Epitaph is the second and final studio album by German death metal band Necrophagist released by Relapse Records on August 3, 2004. Unlike on Onset of Putrefaction, guitarist and vocalist Muhammed Suiçmez recorded the album alongside a full band instead of recording it by himself. Though most uncredited, guitarist Christian Münzner, who later departed from the band and joined Obscura, confirmed he wrote at least half of the lead guitar parts as well as several basslines on the album.[4] The track "Only Ash Remains" incorporates the melody of the "Montagues and Capulets" segment of the ballet Romeo and Juliet by Sergei Prokofiev.
| Epitaph | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 3 August 2004 | |||
| Recorded | "The Depth of Torment", Baden-Baden (guitars); "The Iguana Studios", March-Hugstetten (drums, vocals); "Aexxys-Art", Schwandorf (bass) | |||
| Genre | Technical death metal | |||
| Length | 32:56 | |||
| Label | Relapse | |||
| Producer | Muhammed Suiçmez | |||
| Necrophagist chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| PopMatters | (favorable)[2] |
| Ultimate Guitar |   [3] |
| Metal Storm | [citation needed] |
Composition and recording
editWriting for the album began in 2002, with Muhammed Suiçmez composing the tracks initially in Power Tab Editor, and eventually in Guitar Pro; newcomer lead guitarist Christian Münzner composing the solos, half of the track "Symbiotic in Theory" and a portion of the basslines, for which he took influence from Greg Howe.[5]
Recording took place in three different locations simultaneously: Hannes Grossmann recorded his drum tracks in Studio Iguana in March with Christoph Brandes, Stephan Fimmers recorded his bass in his own home studio in Schwandorf, while Münzner and Suiçmez recorded guitars in a makeshift studio in a school's basement in Baden-Baden;[5] scheduling forced Münzner to drop out from recording rhythm guitars on three tracks, which were fully played by Suiçmez.[5] As Suiçmez wanted to emphasize the compositional quality of the songs, the band relied heavily on punch-ins to get the accuracy they wanted.[5]
Track listing
editAll songs written by Muhammed Suiçmez except where noted.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Stabwound" | 2:48 |
| 2. | "The Stillborn One" | 4:24 |
| 3. | "Ignominious & Pale" | 4:01 |
| 4. | "Diminished to B" | 4:59 |
| 5. | "Epitaph" | 4:15 |
| 6. | "Only Ash Remains" | 4:11 |
| 7. | "Seven" | 3:44 |
| 8. | "Symbiotic in Theory" (Münzner, Suiçmez) | 4:35 |
| Total length: | 32:56 | |
Personnel
editNecrophagist
- Muhammed Suiçmez - vocals, lead and rhythm guitars
- Christian Münzner - lead guitar
- Stephan Fimmers - bass guitar
- Hannes Grossmann - drums
Additional personnel
- Christoph Brandes - recorded drums and vocals
- Bob Katz - mastering
References
edit- ^ York, William. "Epitaph Review". Allmusic. Macrovision. Retrieved 17 October 2009.
- ^ Begrand, Adrien (3 January 2005). "Epitaph Review". PopMatters. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2009.
- ^ Begrand, Adrien (3 January 2005). "Epitaph Review". Ultimate-Guitar. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
- ^ "Interviews « Christian Muenzner – Official Site". Archived from the original on 2013-11-02. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
- ^ a b c d "Necrophagist: The Search For Muhammed Suiçmez" – via www.youtube.com.