Rotting Christ - The Heretics (2019)

While it feels like forever since I've really been digging on a new Rotting Christ record, it hasn't actually been all that long. I had been slightly underwhelmed by the last two, Κατά τον δαίμονα εαυτού and Rituals, but neither of them was actually 'bad', they just didn't further the bands' expansive Hellenic sound the way I knew they'd be capable of, and they seemed like a downturn after the very good Aealo back in 2010. After listening through this latest effort, The Heretics, I found some commonality with a lot of their albums that I've enjoyed since pioneering that highly melodic, choppy style of Thy Mighty Contract and Triarchy of the Lost Lovers. The overall tone and production is more in line with the last few, and there are points at which it still feels like a choir-driven affair, but a lot of those catchy if predictable riffing patterns have returned, and I was into it for the most part.

Whereas earlier albums in the prime of this band focused very heavily on the guitars to create the action, offset by the Takis bark, this one features so many different vocals floating about its neo-classical narrative that sometimes the guitar melodies have to settle for the background. So a lot of the orchestrated influence is still present here, but they do their best to render it all down to that simple, heavy metal riffing which has long made bands of this scene more distinct from the blast oriented, chord-streaming black metal acts of Northern Europe. There aren't a lot of guitars that stand out quite as much as their later 90s fare, but they manage to make the tunes soar emotionally and really leave the impressions of these ancient religious clusterfucks that shaped faiths, nations and peoples. The album has a very thick, bombastic atmosphere thanks to the thundering beats and the simple depth of the rhythm guitars, plus the mournful timbre in most of the vocals. There are a number of riffing passages here which are just borderline doom, and each tune tends to take its time with just a few basic ideas and not become too cluttered...

Which helps when you're involving the choirs, the varied vocal styles, and other atmospheric embellishments, since the album feels more genuinely realistic, a solemn mantra of antiquity channeled through electric guitars, percussions and growls. Granted, this album sometimes has a lot more in common with Batushka or Therion than A Dead Poem or Sleep of the Angels, but if this is the direction Rotting Christ is determined to explore forevermore, then at least I can appreciate that they're pacing themselves to offer the listener some real gravitas, some sadness, some stakes to the topics they explore. The lyrics here are a mixture of quotations from authors and philosophers, and then very simple repeated lines of imagery that represent the Biblical subjects at hand, which is to say they aren't getting minimal simply out of laziness, but for aesthetics. And that is what The Heretics comes down to, orchestrated drama they've been exploring for the past decade, only this time it has a little heft to it. I was rarely mesmerized by the record's austerity, but it got a couple hooks into me early and kept me listening through a number of cycles.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

https://www.rotting-christ.com/en

Rotting Christ - Rituals (2016)

Rituals is on one hand a monument of Rotting Christ's trajectory towards a near-complete saturation of the mythic and mystical in their compositions. It might feel uncanny to label this as 'folk', but a lot of the charging, galloping charioteer rhythms so pervasive in their last 10-15 years of work are out in full force, to the extent that they, along with the multiple layers of chorus vocals shouted with maximum amplitude and testosterone, have become the primary component in the Greeks' music. It's not out of the question to consider what the band has become the aural, metallic equivalent to the Trojan War, only somewhat less long-winded and intricate in its details and designs. Lyrically, this is an album dealing with the dark occult, and that has little to no bearing on the particular imagery it conjured in my skull, but about 50% of the percussive, blitzing, tribal music here feels fit for a duel between Ajax, Paris, Achilles, and Hector in any combination you can dream up. 'Come, friend, you too must die. Why moan about it so?'

On the other hand, it's just another slight case of returns diminishing, a half or full rung down the ladder of quality which its Κατά τον δαίμονα εαυτού began to descend. Glorious, but empty. If I can say one thing that is truly in Rituals' favor, it is the production level. Massive, polished, precise, the low degree of intricacy and complexity here translates into a good fit for the bombastic volume of the somber and rasped vocals, the snares, kicks, overall momentum. Rituals 'sounds' so good that I am almost driven to grant clemency to the fact that there's just not that much here by way of those infectious, 'classic' Rotting Christ guitars that I've been smitten with for over 20 years. When and where they do appear, they instantly shine, like the gleam of a Hoplite's sword after a morning of carnage in the sun. But too much of the writing here focuses on a predictable slog of chords and syncopated rhythms that are meant more as an added layer of percussion than having any melodic capacity. It's as if the band is using two or three drummers, only they had one kit so made the others bang on other instruments, and everything serves as a vehicle for the vocal arrangements; which are acceptable, and bridge the band's obsession between extremity and antiquity, but not enough to inter this album deep within the memory fields.

It wouldn't be a stretch to compare Rituals to a record like Chaos A.D., another example in which a band simplified its approach in lieu of adopting native cultural aesthetics to some of its metal core, only that one really stuck with me (and I know it did not for a great many listeners). Rituals is instead about as exciting as its cover art, another example of the band shunning its great logo for something plain and uninspired, much like its predecessor. I understand this is all to 'let the music speak for itself', but apart from the cultural feel and immersive mix of this album, it didn't end up resonating with me or making much of any statement. A few good licks exist here or there, and in truth a lot of the tunes are well enough structured, but would have been better served with a few extra riffs that deviated into more memorable and unexpected patterns alongside the warlike veneer of the drums and vocals. Like the figure on the cover, it feels like there was initially some life or inspiration here which succumbed to the petrifying gaze of a gorgon. There's a surface pulse, but it could have gone so much further if it had felt fully alive, capable of bleeding. Not an awful effort at all, especially if you're in the business of sacking cities for a member of the fairer sex, but once again I found myself pining away for the elegance of A Dead Poem, Triarchy, or at least some of their more eager experimentation in the earlier 00s.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

http://www.rotting-christ.com/

Rotting Christ - Lucifer Over Athens (2015)

Lucifer over Athens is nothing if not substantial, the live album a format which Rotting Christ has hardly inundated us with through their decades of existence. Recorded on the band's 'home court' over two days of performances, one would suspect all advantages to be pressed with a rousing level of crowd participation and banter, but they really just get down to business, with a staggering 31 tracks and two discs that draw upon nearly every full-length the Greeks have released to the public. The omissions are few and not terribly noticeable or important, even to pundits for the group who have generally obsessed over the band, but might find a few of their studio works to seam together a little too much over the last 10-15 years. There is something here that will align to most of their audiences' tastes, even fans who had dropped off the wagon after their steep ascent in the 90s, a streak of material which in my own estimation they've simply not rivaled or exceeded in many attempts now.

Having seen the band Stateside a number of times, I can actually vouch for the band's live capacity as it appears on these discs. Even when their performance might have been marred by small, dingy port city club sound systems, they were enthusiastic and personable to a fault, excited for the opportunity, and did not lack an emotional presence even when certain instruments wouldn't translate as well to the stage. With Lucifer Over Athens, everything has been smoothed over, balanced. Earlier tunes like "King of a Stellar War" and "The Sign of Evil Existence", or others even older, sound flush with the newer, more percussive, rhythmic, and tribal material they'd been releasing up to this point. Though the disparities in style and structure, the contrasts actually strengthen the performance as it's splayed out across the two hours and 15 minutes of content. Leads and melodies are really clear, the drums are clean, the vocals as blunt and tortured and characteristic as Sakis appears on record, and with the synthesizers and choirs and other elements inherent to the music it gives off a grandiose, vaulting impression in the live environment with just the right level of occasional audience ambiance. Van's bass lines don't always rumble through the mix, but in sparser moments where the melodies are set to soar in, say, a "Demonon Vrosis", it's presence is ramped up considerably.

