Septic Flesh - Mystic Places Of Dawn mp3

Classic Wax is a recurring series covering exceptionally great sounding metal releases on vinyl. As all of these albums are classics, our usual music and sound scores are superfluous. Dynamic range measurements are still provided for reference.
I’ve always admired Septic Flesh for their unusual blend of atmospherics, doom, and death metal that isn’t quite like anything else out there. While their last several albums both before and after their four year hiatus have definitely been enjoyable, there’s a certain quality to the band’s early albums that really makes them stand out. There’s no orchestras or overly elaborate structures, just Spiros’ deathly roars and the riffs from the duo of Christos and Sotiris, which are largely slow moving, dreary doom melodies punctuated with bursts of thundering death.
The band’s lineup has been remarkably stable over the years since their formation in 1990, with drummer Fotis Benardo being the only relatively new member. Their first EP, Temple of The Lost Race, was released in 1991 and landed them a record deal, and three years later they returned with their debut full length, Mystic Places Of Dawn. After a buildup of heavy death riffs and leads, the album’s title track kicks things off with pounding blast beats and delightfully sinister doom infused melodies. The subtle atmospherics and Spiros’ tortured growls and roars will work their way into your head in short order. If those alone don’t get you, the reserved, almost progressive interludes and brilliant solos certainly will.
“Pale Beauty Of The Past” opens with a gorgeously haunted melody that you’ll want to hear over and over. The song eventually shifts to lumbering doom, and then at just past the 2 minute mark, the energy suddenly jumps with high-speed riffs that are infectious as hell. This one is simply a must listen. “Crescent Moon” is another highlight. The trudging death riffs are the very definition of evil, and the vocals seem to emanate from hell itself. “(Morpheus) The Dreamlord,” and the album’s two part closer, “Mythos” also cannot be missed.
Mystic Places Of Dawn was produced and engineered by the band and “Magus Wampyr Daoloth” of Necromantia, with the exception of “(Morpheus) The Dreamlord,” which was recorded earlier in 1993 and was produced and engineered by Antonis Delaportas. Mastering was by Didier Chesneau at Melodie Studio and Joel Vitu at Sonic Contact. This album is a great example of why the dynamic range meter is only a guide post, and should not be used as a judge of sound quality.
The original 1994 CD release was totally unaffected by the Loudness War, clocking in at DR11. The drums are high in the mix and have nice depth and punch, and though the highs are somewhat buried and the guitars don’t have much weight to them, overall this version sounds quite good. Holy Records remastered and reissued the album in 2002 as a digipack, with the tracks from Temple of The Lost Race added as a bonus. The new master showed surprising restraint for 2002, coming in at DR9. Unfortunately, despite the relatively minimal loss in dynamics, the sound is considerably worse than the original. The guitars are not only pushed up too far compared to the drums, but their tone is also different, and they just don’t sound right.
Last year I was happy to see Season Of Mist reissue the album both on CD and double LP vinyl, as the original CD is rare and pretty expensive, and the original vinyl was a picture disc and costs even more. Sadly, the latest CD version shows none of the restraint of the 2002. The tone of the guitars is at least correct, but it was crushed down to DR6 and just sounds like an over-loud mess. Luckily, the new vinyl release doesn’t share that fate. It is on the loud side for vinyl (the TT meter reports DR9), and is definitely louder than the original CD, but it has the best balance of guitars and drums of any version, and some real weight to the riffs and presence from the highs as well.
The US clear vinyl release is available for under $20, and at that price, it’s a no brainer. Buy it. The French red transparent version is a little bit more. This is a phenomenal album, and if you don’t have a turntable, the 1994 CD release is the version you’re going to want. It’s expensive and I wish I could say the 2002 reissue is a good alternative, but it isn’t. Whatever you do, don’t buy the new CD.

http://www.metal-fi.com/septic-flesh-mystic-places-dawn/