Band:	Septicflesh
Album:	Revolution DNA
Style:	Atmospheric death metal
Release date:	1999
Guest review by:	ForestsAlive

01. Science
02. Chaostar
03. Radioactive
04. Little Music Box
05. Revolution
06. Nephilim Sons
07. DNA
08. Telescope
09. Last Stop To Nowhere
10. Dictatorship Of The Mediocre
11. Android
12. Arctic Circle
13. Age Of A New Messiahs
14. Misery's King [Re-release bonus]
15. The Thief Of Innocence [Re-release bonus]
16. Telescope [French version] [Re-release bonus]
17. Woman Of The Rings [Remastered] [Japanese bonus]
18. The Eldest Cosmonaut [Video remix] [Japanese bonus]

Revolution DNA could have been Septicflesh’s breakthrough album. It had the potential, the hunger, the personnel, but, ultimately, failed to deliver an original aesthetic that only came years later. However, it still contains some of the band’s most accessible and well-written songs.

The importance of Rotting Christ and Septicflesh for the Greek metal scene cannot be overstated. Through hard work, commitment, and love for their craft, they showed that Greek bands in the '90s could be signed by major labels, tour the world, and make a name for themselves while leaving a mark on metal’s history. To me, they always embodied the ideal professional musician, with their professional photoshoots, production, and general aesthetic that had nothing to envy from their Western counterparts. For Septicflesh, this professionalism first became apparent in Revolution DNA.

Back in ‘98 and ‘99, it seemed that Septicflesh were ready for the big leagues. They already had a number of well-received releases in the style of atmospheric doom death with symphonic elements, but it was time to take some risks.

Firstly, the band invested in an expensive production at Fredman Studios, which was huge for any Greek band back in the day. Fredrik Nordström gave the band a modern, rich sound with those heavy guitar tones and that beautiful snare that I still envy to this day. While certainly not the best-sounding album to come out of Fredman Studios, it still sounds current and charming. Secondly, the band invested in their performances more than ever. Every part, every drum fill, every lick is really well played, making for an enjoyable listen to this day. It is just obvious that Septicflesh were super serious about this project.

Interestingly, Septicflesh decided to follow a different songwriting and aesthetic direction this time around. Forget the operatic female vocals and the rich, orchestral sections from the previous albums. Revolution DNA is stripped down to the bare minimum, with only some pads in the background to add atmosphere. Some people mention “industrial” elements, but it’s only the lead guitars that are drenched in effects. At the same time, the songs now have a clear-cut structure, even resulting in some “hits” with catchy choruses like “Science” and “Little Music Box”.

If all this sounds familiar, it’s because Septicflesh were trying to follow the Paradise Lost trajectory from gothic doom/death to a more accessible atmospheric metal sound that did wonders for the British doomsters. And here lies the biggest problem with this record: while Paradise Lost followed their instincts when evolving their sound, Septicflesh followed Paradise Lost. This leaves the listener with a bitter taste, the taste of constant comparison. There are songs, riffs, and melodies in Revolution DNA that could have been leftovers from any of the Shades of God to Draconian Times albums. And while Paradise Lost in the 90s were already at the peak of their songwriting, Septicflesh still had to reach maturity. This means that the aforementioned “leftover” songs are simply uninspired, messy, and, frankly, quite bad. For instance, the last songs, “Android”, “Arctic Circle”, and “Age of New Messiahs”, are just painful to listen to; it makes you wonder why nobody objected to their inclusion on this album.

Fortunately, in the sea of mediocre songs, the listener can find hidden gems such as the hits “Science”, “Little Music Box”, and the dark and beautiful “Nephilim Sons”. If the album had four more songs like those instead of the actual ten in the release, it would have been a different story.

After Revolution DNA, Septicflesh took some time off and rebranded themselves not only name-wise (from Septic Flesh to Septicflesh) but also aesthetically and stylistically, slowly evolving into the high-quality band we experience today. I cannot tell whether the media’s reception to this album had anything to do with their rebranding. For sure, though, it was the right decision.

Revolution DNA is truly an uneven album with many lows and few highs. It might be interesting in the historical context of this band, but most listeners would rather listen to any of their albums from 2003 onwards.