There are few if any Rotting Christ records I dislike to begin with, so I was predisposed not to take issue with much of the set selection, but even the couple cuts from Κατά τον δαίμονα εαυτού, which did not resonate with me, come across fairly fresh in the context of this performance, and it's the sort of live experience which made me want to pull out some of the studio albums again and listen through. There is still life left to the band, ideas that can be enmeshed to the unique, simpler broth of black and other metals, and Lucifer Over Athens reminds us of this fact. It might not go down as one of the most poignant and memorable live experiences on a collectors' shelf, and there's a notion in this generation of the increasing irrelevance of such products, but they remain a badge of honor for the older artists involved, and I'd say the Tolis brothers and Season of Mist can pat each others' backs on a job well done. The rest of us can muse over whether we'll another quarter century of Christ to collect into yet another such live package. I'll also add that it was nice to see them display the logo again, prominently; their most recent studio material, marred by some of the dullest artwork choices they've made in decades, has felt tainted for excluding that on the front.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

http://www.rotting-christ.com/

Rotting Christ - 25 Years: The Path of Evil Existence (2014)

I don't have nearly as many expectations for a pack-in anthology disc as I do for a label-wrought compilation...the former is usually added as a gimmick, and at least you might be getting a half decent rag along with it...the latter is often nothing more than some I's being dotted on a bottom line. Metal Hammer of Greece is arguably one of the more 'legit' versions of that particular rag family still in print, and so it makes a lot of sense that they'd collaborate with countrymen Rotting Christ, the most successful dark metal band of Hellas, to put this forth, but let's call a spade a spade: this is reprinted material spanning the band's career, no matter how you try to dress it up and act like it's something unique, or 'exclusive', or 'chosen by the band itself'. It's not like you're going out and paying $18-20 for a pretty new booklet with a bunch of recycled cuts you've already heard, but it's still not nearly as important as going through this fantastic band's catalog and experiencing these songs in their original environments, along a lot of other great songs...many GREATER...Sakis and company obviously might not have the best taste in their own music, I'm putting that out there.

Do the songs 'represent' each of the group's many stages of evolution appropriately? I would say yes to that, and they're laid out here in a reverse chronological order, with one cut each taken from all the full lengths, beginning with "In Yumen Xibalba" off the disappointing Κατά τον δαίμονα εαυτού and then touring back through their better material up to track #11, "The Sign of Evil Existence" off of Thy Mighty Contract. But it doesn't end there, for the next few tracks ("The Forest of N'Gai", "Feast of the Grand Whore", "Vision of the Dead Lovers" etc) are taken from the band's earlier EPs, they are not exactly hiding those primitive origins and why should they? They close the selection off with another cut from Genesis ("Astral Embodiment") and then a live version of "Athanati Este", which is possibly the only thing the diehard fan hasn't heard (outside the studio), but that's exactly it...and like so many of these collections, I felt myself scratching my beard at the level of missed opportunity. Why not replace most of this with rare or live material, and offer someone an imperative to purchase the magazine? Clearly the only people this is going to possibly sway are complete newcomers who have no history with the Greeks, and even then I'm not sure they selected the best tracks for that job.

As for someone like myself, who has been following the group forever and enjoys the overwhelming majority of their full-length recordings, I can't think of a better use for this than smelting. Maybe I could eke out a brief few seconds of kindling from the cover art, though to be fair it's far superior to their last album which is one of the most shockingly amateur examples of 'minimalism' I've seen from a professional band that should know a lot better. If somehow, you are a Greek metal fan buying Greek Metal Hammer and you've missed out on Rotting Christ, then congratulations on this amazing find. I hope it gives you 70 minutes of enjoyment only before you head out and buy some of the band's actual albums, but as a 'product' this has all the substance of the aether. Inhaled it, exhaled it, got on with my miserable life. If I wore makeup I might use this as a mirror, but as it stands this won't even function as a rewritable CD. Hope there are some good articles in there... Perhaps there aren't a flock of ravenous label shills laughing behind the scenes, their fangs glistening as they drink the vitae from your wallets, but it's unfortunately just as much smoke blown out the proverbial ass. I'd rather marathon Κατά τον δαίμονα εαυτού while being served as kibble to Cerberus' spawn than take another look at this.

Verdict: Epic Fail [0/10]

http://www.rotting-christ.com/

Rotting Christ - Κατά τον δαίμονα εαυτού (2013)

Early previews of this album did not yield much excitement for me, as it seemed like a formulaic continuation of Rotting Christ's last album, which was heavily invested in symphonics and atmosphere. I did enjoy Aeolo well enough, but what I was hearing on the newer samples was like a watering down, with a lot of baseline chugging riffs or the usual staccato picked sequences the band has been employing quite often across the last decade. There was also the incredibly lazy cover art... Granted, they haven't been strong in this department since the 90s, but this is by far the worst in their history; nothing more than a mirroring of some gargoyle's image with the bland album title text. Seriously, I don't know if the idea here was 'minimalism', but fuck that, dudes! You guys have a great logo: show it off. Nothing wrong with a little 'branding', especially with such a strong history of consistently engaging output.

Unfortunately, after numerous listening cycles, my fears were confirmed: Κατά τον δαίμονα εαυτού ('True to His Own Spirit') is not exactly a poorly arranged or awful album by any means, but it's quite an uninspired mass of business as usual, in which the atmospherics take precedence over the memorability of the guitar progressions, and I can count the sum of its striking sequences on the fingers of one hand. Basically the band could be compared to a Hellenic version of Therion, with the deep and somnolent male choirs merged to the more melodic, flighty female guest vocalists, and the metallic rhythmic components all too simple, as if a bit of added innovation and complexity might not support the layers of synths and the half dozen members of the chorus. If the harmonies were particularly transfixing, I might forgive this, but alas they're just not all that special. I mean if I was to play Xena the Warrior Princess (who wants to be Gabrielle?), running around the verdant hills and pastures of New Zealand and making battle with fictional creatures and assassins, this has enough pomp and thrust to carry the day foe me. It's not an album in poor taste, but it just seems as if we've already been down this path, and while competent, Rotting Christ are not particularly great at it...

What they WERE, was a great GUITAR band, possessed of epic, glorious melodies on records like A Dead Poem, Triarchy of the Lost Lovers, lines that would stick in your head for years upon years. Even in their more arguably 'Goth' phase, Sleep of the Angels, they were writing some top notch tunes. Here, most of the melodies are slung along in typical fashion, whether through hammering patterns or simple, flowery lilting passages that add some delirium to the rifling rhythm structures. They do get a good punch to the guitar, which mixes lavishly against the choirs, barked vocals and orchestration, but apart from the bonus track "Welcome to Hel", which I thought was the best on the album, marginally hearkening back to their more majestic black metal stylings of the 90s, the rhythm guitars are little more than bedrock for whatever else is happening. Overall, I'd say the record has a pretty great mix. It's probably more polished than Non Serviam/Thy Mighty Contract nerds would be comfortable with, but with so much necessary to balance, it was the only approach worth taking. The drums sound great, and you can make out the bass lines, but the latter prove little more than a footnote applied by Sakis Tolis after his vocals, guitars and keyboards.

