Since 1990 Septicflesh have been one of the most recognisable Greek names abroad: they started in Athens as Septic Flesh, stopped in 2003, returned in 2007 and from «Communion» onwards became known as a symphonic death metal band, with orchestras and choirs alongside the guitars. This tribute covers their entire discography: the eleven studio albums, the EPs, the singles, the live recordings and their videos.
Country: Greece
Genre: Symphonic Death Metal
For fans of: Rotting Christ, Necromantia, Nightfall
The beginnings: 1990-2003
The band formed in Athens in March 1990 by Spiros Antoniou (Seth) on bass and vocals, Christos Antoniou on guitar and Sotiris Vayenas on rhythm guitar and lyrics. In 1991 the first EP, «Temple of the Lost Race», came out, and in 1994 the debut followed: Septicflesh – Mystic Places of Dawn, with a slow death-doom sound and no acoustic drums. Then came Septicflesh – Esoptron in 1995, Septicflesh – Ophidian Wheel in 1997 and Septicflesh – A Fallen Temple in 1998 — three records that built a dark, atmospheric sound far removed from what Greece was putting out at the time.
Septicflesh – Revolution DNA in 1999 brought acoustic drums and a turn towards gothic metal, while Septicflesh – Sumerian Daemons in 2003 — produced by Fredrik Nordström — closed the first period with the symphonic elements already clearly visible. Shortly after, Septic Flesh stopped, with no one knowing whether they would take the stage again.
The return and the symphonic sound: 2007-2017
The return came with a concert at the Metal Healing Festival in Greece on February 19, 2007, and Septicflesh – Communion in 2008 was the big answer: Christos Antoniou, with a master’s in composition from the London College of Music, wrote the orchestrations and the Prague Filmharmonic Orchestra recorded them with eighty musicians and a choir of thirty-two singers. From that album onwards the band is spelled «Septicflesh» and not «Septic Flesh».
Septicflesh – The Great Mass in 2011 took the idea further, with the Prague Philharmonic and bigger compositions. Septicflesh – Titan in 2014 brought them into the European charts and Septicflesh – Codex Omega in 2017, mixed by Jens Bogren, completed that phase with their most mature sound.
The present day
Septicflesh – Modern Primitive in 2022 came out on Nuclear Blast and took its title from the «modern primitivism» movement — ritual body practices, from tattoos and piercings to scarification — with references to RE/Search’s 1989 book «Modern Primitives». In 2025 the EP «Amphibians» followed, showing that the band keeps experimenting instead of repeating itself.
EPs, singles, live recordings and videos
The EPs include «Temple of the Lost Race» (1991), «The Eldest Cosmonaut» (1998) and «Amphibians» (2025). Among the singles, «The Vampire from Nazareth» (2010) and «Order of Dracul» (2014) stand out. The live recordings include «Live in Toulouse» (2014), released alongside «Titan», and «Infernus Sinfonica MMXIX» (2020), a concert with an orchestra that came out on CD, LP and DVD. Of the videos, the best known are «The Eldest Cosmonaut» (1998), «Prometheus» (2015), «Portrait of a Headless Man» (2017), «Martyr» (2018) and «Hierophant» and «Neuromancer» (2022).
Listen to them
The Eldest Cosmonaut (1998) · The Vampire from Nazareth (2011) · Portrait of a Headless Man (2017) · Hierophant (2022)
Our take
Septicflesh’s discography is a journey that starts from Athens’ underground demos and ends with orchestras and choirs, without ever losing its weight. The band changed sound three times — death-doom, gothic metal, symphonic death metal — and each time did it its own way, without chasing the trends of the day.
«The Vampire from Nazareth» in an official live video:
See also
Rotting Christ: A tribute to 39 years of Greek black metal · Septicflesh: Two of their own headlining shows on their American tour · Septicflesh
