Band:	Septicflesh
Album:	Sumerian Daemons
Style:	Atmospheric death metal
Release date:	February 18, 2003
A review by:	KwonVerge

01. Behold... The Land Of Promise
02. Unbeliever
03. Virtues Of The Beast
04. Faust
05. When All Is None
06. Red Code Cult
07. Dark River
08. Magic Loves Infinity
09. Sumerian Daemon
10. Mechanical Babylon
11. Infernal Sun
12. The Watchers
13. Shapeshifter

Septic Flesh, a band that was always expressing the Faustian spirit and the aenaon search of the soul. In nowadays' society where human beings have no opinion nor will of their own, imprisoned by their own will, they only follow and they feed upon lies, waiting for the land of promise and a fake paradise/utopia, Septic Flesh with "Sumerian Daemons" bring forth the arch meaning of the word "Demon" (Daemon). Daemon = Demon = the one who seeks knowledge, wisdom, the free spirit that won't follow; definitely not the false meaning that Church passed throughout the centuries of a dark soul/fallen angel trying to lead humans to eerie delights/temptation. They take us back to the ancient civilizations of the Sumerians and ancient Egypt, thousands of years ago, when humans were searching for utter knowledge and attain wisdom. The Sumerian ziggurats and the pyramids of Egypt, symbols of symmetry and a free age when the spirit was able to fly?

"Sumerian Daemons" was destined to be the swan-song of this bright band, swan-song for Septic Flesh yet not for the aenaon journey to the utter wisdom. This album is pure Art, in lyrical, musical and conjectural section. Musically they are based on their debut album, "Mystic places of Dawn", but they sound way more mature and the orchestral/symphonic ideas make the music sound dark, mystic, transcendent. Lyrically Sotiris writes verses filled with transcendent thoughts, mystic and dark, filled with will to know, "I am no human now, because I choose to know". Reaching now the conjectural section where Septic Flesh show another side of their artistic concerns since Seth is studying Art at the university. Figures condemned to suffer and spiritual death in one side whilst on the other under the eye of God humans choose to know, they forsake the "written rules" of a God and they choose to be equal. Photos filled with dark aesthetic. Are you ready to taste the forbidden fruit, are you ready to sense how it feels to be God?? "Open the Choronzone?"

?"Behold? The land of Promise" and the pathway to knowledge opens with an ironic title. Tormented voices from above, lost souls, eerie keyboard melodies, orchestral instruments and enchanting operatic voices evoke a nightmarish atmosphere expressing the fake/imaginary beauty of a created Heaven/Paradise and then? "Unbeliever", subversive lyrics and along with them aggressive music expressed by heavily distorted guitar riffing and a nocturnal rhythm section, whilst the operatic voices evoke an evil atmosphere along with Spiros expressing that he is of "the kind that doubts the unreason" with his utterly descriptive brutal voice. "The Virtues of the Beast" follows, an elegiac composition with wonderful riffing and utterly expressive operatic moments.

"Faust", a composition dedicated to the seeker of infinite knowledge. "I dreamt the Devil was I, my quest complete" and the aggressive guitar riffing leads the way tearing apart the Heaven of Lies. Another aggressive composition follows, "When all is None", with wonderful heavy guitar riffing to lead to the most brutal, musically and lyrically composition Septic Flesh have ever written, "Red Code Cult", "welcome to our Church disciples of the Jackal". Heavily distorted guitar riffing and really fast and high-quality drumming along with mystic lyrics and Spiros screaming in ecstasy form a great composition. Then we step into the "Dark River" and memories of "Revolution DNA" come forth, electro FX, heavy metal riffing and acoustic guitar chords to slowly reach a place where "Magic Loves Infinity" with its eerie and dark atmosphere, a place filled with "spiritual eroticism" where "desire manifests with endeavour".

"Sumerian Daemon" travels you back in the land where the Sumerians formed the first known civilization, where Ziggurats led to utter wisdom, can you hear the wail of Sumer? Eerie and at the same time enchanting keyboard melodies begin the composition and then raging drumming and great riffing follows with Spiros singing the coming to earth of the Strangers from far above, Anunaki, "windy whisperers come from beyond the clouds, descend with glory to the plane earth". And we reach nowadays with "Mechanical Babylon", another composition reminding the industrial sound experiments of "Revolution DNA". "Infernal Sun" keeps burning since the dawn of time, an exceptional composition with wonderful riffing and beautiful melodies. "Watchers" comes next, an aggressive yet at the same time elegiac composition talking of those who where witnesses when They came down, "strangers with the eyes of men" (Fields of the Nephilim). The album ends with an utterly atmosphere-evoking composition, "Shape Shifter", filled with an eerie "mechanized" darkness.

Definitely one of the best albums that came out of Greece and maybe the most various and best Septic Flesh album ever! Follow, Hordes of the Dreamlord!