If there was one aspect I consistently admired, it's the 'worldliness' of the album's themes. One might be tricked into thinking this was some patriotic tribute to their Greek heritage, but in truth it explores a lot of historical and mythological cultures. You get occult lyrics in Latin ("Grandis Spiritus Diavolos"), a lovingly crafted upgrade to a Romanian traditional with fantastic pianos and female vocals ("Cine iubeşte şi lasă"), a voyage to the Mayan underworld ("In Yumen - Xibalba"), ancient Slavic demons ("Русалка"), and Sumerian epics ("Gilgameš"); hell, there is even a Voodoo track! It's like a tour of fascinating religious constructs of antiquity, and while Rotting Christ could probably write an entire, compelling record on any of these subjects, its sort of cool that they are sending them out as 'feelers'. Sadly, when set to such boring chord progressions as those around 2:30 in "Cine iubeşte şi lasă", the opening of "Grandis Spiritus Diavolos", or the wah wah in "Iwa Voodoo", I had zero expectations that anything interesting would occur, and for the most part, that held true. If you're looking to stir a bit of Therion or Hollenthon into your morning Aeolo, then this is surely your poison. But a few decent melodies and a passably exotic atmosphere do not always make for an ethnic metal masterpiece, and you can zip Κατά τον δαίμονα εαυτού into the evidence bag.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10] (welcome to my dark kingdom behind the sun)

http://www.rotting-christ.com/

Rotting Christ/Negative Plane - Split EP (2012)

On its surface, this collaboration is yet another of those unique ideas one cannot help but admire. Essentially the 7" split provides the 'soundtrack' to a doctoral publication coming out later in the year through a Swedish imprint known as Malört Förlag, and was arranged by the historian Mikael Häll, who also provides a narrative intro to the two songs and appears on the Rotting Christ track (he also appeared on the 2006 debut by the band Sleeping Majesty). The theme of his dissertation is in antiquated sexual commerce with supernatural beings, but beyond that, let's just come out and say it: the man has great taste, and picked two of the finest bands in the black metal niche to help represent his research.

Of course, Rotting Christ and Negative Plane have two highly distinct sounds that heavily contrast with one another, and I'm not sure they match up aesthetically for this release. About the only thing that connects the two tunes is the deep, sonorous narrative introducing them. The Greeks' contribution, "Naturdemonernas Lockrop: I 1000 Djävlars Namn" is a riff heavy construction, not entirely unlike the material from their past half dozen full-lengths, which features thrash-driven guitars wrought with chants and the sort of triumphant climax chorus you'd have heard on albums like A Dead Poem, Khronos or even Sleep of the Angels. Energetic, certainly, with a particularly bloody execution of Sakis' rasping, but not their most memorable piece in recent years. Contrast this with the non-metallic Negative Plane instrumental, which is founded on eerie, clean guitars and swerving, psychedelic bass lines set to a tinny percussion backdrop, and you get a broad gulf in style.

Of the two, I found the latter marginally more compelling, but only because it leaves so much to the imagination. Effort-wise, I'd not be surprised of the trio could knock out a dozen "Chasm Depths" in an afternoon/evening rehearsal session. So as far as its musical value, I wouldn't think to hold the split in the highest regard. That being said, though, I feel like this sort of collaboration deserves encouragement, not only for the eclectic and rich quality of the artists involved, but also as an outlet for intellectual pursuits that bridge history, literature and extreme music. That Rotting Christ and Negative Plane agreed to do this does not particularly shock me: these are phenomenal bands who have long held an interest in writing music that dives far beneath the epidermis of their chosen genre. Häll's subject matter is fascinating (though I'm not sure English readers will get a translated version when the writings are published), and the idea of such a multimedia exhibition as this is cool beyond words (they've released numerous author audio-literary crossovers before); but, unfortunately, neither of the individual songs here is the best representation of its artist, and so it's ultimately more of a novelty than a necessity.

Verdict: Indifference [6.25/10]

http://www.malortforlag.se/english.php
http://www.rotting-christ.com/
http://www.myspace.com/negative.plane

Rotting Christ - Thanatiphoro Anthologio (2007)

It was bound to happen that a band of Rotting Christ's stature would attract one of these pocket mop-up compilations, it's only a surprise just how long it took for Century Media to do so. But hey, a 20th anniversary makes sense for a hallmark on which to issue a career retrospective, right? Well, frankly, I don't see how this makes Thanatiphoro Anthologio any more of a value than some other, shit stained, greedy wallet molester. Because that is all we have here. Two discs or 24 previously released tracks that span the Greeks' entire career, from their demo days to their latest album, which had come out early in the same year, but several tracks of which were worthlessly included anyway...

Now, there are many ways in which this could have been done RIGHT. Since the label and band saw fit to include the demo tracks here (the only ones likely worth a damn to the Rotting Christ fans who already own the albums, and would be the only people buying this). This band had at least a half-dozen to a dozen rare demos, splits, and EPs back in their formative years, for which the permission might have been acquired so that they be reprinted in full here. It could have been a bastion of rarities serving to complete the fan's collection of this, one of their most beloved bands. Instead, we get about three demo tunes: "The Nereid of Esgalduin", "Fghmenth, Thy Gift" and "The Fourth Knight of Revelations". The last two are taken from the Ade's Winds demo (1992), but "Nereid" would already be available on one of the re-issues of Satanas Tedeum (1989) or the Dawn of the Iconoclast EP. Not to mention that re-recordings of both "The Fourth Knight of Revelations" and "Fghmenth" are available as part of Thy Mighty Contract, and sounding better. In other words...nice try, but no dice.

So with those 'rare' (but readily available) demo cuts aside, what is left on offer? Nothing more than a chronological stroll down memory lane, with an average of 2 or maybe 3 songs taken from each of the studio full-lengths. The choices aren't bad, because when it comes to Rotting Christ, there aren't many bad choices to MAKE, but let's bear in mind that 'fan favorite' implies a song that the fans already have a deep affectation for: meaning they most likely already own it, or have pirated it and are even less likely to purchase this than the albums. No later rarities, no 'b-sides', no unreleased tracks that we'd want to paw ourselves over, just a booklet with some photos and words of praise. Two discs and 110 minutes of redundancy, and an ultimate waste of time with the possible exception of some scrub who'd rather buy a black metal 'greatest hits' than appreciate the constituent recordings in their preferred environs. Now, I love Rotting Christ: they've probably produced somewhere between 25-35% of my favorite Hellenic metal records in history, so trust me when I say that any cent spent on this is a cent you could spend on something worthwhile, or just hold it in your piggy bank for their next studio release.

