bands is often seen as an embryonic stage marked by amateurishness, crudeness and all the marks of the confused artistic will still seeking to assert itself amidst the current from where it came from. It’s perhaps not an exaggeration to say that most of the underground’s classic and most revered bands fall under this verdict; such only reinforces the uncommon maturity and determination that these bands displayed in their very first steps. This ties in with a very crucial point in all of music, or rather artistic creation of all sorts, which is that a well-defined intention must precede any impulse to play or release material. For Septicflesh and Horrified, it becomes very clear in their early output that both had something to express and sought to bring their ideas to the their most authentic realization. It’s from this that they’re music draws its entire raison d’être.
