Septicflesh’s Mystic Places of Dawn stands out as a particular kind of classic within death metal. Not seeking the horror and brutality of its American counterparts or the cold otherworldly meditativeness of the Northern European bands, Septicflesh sought out a form of romanticism ingrained within Mediterranean art that focused on tragedy and the search for meaning within tragedy. Death metal has allowed them to express this as passionate outbursts of primal emotions as well as giving their music a certain gravitas. “Chasing the Chimera” is the perfect example of their layered compositional style due to its exterior simplicity that harbours a lot of nuance and depth within it as well as the very distinctive main melody. The chimera being a mythical creature represents an unattainable goal that draws us to pursue it. Septic Flesh use this idea to create a narrative full of unexpected twists and turns from a few rudimentary motifs.
Introduction (0:00):
A drumless introduction of one guitar just plays a 2 note major arpeggio while the other one rotates between the root note and a the fifth which adds up to a major chord but the slow pacing and weird voicing detract from the overall happiness. the lead guitar pushes the root note down a major third which adds a huge amount of tension due to it creating a major seventh arpeggio which is an incredibly fragile sounding interval because it begs to be resolved by the octave but when fully explored it provides a bright yet ethereal sensation that when contrasted with the previous major chord indicates a sort of bittersweet feeling.
My mood is like the weather
It changes with unexpected ways
Creating a mosaic
Based on the antithesis
Of cold and warm colours
Development (0:27):
The opening verse is neatly cut up thematically into two sections that perfectly echo the music underneath. the first one is a metaphor that suggests that moods, like the weather, can be unpredictable, changeable, and varied and underscores the fluidity and volatility of human emotions while rejecting all forms of rationality. There is an innate fear of the unforeseen that is matched by the darker first part of the passage. The second theme which is the mosaic implies that despite the fear presented in the first part, there is also happiness, tranquility and joy within the maeltstrom of emotions and thus creates a certain sense of hope which is also reflected by the brighter second part of the passage. Musically we are presented with a development of the basic theme from the introduction. One guitar starts by holding on to power chords that follow a progression that could easily be interpreted as being either within the major scale or the harmonic minor scale which further cements the imagery portrayed by the lyrics of the constant shift between happiness and sorrow. The lead guitar plays around this by sticking to a set of notes contained within both scales but at first explores sorrow by including certain notes only contained within the minor scale while slowly descending which enforces the sadness within. The second half does the opposite by slowly ascending and sticking to the major scale while the second guitar momentairly abandons the power chords to create a smooth harmony that conveys the storm clearing away for a gentle ray of sunlight before returning to an uplifting chord progression that leads us to the chimera of happines represented by the song’s main melody.
Main Melody (0:54):
While extreme metal is full of uplifting, defiant and triumphant passages, the expression of pure unadultered joy is seen as taboo and antithetical to the ethos of metal as a whole. The rare instances where such an emotion is evoked come across as contrived and unnatural but Septicflesh are capable of circumventing this issue by building this melody from the second half of the previous melody. While the previous melody still had some melancholy in its hopefullness, here the band take the final bar of the previous melody and remove any elements outside of the major scale and emphasize both the fifth interval and more importantly the major third. While in isolation this is not the happiest melody to exist, it’s the fact that at its core this melody can be conceived of as being comprised of the same motifs as the previous passages but with all the ambiguity and minor scale characteristics removed almost as if it’s the melody itself who is chasing the chimera. This evolution slowly builds tension and peaks perfectly here, the laid back drumming, the slow tempo and the lack of vocals give the perfect spotlight for the guitars to show the chimera finally being caught if only for a brief while. The second guitar jumps radically higher in register to further accentuate the pure ecstatic bliss of this passage with a beautiful contrapuntal phrase that both supports the first guitar in pushing the lead melody to greater heights but also provides even more depth to the joy felt during this passage.
If you could read in my eyes
you would discover a shade of grey
when I smile
because even when (I am) collecting
moments of happiness
my mind descends in my shrine
to pray in front of the candle of life
Retun to Development and Main Melody (1:32):
There is a return to the exact same development as seen before as the chimera by its nature is fleeting and temporary. Lyrically the second verse continues the narrative by establishing a middle state between the warm and cold colours where while the narrator’s mood is constantly changing there is permanent hue of grey that shows an ambivalence even in the face of all the other extreme emotions. The narrator does everything in their power to maintain their fleeting moments of happiness but despite this, they are drawn into an introspective state where they contemplate life itself. Both metaphors of the shrine and candle imply reverence not to some deity or external force but rather to the frailty of human existence and our perennial search for greater meaning. Musically the idea is translated very subtly with two distinct features. First, the length of the passage is half of its original iteration which shows that each time joy is found it becomes even more fleeting and secondly the vocals this time come in towards the beginning and the end of the segment which also shows the transformation from happiness to introspection.