Verdict: Epic Fail [1/10]

http://www.rotting-christ.com/

Rotting Christ - Theogonia (2007)

After years of fiddling with their base, 90s formula, exploring exotic new vistas of Gothic-tinged sounds and ambient undercurrents, the persistent Rotting Christ would craft one of their most consistent and crushing career efforts. Mind you, this does not mean that they have abandoned ANY of such deviations, because Theogonia does it all, a microcosmos of their prior output delivered upon a new plateau of polished production that thankfully does not dissemble the pure power of the riffing here. You'll still hear the chanting, layered vocals and the tints of dark ambiance flushed beneath the hammering, metal matrix, but it seems this time the Greeks were after a level of heaviness they have rarely manifest.

For three tracks straight, Rotting Christ steamrolls its audience with slow, blasted surety, the measure and precise beats of Themis Tolis doing all they can to support the weighty textures above. Don't be thrown off by the funky, wah-wah ingredient of "The Sign of Prime Creation", because it is for the most part a stream of melodic black metal with the same, percussive pomp one might have heard even on their earlier 90s classics. "Nemecic" has a lot of darker, grooving chords churning about like well sculpted mud, but the ritual, whispered vocals of Sakis more than atone for its oozing visage. Once you arrive at "Enuma Elish", you get a power thrashing that evolves into some glorious, glinting melodic textures and escalating beats that bleed straight into the atmospheric, four-chord chorus.

But Theogonia becomes more interesting as you proceed, into the grooving variation of "Rege Diabolicus", ambient-gone-surging of "Helis Hyperion" or the grandiose finale "Threnody" and its tribal, percussive subtext, like a more modern take on the Triarchy of the Lost Lovers style. I wouldn't say there were more than a handful of individual riffs to die for here, so to that extent it doesn't match up with Genesis, Khronos, A Dead Poem or most of their better works, but the fact remains that the band keeps their composition kinetic, diverse and fascinating, with multiple layers at work in any given second, and much for the ear to consume. Tolis' vocals are strong and central to the lattice of intricate lead-spikes and lurching, jerking rhythm guitars, and it would be difficult to found an instance in its 43 minutes where the content truly sags below the level of consistent inspiration. That said, it does often come across like an amalgamation of their prior efforts, almost as if they grew wary of stepping forward, and so decided to stack the past 3 or 4 albums together like sheets of transparency paper and then flick on the overhead projector.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10] (where joy and lust dispel in air)

http://www.rotting-christ.com/

Rotting Christ - Sanctus Diavolos (2004)

Sanctus Diavolos, the 8th Rotting Christ full-length, follows fairly close in the footsteps of its predecessors Sleep of the Angels and Khronos as far as incorporating diverse, worldly influences into a work of strong atmospherics. Curiously, though, the album doesn't seem to be one of their stronger works. Where the instrument was key for Genesis or Sleep of the Angels, the very core experience, it seems to have been reduced here to a series of rather unmemorable, chugging sequences which serve only as anchors to the use of the synthesizers, backing choirs, and other ambient aesthetics that the Greeks provide for the catchier bits of composition. For a decade or more, the band was always known for their majestic riffs, but here they seem reduced to a mere footnote.

As such, the album turned out to be my least favorite since Non Serviam. That isn't to say it's bad, because the band steps up a number of ingredients to compensate for the lack of strong guitars, but had they decided to balance the two better, I can't help but feel that this could have exceeded the two records directly before it. Where Sanctus Diavolos is at its most indomitable is in its somber Gothic-inflected tracks, like "Sanctimonius" which feels like an uncanny marriage of Gregorian chanting and Tiamat's Pink Floyd era, driven by the bass. Or the title track itself, which has small spikes of gleaming guitars that along the escalating, operatic vocals and tribal undercurrent of percussion. There are tracks upon which the guitar is more prevalent, like the punchy and familiar surge of "Thy Wings Thy Horn Thy Sin" or "Visions of a Blind Order", but these are more about percussive force infused with Gothic eccentricity than evoking the majestic power of yesteryear's riffing. There are also some tracks that feel derivative of prior writing, like "Doctrine" which has a chord sequence nearly replicated from The Sleep of Angels.

All in all, there is still a current of subtlety and grace here which creates that ever distinctive Rotting Christ individuality, and I enjoyed how the metallic ingredients characteristics with the classically endowed influences. But it's one of the few efforts in their career where I feel that relatively substantial swaths of material could have been clipped or better written to provide a more fascinating and immersive work more consistent with its siblings. The lyrics remain interesting if not complex, the production here is about as processed sounding as the album before it, and the band's sense for exploration not impacted in the slightest, but I'm just too hard pressed to recount almost a single guitar riff throughout the entire 48+ minutes. And when you're a metal band, especially one as good as this, those are rather implied and important. A decent listen for its overall, darkly ascendant appeal, but not even remotely a highlight of their career.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10] (here shines the sun of a lower God)

http://www.rotting-christ.com/

Rotting Christ - Genesis (2002)

Not a band to take the international momentum they spawned in the 90s lightly, Rotting Christ have kept themselves busy with album after album throughout the first decade of the 21st century. With an almost remarkable solidarity, none of them have suffered in quality, so if Genesis is found lacking anything, it would simply be that the band are so damn consistent that some might consider it a turnoff. Merging elements of the past three albums (A Dead Poem, Sleep of the Angels and Khronos) into a fusion of Gothic, ritualistic world music and black metal, I'm not sure if the Greeks had ever sounded so immediate and accessible as on this record. Even if it's not one of their best, and a number of tracks stand a full head taller than others, I find it every shred as enjoyable as Khronos, if not marginally better...

They come out firing with a number of curious, faster paced pieces in which slight evolutions on old formulas are exacted, such as the rhythmic start/stop sequence that inaugurates "Daemons" with its tense tapping and shrill, operatic background; or "Lex Talionis" and its use of Gregorian chants beneath the bloodied, rasping surge of the battering guitars and vocals...with yet another of those tapping riffs rippling off below the percussive bridge passage. The chanting is used to an even greater effect on "Ad Noctis", one of the most emotionally stirring tracks on the album, with escalating charge rhythms tweaked on symphonic swells and a Gothic sprawl to its bridge. Of the slower pieces, the winding melodies and whispered poesy of "Dying" affixes itself directly to the memory, while the strange and almost 'lounge-like' Samael atmospherics opening "Release Me" erupt into one of the more glorious, melodic sequences this side of Triarchy of the Lost Lovers.

