For the first time in six years, Septicflesh a single show in São Paulo on October 26th . The symphonic death metal band is a major reference within extreme metal due to its grandiose performances and the blend of death metal aggression with orchestral musicality.
In 2017, the group made its first trip to Brazil on a joint tour with Fleshgod Apocalypse . In an interview with Wikimetal , co-founder, guitarist, and orchestral arranger Christos recounts his memories of that trip: “I remember São Paulo and Rio very well, the audience was great. It was the first time we went [to Brazil] and the reception was incredible, the energy [was amazing]. We visited some places in Rio, in Copacabana. We had a lot of fun, we can't wait to go back.”
Like many renowned international metal musicians, Christos also mentions his passion for Sepultura . “I love the old Sepultura lineup, with the Cavalera brothers,” he says. “I think they were a unique band. The influence they had… they made a huge impact on metal in general. Their band was very unique. I saw them live in 1993 in Athens, and it was incredible.”
Septicflesh returns to Brazil to promote their latest album, Modern Primitive (2022). Made during the pandemic, the album reflects many of the band members' thoughts on the passage of time and elevates the band's musical level to something even more brutal, focused on guitars. With 32 years on the road and 11 albums in their discography, Christos reflects on how Septicflesh works in the studio after all these years, highlighting that the band has "good chemistry," even if small arguments sometimes occur regarding "creative differences."
“For us, an album is always a challenge because we are very demanding with our compositions,” he says. “We always try to find something that adds something new to our music.” Regarding Modern Primitive , he adds: “Over the years this becomes more difficult and we wanted to do something that represented a new chapter for SepticFfesh. Of course, we can't deny our sound, we can't play jazz, but we want to create something with identity.”
To compose the symphonic part, Septicflesh consumes not only orchestral music, but also film scores. According to Christos, one of the band's great influences, both musically and in the clothes worn on stage, is the Batman by director Christopher Nolan .
“Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy had a big influence on us musically as well,” he says. “We listened to the soundtracks a lot during The Great Mass (2011) and Titan (2014), and you can see that in our music. Our orchestration was darker, more based on low frequencies. Our costumes, my brother’s costume, were basically Batman’s costumes. It was a really fun time.”
Despite consuming a wide variety of music – with the exception of pop, he emphasizes – Christos reveals that he's not a big fan of current metal and says he's "disappointed" with modern bands. "To be honest, I don't follow metal these days," he admits. "I don't really like it because I'm kind of disappointed with bands that are only about image, about social media. It's not really my thing. Our time was totally different, we didn't have the internet. It wasn't as powerful as it is now. Speaking for Septicflesh, we are artists. And, for us, art is a priority."
“Of course you need the image and you need to follow modern ideas. But I believe that metal is saturated, it has nothing to offer. Everything has already been said. I still listen to albums like Morbid Angel , Death , the old Metallica . Even today I can see how special those bands were back then. Nowadays I don't feel that heart and soul exist,” he concludes.
He also states that even after more than 30 years on the road, Septicflesh still has the creative spark and the desire to continue exploring new things in metal, but assures that the band is not afraid to "disband" the moment that flame goes out, just as happened when the group temporarily ceased activities in 2003.
“We don’t have a problem breaking up the band. We’ve done it before. But, of course, we’re professionals and we’re a very active band. We also have projects outside of Septicflesh, but as long as we have this desire to explore new paths, we’ll remain active,” he assures.
Tickets for the Septicflesh show in São Paulo are still available for purchase on the Clube do Ingresso , priced at R$200 (half-price with donation) or R$400 (full price).