Interlude (2:16):
A synth is now introduced playing the same chords as the rhythm guitar in a higher octave while the lead guitar plays a simple melody with multiple variations on top. This part is primarily in the major scale but there is an added note that once again obfuscates the happiness associated with the scale. This time the band don’t remove any of the charateristic intervals of the major scale but that added note functions as passing tone between the most “cheerful” parts of the scale and adds a layer of mystery by creating tension to immediately release it. Here, the listener is guided into reverence only for it to be suddenly broken by the song’s main melody.
And its flesh parts are slowly melting
slipping down like white worms
Final Iteration of Main Melody (2:50):
This time, the main melody is played in full with the main distinction being that the vocals return but this time are fully superposed on the entirety of the passage showing that the joy once felt is almost gone at this point. Lyrically there is once again another contrast. This time between the immaterial and internal processes of the human condition and the ultimate physical fate that awaits us all. Though nothing is more standard than this particular image in the realm of death metal, it effectively conveys the haunting realisation of mortality and its contradiction with the search for happiness.
(The) walls around are decorated
with nailed butterflies
Each one a happy thought,
pretty but old and lifeless the thirst for joy is never gratified
only grows as pain
We return to the development one final time here but with the first part completely intact from its previous iterations but the second part serving as the song’s “climax”. Thematically this is the synthesis of all the previous ideas condensed down to their logical conclusion. The butterflies representing happiness are now unnaturally preserved and while their beauty is still apparent likes memories of the past, they are useless and cannot grant happiness anymore.
interrupts
our wishes
and “help” us learn through an alphabet
of scars
Climax (3:50):
The cheerful second part of this melody is completely replaced with the natural minor scale and this time fully embraces sadness. The melody is harmonized with two note repetitions that emphasize the saddest intervals in the minor scale which is the same strategy used earlier throughout the song’s main melody but completely reversed on its head. Once again this melody in isolation is nothing special but its staunch opposition to everything around it as well as its lack of internal development perfectly represents how chasing the chimera of pleasure leads to pain and death. The speaker summarizes how past happiness, once vivid and alive, has become static and insufficient in the face of current struggles. The thirst for joy remains unquenched, exacerbated by pain which both hinders and paradoxically “teaches” through the accumulation of scars. This creates a narrative of disillusionment with the pursuit of joy and a recognition of the unavoidable role of pain in personal growth and understanding and that by not actively searching for pleasure and recognizing the futility of the chimera, we may achieve greater fulfillment in life.
Conclusion(4:00):
In over four minutes, Septicflesh have not utilized one death metal technique apart from the vocals within this song. The first appearance of death metal proper is introduced in the most block-headed way possible with a single power chord chugged in eight notes for a bar declaring the end of “melody” within the song before transitioning to a chugging two note chromatic power chord riff that concludes this narrative. This provides an atmospheric and dark base for the synths and the guitar solo to explore the phyrgian dominant scale and to convey dissilusionment towards the chimera. The lead guitar has a very improvisitional approach and doesn’t recapitulate any of the previous melodies nor does it follow much of a structure but it expresses a very pensive state before ending on an ambiguous melody that wraps up the song in a satisfying way and that leaves the listener begging for more answers in what can only be described as a roller coaster of emotions and contradictions.
All in all “Chasing the Chimera” represents the peak of death metal in terms of juxtaposing opposing ideas together to lead to a satisfying conclusion. Rather than forcing contradictions on each other, each part complements the preceding part and diverts expectations without needing to shock or confuse the listener. The narrative is extremely fascinating and is strengthened by how well the lyrics and imagery are ingrained within the composition. Though all this would mean nothing without standout parts and the main melody delivers on that front in a way similar to Bethoveen’s “Ode to Joy”. Mystic Places of Dawn is one of the greatest death metal albums of all time without a doubt but it suceeds this not by building upon the foundations of the genre but rather by shedding them off in search of its own voice.