A couple of the numbers might not be quite so distinct as those I've mentioned ("Quintessence", "Under the Name of Legion" for example), but they all have at least something to offer. As a whole, Genesis is more forceful and brightly produced than Khronos, with the ambient choir and synthesizer aesthetics sitting well upon the edifice of the strong riffing foundation. The drums and vocals likewise sound brazen, modern and polished without ever feeling overproduced, and despite the glint of futurism in the engineering, Rotting Christ retain all the striking, unique characteristics that they had mustered even as early as Thy Might Contract or Non Serviam. 15 year and seven albums into their career, there's no sign of weakness worth exploiting, and while the title of Genesis might imply a greater sense of rebirth or innovation than transpires here, the album is another suitably haunting and blissful reminder of who your festering and formidable savior is.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (war for war and woe for woe)

http://www.rotting-christ.com/

Rotting Christ - Khronos (2000)

After the curiously 'chill' Sleep of the Angels, which wrought its emotional power from simpler, more accessible riffing patterns and the substitution of Gothic metal atmospherics for some of the straight and sad majesties of its predecessors, speculation was high as to whether Rotting Christ would move further into a more congenial, radio friendly space, or regress back into their carnal and defining origins. Well, Khronos does neither. It sort of sidesteps the band into another new terrain. The springy, full-bodied but lightly distorted guitars of Sleep of the Angels have been supplanted with a thinner tone, and where the keyboards there were bright and prominent, here they seem more subdued and breezy, lush and ambient, often mingling with other environmental effects at the very edge of the listener's attention.

The centerpiece of the album, sadly, is not a Rotting Christ original, but a cover of Current 93's "Lucifer Over London", which they've lent a restrained magnificence through the melodic idylls of the guitar, searing background chords and the synthesizer fauna. Sakis Tolis does get a little repetitive with his rasping, a characteristic limited not only to this song, but in total it's one of those covers you'll remember and turn to nearly as much as the original. Otherwise, I favor "Aeternatus", with its sensual, whispering vixen samples and acceleration from muted rock pace to an all out, old school Greek charge through the enemy defenses. "Law of the Serpent" is a poignant, seething instrumental track with more depth than it has any right to, and the chorus melody of "Fateless" is unflinchingly pretty, and the haunting background ambiance is brilliantly handled there. "Time Stands Still" and "If It Ends Tomorrow" are likewise excellent songs which draw a closer comparison to the Triarchy of the Lost Lovers era.

The production is quite rich, especially the synthesizers, but for some reason I felt it to be more processed and less distinct than Sleep of the Angels. The band moved from Xytras (on the past two albums) over to Abyss Studio in Sweden, so that might explain some of the difference, but in particular the guitars here just don't gleam nearly so much as the last album. A minor gripe, surely, and Rotting Christ easily distract away from it with the strength of the music itself, and ultimately Khronos is another jewel in what by this point was already a gem-studded scepter. One of the few bands that ever managed to mix its broader influences (Gothic, industrial, trad metal and classical) into its unique brand of black metal without somehow alienating its fanbase and causing an underground uproar. Granted, the Greeks were never quite at the visibility level of Emperor, Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth or other raving successes, rather a more soft spoken alternative, and Khronos once again captured this career eloquence with its intelligent, thoughtful lyrics and diverse palette of dark and light sounds.

Verdict: Win [8/10] (in the light of a young moon)

http://www.rotting-christ.com/

Rotting Christ - The Mystical Meeting EP (1997)

The Mystical Meeting EP should not be confused with the 1995 compilation of the same name, and what's even more perplexing is that both were released through the tiny Uniforce Records imprint, and both picture discs. But where that was a re-issue of the Passage to Arcturo EP and Satanas Tedeum together for collectors of vinyl, this is a re-issue of the band's 1993 EP ΑΠΟΚΑΘΗΛΩΣΙΣ with the bonus Kreator covers that were found on the limited digipack of Rotting Christ's excellent 1996 effort Triarchy of the Lost lovers. Obviously, if you've got both of those, then this is extremely fucking useless unless you want a pretty vinyl to look at. Most picture discs, are in fact, useless. Tits on a bull. And this Mystical Meeting is a fairly chance proposition in itself, due to its inclement obscurity.

But if you somehow don't give a shit about actually listening to such a vanity, and have no other access to the recordings it contains, then why not? As I've already covered the two tracks from ΑΠΟΚΑΘΗΛΩΣΙΣ in my previous review, I'll just focus on the covers, all of which are culled from the German black/thrashers' formative works (1985-86). "Tormentor" (Endless Pain) is delivered with a decided polish, but Sakis Tolis is a man with a vocal palette nearly as bloodshot as Mille Petrozza, so he does a pretty damn good job with it. Ditto for "Flag of Hate" (from the EP of the same name), which features some even more hoarse vocals and maniacal laughter. This is included as the first half of a medley, the latter being "Pleasure to Kill" itself, which is also the best of the three (since the song, itself, is), pleasurably demented and violent as fuck. No, the Greeks have not given these some atmospheric treatment akin to the music they were producing for themselves at this period, outside of the occasional vocal reverb.

All three sound tremendous, by the way, on par with Triarchy and obviously more volatile. It's curious that they would choose such angry pieces, but they undoubtedly wanted to escape the confines of the glory whoring heavy/black metal originals they were writing, so it makes an ironic sort of sense. Rotting Christ does not really deviate much from the established strength and style of the original songs, though, so some might take this as a flaw. As these tracks are not necessarily better experienced here than they are on that digipack, the overall value is quite spotty outside the collectors' market. And most of them just want something cool to hang on their shelf or wall, stare at and boast about (like jewelry). Not saying there's a problem with that, but I'm a more practical music fan, and the product/format itself is far less important than what I'm experiencing in my ears as I bang my damned brains out.

Verdict: Indifference [5/10]

http://www.rotting-christ.com/

Rotting Christ - ΑΠΟΚΑΘΗΛΩΣΙΣ EP (1993)

ΑΠΟΚΑΘΗΛΩΣΙΣ, or Apokathelosis, was another of those obscure and limited run 7" releases bridging the gap between the seminal Rotting Christ EP Passage to Arcturo and their first proper full-length Thy Might Contract. Like Dawn of the Iconoclast the year before, it consists of only two tracks totalling another 8 minutes, and at least one of the songs, "The Mystical Meeting" is available elsewhere (to be technical, both are available elsewhere). But I'm sure that most of us agree: it's best to hear such works in their original skins, their primitive glory (or lack thereof), and thus the charisma of ΑΠΟΚΑΘΗΛΩΣΙΣ is most thoroughly experienced by tracking down this rarity, borrowing, downloading, or whatever it takes to get your hands on it.

Compared to the tracks on Dawn of the Iconoclast, Apokathelosis seems a work of some refinement. The guitars still pummel along with a raw, muted fervor, but you can clearly hear that this is the Rotting Christ most will come to identify with from 1993-1997, Thy Mighty Contract through A Dead Poem. "Visions of the Dead Lovers" is threaded with an ethereal synthesizer line that creates an angelic against the fibrous, melodic momentum, while the bloodcurdling bark of Sakis Tolis is unmistakable. They also go for that mid-paced bridge that will prove a recurring motif through the first five full-length albums. "The Mystical Meeting" is slightly different, opening with a straight thrash chug that reminds me of S.O.D. or Sacred Reich aside from the rasped vocals. This is closer to the material of their Sataneus Tedeum demo from 1989, but once the opening sequence develops, the band throws in the keyboards, winding doom riffs and cleaner, narrative vocals that give it a comparable appeal to the work of Passage to Arcturo and Thy Mighty Contract.

These are cool songs, and they offer a ghastly glimpse of Greek distinction against the black metal spawning elsewhere in Europe, but again, it's mostly a vinyl collector's lovechild with very little substantial weight. Sitting in a crypt-like basement in 1993, spinning this on your phonograph while snorting some blow or sipping absinthe paints pretty much the perfect picture of deviance, so the nostalgic value is obvious, but it's not necessarily the first direction I'd point any newcomer to this band in.

Verdict: Win [7/10] (eternity so shiny)

http://www.rotting-christ.com/

Rotting Christ - Dawn of the Iconoclast EP (1992)

If you've heard Rotting Christ's 1989 demo Satanas Tedeum, in which the band were first beginning to explore the raw black metal roots that would lead them further into a unique epiphany throughout the 90s, then you'll will know what to expect from their 7" release Dawn of the Iconoclast. Primarily because "The Nereid of Esgalduin" was also present there, but also just the sound in general of both songs, which is incredibly crude and spring-loaded, black thrash stuff with some glints of atmospheric foreshadowing through the keyboard in "The Nereid". Of course, they were originally a death/grind outfit, but it doesn't quite reflect in the composition here, as they go for more of a straight, energetic thrash with diabolic vocal slathering.

"The Nereid of Esgalduin" is a minor classic itself, granted. Not because of the riffs, which are fairly average, because of the grimy atmosphere they create and the contrast in the bridge as the synth line manifests. Keyboards in extreme metal were not necessarily news (Nocturnus and a few other bands had already arrived at that conclusion), but here they take a largely forgettable piece and transcend it into nostalgia, though I also like the closing charge which reminds me of something Metallica would have written for Master of Puppets or Ride the Lightning. The B-side is "Vicious Joy and Black Delight", with a stronger, springy guitar and overall stronger riffs than "The Nereid", and a pretty majestic breakdown bridge with flowing, mid-paced guitars that are yet another precursor to the style they'd start developing on Thy Might Contract. The simple but descending melodies that arrive after the 3 minute mark are also pretty nice.

In conjunction, the primal mix and the songs create a carnal killing spree down memory lane, one of which ranks among the best metal tributes in history to a female, man-consuming mythic creation from the Greek past. If you're expecting anything more than a crass demo level mix, guess again, but it does nothing to hinder the charm of the composition, with a sufficiently dark and brooding malevolence throughout. Granted, it's over in 8 minutes, "The Nereid" is available elsewhere, and the scarcity of the 7" makes its physical format ripe only for collectors, but the songs alone are authentic and grim enough to please the aesthete of archaic extremity.

Verdict: Indifference [6.25/10] (engaged with evil)

http://www.rotting-christ.com/

Rotting Christ - Der PerkekteTraum EP (1999)

Half a year after Sleep of the Angels was released, Century Media and the band decided to release a fan-oriented EP to capitalize upon the success they were having. Since the band had not previously put out an 'official' live recording, it made sense that any such package should include some material from the tours the band had been enjoying, and why not from their amazing European package alongside Samael and Moonspell in 1996? A time when all three bands were exploding internationally while simultaneously expanding and experimenting with their sounds. A Gothic, atmospheric metal tour de force.

Alas, the five offerings here are all rather cruddy sounding, not so much that you can't make out what the band is doing, or Sakis Tolis' fierce and distinguished rasp, but the melodies seem rather dim in this setting and I have doubts that this was taken from a professional board mix. Sounds more like it could have come out of a hand held recorder. At any rate, despite the underwhelming quality, its enough to tell that the band were quite tight even at this point, a fact I can confirm from numerous sightings of their tours over the years. All of the selections are from Triarchy of the Lost Lovers, which might turn some off that might have preferred the old albums, but this was the album they were touring on, and it makes sense. "Shadows Follow" and "King of a Stellar War" probably sound the best, but "Diastric Alchemy", "The First Field of Battle" and "A Dynasty from the Ice" are all comparable.

Unfortunately, the rest of the EP is a waste, with the band reprinting "Der Perfekte Traum (The Perfect Dream)" and "Moonlight" (bonus track) from Sleep of the Angels. Where this release might have been blown out to include rare demos (there are at least 4 I could think of) or EPs (The Mystical Meeting, Dawn of the Iconoclast and ΑΠΟΚΑΘΗΛΩΣΙΣ would all have been worthy candidates), it just falters. The live recordings are not bold enough to be recommended, and the studio tracks are redundant and useless, so Der Perfekte Traum is weak at best, and not worth your time or money. Check, please.

Verdict: Fail [4.25/10] (exciting and yet so sad)

http://www.rotting-christ.com/

Rotting Christ - Sleep of the Angels (1999)

While Sleep of the Angels does take its queues from both Triarchy of the Lost Lovers and A Dead Poem, it's also the most accessible work in all this beloved band's history, if not all of Greek black metal. In fact, I have a hard time even defining this as 'black metal' with a straight face, because it's essentially atmospheric, melodic metal with the added furor of Sakis Tolis's rasp, which he fuses here with more whispers and cleans than any of their prior full-lengths. Clearly they were leading up to this point through all prior evolutions, but the soul train has arrived at last. That's not to say that I don't enjoy Sleep of the Angels, because for at least most of its duration, it's downright brilliant and memorable, but those who have characterized this as Rotting Christ 'lite' are certainly entitled to that opinion. The thing is, I'll take Rotting Christ 'lite' or even Rotting Christ 'disco' or 'calypso' over most music, because this is a band which rarely disappoints.

Never has their moniker been more of an aesthetic contrast to their songwriting than on this work, but in the end it's the songs that count, and Sleep of the Angels is not short on them. A glorious, repetitive sweeping keyboard line inaugurates the thundering, melodic mutes of "Cold Colours" while tinges of ambiance rise and fall in the landscape, and you'll note that the focus here is immediately placed on a fantastic guitar line that snares the listener while providing a fluid counterpoint to the thicker chords. There's almost a glorious, martial groove here enforced by the synthesizers leading up to the bridge, and it flows perfectly into the even more 'pretty' riffing of "After Dark I Feel", which might qualify as one of the gentlest songs in this band's discography...but phenomenal regardless. Like "Cold Colours", it uses dour, clean, whispered vocals to offset Sakis' snarling in the verse, playful and seductive with a malevolent reminder riding undercurrent, and the understated keyboards throughout this are placed perfectly.

And then comes "Victoriatus", my personal favorite on the album, with an unforgettable guitar melody and groove which burns itself into the mind just as quickly as anything off the preceding pair of albums, a solid rock chorus with whispered vocals that remind me of what Samael were writing at this time (Eternal). It should come as no surprise, since master orchestrator Xytras was the producer for this album (and its predecessor, A Dead Poem). After this, the album does take a slight dip in quality, with songs like the single "Der Perfekte Traum" and "The World Made End" following a similar ethos, just not as ear catching. "You My Flesh" is interesting, but some of the chords used in the bridge are essentially a refrain to "Victoriatus". "Delusions" has more of a swagger about it, while "Imaginary Zone" and the title track veer briefly back into the band's charging black metal roots, only glazed in the same synthesizer atmosphere as the slower pieces. Perhaps the best of the album's remainder are "Thine is the Kingdom" and the bonus "Moonlight", both epic and immersive with heavily resonant bridges and inherent Gothic groove.

Not just another nail in the crucifix, Sleep of the Angels once more reminds us of how Rotting Christ are in a class of their own, constantly mutating and exploring the parameters of their genre and even defying it, without actively insulting their audience or forgetting where they came from. The minimal, effective imagery of the lyrics conjures an emotional relationship with the listener, without abandoning the band's lust for magic, myth and the natural world. Xytras does an amazing job of drawing out power from the guitars, vocals and synthesizers while he maintains a rather natural vibe, without needless excess distortion or processing. It's not really a black metal album, sure, and as it was the first time I got to see the band on tour here in the States, it was interesting to see the crowd reaction (not that most of them had half a clue who these Greeks were) to this material when they sharing the bill with more aggressive bands like Shadows Fall and Sinister. Coincidentally, this is a great 'gateway' album to mold your girl or boyfriend, grandmother or any other 'square' into the darker climes of music. A baby step to oblivion. But it's also pretty grand for the rest of us.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (I live up to our culture)

http://www.rotting-christ.com/

Rotting Christ - Triarchy of the Lost Lovers (1996)

Though I've often juggled it between my admiration for the debut Thy Mighty Contract, or its direct successor A Dead Poem, it is the Triarchy of the Lost Lovers which ultimately stands as my favorite Rotting Christ record. One of those mid-90s efforts (alongside Samael's Passage and Amorphis' Elegy) that helped restore my faith that creativity and composition were not dead propositions in the metal realm, it forged all of the qualities of the Greek band's debut into a refined, epic songwriting sensibility that to do this never ceases to impress upon me when I'm in the mood, and it's a credit to the scene that spawned it, not to mention a refreshing and unique milestone in all of European black metal...

Well, except for the fact that it's more or less a more polished re-enactment of the qualities that exemplified the band's 1993 debut, Thy Mighty Contract. Slow to mid-paced material which is nothing if not a tribute to that ever elusive hallmark of metal masterworks, 'the riff'. Each of the nine tracks is glazed in simplistic, sweeping bombast as steady as the march of a well armed and trained phalanx of antiquity, to the point that it carries this militaristic grace. The keyboards that fleshed out the band's earlier work return here, but they're relegated even more into the backdrop, serving only to support the strength of the guitars rather than compete with them. And what fucking guitars there are...written in surefire, memorable patterns of glistening mutes and cement rhythms, more of an uplifting nature than the negativity and dissonance so often courted by the genre.

Don't get me wrong, Rotting Christ still indulge in the darkness of their mythic and historical lyrical matter, but there's an unusual, upbraided elegance to how these riffs storm beneath the bloodcurdling bark of Sakis Tolis. Among the most 'dignified' of the tracks are "The First Field of the Battle", its Metallica-basted melodies soaring over its placid if thunderous thoroughfare; "King of a Stellar War" with an admixture of ascending chords and angelic backing synths; and "Snowing Still", for its swaying, unforgettable verse hooks spliced with somber melodies. But choosing such as favorites would neglect the tremulous rush of "Archon", with its amazing muted bridge sequence, or "Diastric Alchemy" and its magnificent, soaring eloquence. "One With the Forest" is one of my favorite tracks in the band's entire catalog, a swaggering dynamic of dour and tormented Tolis throat-work, squealing delights and brilliant if subdued melodies playing counter to the primary rhythms.

It says a lot that even the worst song of the lot, "The Opposite Bank" carries much of the boons of its neighbors, it's simply a fraction less unforgettable than the rest. Triarchy of the Lost Lovers sees the band at a new plateau of production values that the band would never retire from in the rest of their history (thus far), with brazen and clean guitar tones set at just the right amount of spring, step and overdrive. Solid, rock-based drumming with a modicum of double bass work added to the substrate. Perfect bass levels, never too and never obscured by the front and center guitars. Light keyboards for an airy atmosphere, and most importantly, one of Sakis' best performances on any album.

The lyrics are simple, but strung out in the poetic splendor of 'relightened stars', 'unwrought stones/amphoras and bones', 'freezing myths' and 'sallow mass', images of sadness and shelter in an enchanting universe that can consume the canny observer well beyond the confines of a single lifetime. The perfect companion to such bright and engrossing musical fare. Triarchy of the Lost Lovers might seem too 'clean' for some, who might prefer the dank drear of the earlier albums' and demos' productions and the slightly more malicious vibe therein, but it's a monument to individuality, somewhere shy of perfection, but the closest this long struggling entity has ever come to such an achievement. Abstain from its stately spires at your own loss.

Verdict: Epic Win [9.25/10] (impossible to stay untouched)

http://www.rotting-christ.com/

Rotting Christ - Non Serviam (1994)

Non Serviam is an album I've long had a mixed relationship with, at first being incredibly underwhelmed by its content in the 90s; later, slowly coming to accept and mildly enjoy what I was hearing. Finally, in these days it seems to me the logical successor to Thy Mighty Contract, only slightly less exciting since that album served as such a glorious precedent. There is nothing out of the ordinary about this sophomore, it essentially channels the driving heavy and thrash metal influences into an even more melodic whole than its direct predecessor. Yet the songs do have a tendency to grow dull, with few twists and turns in their corpses that really snagged my attention. Rather, they wear their rotting hearts upon their sleeves boldly, and apart from a predictable shift or two, do not strive for much.

That said, Non Serviam is a beloved album by many, and probably the first that much of the band's enduring fan base were exposed to, since it generated some limited buzz upon its release. I really adore the cover art, though it seems more akin to the death metal genre than the actual content of the disc, a similar aesthetic to Obituary's unforgettable Cause of Death. The tone of the guitars does still feel rather dry and thin circa Thy Mighty Contract, but on the whole I'd say the mix is more level and consistent in general, though this characteristic also contributes to the noted lack of depth and contrast. One of the foci that drew me back to the album time and time again, forging my gradual appreciation, were the vocals. Sakis Tolis had really come into his own by this point, with a bloodied, painful rasp that was instantly distinguishable among the bands spanning Europe, and it works wonderfully with the largely solemn, melodic charge of the muted guitars that also dominate their sound.

Atmospherics are still available here, with graceful keyboard lines and thundering percussion trespassing upon the core metallurgy in "The Fifth Illusion", "Ice Shaped God" and the darker ascent of "Non Serviam" itself. Magus Wampyr Daoloth (Necromantia, Thou Art Lord) once again offers his eloquent synthesizers, and you can clearly feel his presence. I feel like the ambiance peaks upon the instrumental interlude "Fethroesforia", but the guitars seem to steer much of the album directly, from the clambering, sluggish majesties imbued in "Morality of a Dark Age", "Wolfera the Chacal" and "Saturn Unlock Avey's Son" to the slightly more propulsive proportions of "Where Mortals Have No Pride". It's all tight and statuesque, like the beloved and enduring architecture of the Greek landscape if one were to stand in the shadows it cast.

The majority of Non Serviam's hues are molded in a regal sadness that only Rotting Christ and their Greek peers seemed predisposed towards, somewhere at the nexus of the doom, heavy and black metal genres, and wholly unique to what the more infamous Northmen were producing. But for its strengths, I just don't enjoy the content as much as Thy Mighty Contract, or the following effort Triarchy of the Lost Lovers, which is essentially a Non Serviam 2.0 with more potent production and memorable songwriting. I've heard live renditions of several songs here that felt more thriving and alive, and I'm only happy to chew the boots of my earlier indifference to the sophomore, but I just can't hear how Non Serviam could deserve its cult status above its siblings, when the songs are simply not as distinct in isolation. For channeling that sorrow-stoked Hellenic miasma, it serves as well as most of its scene, but this is far from the first album I'd turn towards when seeking the full Rotting Christ experience.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10] (a dreamlike physical build)

http://www.rotting-christ.com/

Rotting Christ - Thy Mighty Contract (1993)

Passage to Arcturo might have briefly wedged open the doors of possibility for the mighty Rotting Christ, but it was Thy Mighty Contract that would kick those doors off their hinges and catapult the band into the collective consciousness of the European metal underground. 'There's metal from Greece now?' Bugger me. For its day, this was one of the best black metal albums released outside of the Scandinavian territories, and yet it was wholly distinct from the forerunners Bathory, Burzum, Darkthrone and so forth. A class of its own, retaining the decidedly thrash and death foundation of the band's roots, but refining those influences in a shadowy concourse of compelling composition that to this day still sounds wonderful.

In fact, this is really where Rotting Christ 'got their sound'. The very first track, "The Sign of Evil Existence", provided the foundation for several of their best albums to come (in particular Triarchy of the Lost Lovers): a glorious and desperate charge through a mid-paced melodic muted sequence over a steady but dry, moderate blast beat. Always a band to experiment with their riffing, there was really no other black metal artist quite like it. Most were falling over themselves to propel their music as quickly as possible, to compete with the extremity of the death metal genre; others were wrought from a rawer, Hellhammer aesthetic. But these Greeks had a peripheral perspective, like what might have happened if Metallica or some other thrash metal band had decided to lean their songwriting into a copious chasm of hellfire and underworld inspiration, bringing the dynamic strength of the parent genre along for the ride.

Though the riffs are far more memorable than Passage to Arcturo, they do manage to retain a loyalty to its atmospheric visage through the incorporation of keyboards and melodic driven lamentations, like "Transform All Suffering Into Plagues" or "Dive the Deepest Abyss". But where it strikes hardest is in its glorious crescendos, like the majestic guitar line crowning "His Sleeping Majesty" or the forward smashing "Exiled Archangel" and "Coronation of the Serpent". Themis (aka Necrosauron) had improved dramatically as a drummer from the EP, and his performance here is more indicative of what he was playing in Varathron; while Sakis Tolis (Necromayhem) has enough character in his harsh vocalization that there is never any sense of the monotony that often haunts the genre. To top it all off, they've even got Magus Wampyr Daoloth of the brilliant Necromantia here on the keys and backing vocals.

There are a few minor caveats here, in particular the rather dry production. It's not as cluttered or annoying as Nightfall's Macabre Sunset, but music this good undoubtedly deserved something better. The tones are simply too far on the thin side. This is also one of the cases where the re-issue actually trumps the original: the 1997 Century Media version includes the two tracks from the Apokatheolis single (1993), and both the lurching, doomy "Mystical Meeting" and familiar momentum of "Visions of the Dead Lover" fit flush with the newer crop of tunes. Also, I'd be remiss to not mention just how much better the newer cover art was than the original...fuck, the face of Thy Mighty Contract's reissue is one of my favorites in the entire genre! Moody, dire, and important, with searing agonies beneath its surface and popping guitar melodies that stick most of its tracks to the listener's memory, this is perhaps the finest Greek black metal debut of them all, and while its not exactly their peak of creation (I marginally favor the 1996-7 material, which refines the ideas laid out here), its nonetheless an essential.

Verdict: Win [9/10] (believe in us and be like us)

Rotting Christ - Passage to Arcturo EP (1991)

Charting the course of the black metal genre is like plotting the movements of civilization upon a world map. Various climates and ethnic groups, governments and religions, all play their parts in shaping its sound. Few cultures could seem so naturally inclined towards the medium as the Greeks, whose ancient and celebrated history and mythology is ridden with tales of good and evil, pagan adulation and cautionary parables. The jealous acts and trials of the Gods. The fall of Titans. The vast and compelling Underworld. The Odyssey and the Iliad. You just can't beat the source material. And no study in the form could be complete without first examining its progenitors: the foremost (and to date, most successful) of which is known as Rotting Christ.

Formed in 1987, the Tolis brothers evolved their style from a primitive, churning hybrid of death and grind to what most people recognize today as their unique breed of atmospheric black. The starting point for this transition was arguably the Passage to Arcturo EP, which abandoned some of the raw and crushing of their demos (Satanas Tedeum, etc) for a more measured and plodding territory, keyboards and brief ambient passages used to highlight the ritual mysticism of their occult lyrics. This is still a fairly primitive recording, and in fact the production does tend to work against its overall quality, but its all in accordance with the broader vision these gents had set for themselves.

Contrary to their peers to the far North in Scandinavia, this band's musical roots do not always draw upon the expected sources. You're not going to hear a lot of Venom, Bathory, Hellhammer or Mercyful Fate going on here. In fact, the guitars have a lot more in common with the 80s thrash of Metallica, only slowed to a crawl; mutes and melodies conjoined into pendulous, thinly produced rhythms, barely strong enough to support the gruff and lascivious weight of Sakis Tolis' vocals (aka Necromayhem), which pose another distinction from the rasps and howls of Norse pioneers Burzum, Mayhem and Darkthrone. His bark has a lot more in common with the band's death metal roots than Attila Csihar or Varg Vikernes; and this, coupled with the grisly band name, brought a lot of initial frustration into attempts to categorization.

Passage to Arcturo is somewhat enjoyable, and it very clearly sews the roots that the band would later perfect through albums like Thy Mighty Contract and Triarchy of the Lost Lovers. The use of airy, ethereal keyboards against the marchlike step of "The Forest of N'Gai" or the graceful, lamenting guitar melodies of "The Mystical Meeting" lends credence to the band's epic riffing syntax, but they do have a cheesy feel about them certainly dates the album. Themis' (aka Necrosavron) drumming leaves something to be desired, with only the simplest of beats being laid out against admittedly primitive riffs, but in truth its the boxcar production that gimps the beats more than any lack of skill. The bass is interesting, especially "Inside the Eye of Algond" where it trails off merrily against the muted rhythm guitar. But the tone is a bit too plunky.

Really, the entire EP sounds as if it were being played at you straight in a rehearsal room, with the band lacking for the viral energy of their later accomplishments, but this is the worst thing I can say for it. The lyrics are cool, especially "The Old Coffin Spirit", but the riffs are usually hit or miss territory. Once or twice in each of the (longer) metal songs, the guitars and keyboard will flow into something wondrous that sparks the imagination, but this material is not without its weaker, filler segments. The first two full-lengths are hardly shining examples of production, but both are able to develop the ideas here into more tangible tracts of immersion. Passage scrapes by for its nostalgia, and for its important place in the Greeks' inevitable, inescapable pantheon of ideas, but its been surpassed time and time again.

Verdict: Win [7/10] (they passed to obscure deeds)

http://www.rotting-christ.com/