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Getting Into: Rotting Christ


Written by: nikarg
Published: 29.08.2021


The history of Rotting Christ begins in the mid '80s with bassist, Dimitris 'Jim' Patsouris, who had formed the band Black Church. He was good friends with the Tolis brothers, Sakis and Themis, and asked them to join his band. They later unanimously decided to change the name to Rotting Christ, which was also Jim's idea, and that choice would cause them many problems throughout their career. It is even safe to say that they probably would have been even bigger today if they had gone with something more conventional. Because of their name, Rotting Christ faced a witch hunt in the '90s by the local police who thought they were members of a satanic cult that performed unholy rituals and murdered people, they saw Dave Mustaine refusing to share the stage with them, they were forced to perform live under a fake moniker, and they were recently arrested and even spent time in jail in a foreign country.





Rotting Christ started as a grindcore act because they mostly used to hang out with the punk crowd and the football hooligans. They also just wanted to make noise and grindcore seemed easy for them to play. In the beginning, they all had pseudonyms: Sakis Tolis (vocals, guitars) was 'Necromayhem', Themis Tolis (drums) was 'Necrosauron', and Jim Patsouris (bass) was 'Mutilator'. Sakis bought his first guitar in 1987 with money he had stolen from his parents and Themis did his drums practice on pillows; he would have to wait for another six or seven years to get his first kit. The members of Rotting Christ worshipped bands like Venom, Slayer, Possessed, Carcass, Celtic Frost, and Bathory. After a couple of grindcore rehearsal demo tapes and a split, they changed their style with the Satanas Tedeum demo, which was the true beginning of arguably the greatest extreme metal band from Greece.








Satanas Tedeum is the most important turn in the history of the band. Ditching grindcore for death metal with a blackened twist and diving deep in the occult and the apocryphal as far as the lyrics were concerned were both moves that defined Rotting Christ for the years to come. The sound here is horrible, the playing is clumsy, and the riffs are pretty basic but Satanas Tedeum is really heavy; it is mostly grinding death metal with black metal elements. The lyrics are satanic and mystical, but Rotting Christ were not devil worshipers; they were just embracing Satanism through an aesthetic point of view, at least according to Mutilator, the band's lyrics writer. The demo has some basic keyboard themes and the mere use of keyboards in extreme metal was not so common at the time; Tiamat's Johan Edlund was particularly impressed and he has publicly declared that this release immensely influenced his own band's sound.

Standout tracks: "Feast Of The Grand Whore", "The Nereid Of Esgalduin".






It took Rotting Christ two years to improve significantly as musicians compared to what they were on Satanas Tedeum, but the music can now finally be labelled 'black metal' even though the death metal element is still present. The band members are still no conservatoire musicians by any means but the songwriting and the atmosphere of this release are both unique and remain inexplicably and immensely mesmerising even today. The lineup addition of George Zacharopoulos or 'Morbid' (also known as 'Magus Wampyr Daoloth' or simply 'The Magus') was a key move (pun intended, he was the keyboards and piano player). Every metalhead in the underground had read the Necronomicon at the time but Morbid had dived deep in the subject of apocryphism and he was also a pioneer in the local black metal scene being the cofounder / vocalist / bassist of Necromantia. The riffs of Passage To Arcturo are doomy and evil, with Morbid's keyboards having this horror-inducing effect, evoking the music of films like The Omen and The Exorcist. The four members that took part in it still say today that something metaphysical was in the air while they composed and recorded that EP. It earned them a deal with Osmose Records, a label that was the home of bands like Samael, Immortal, Impaled Nazarene, Marduk, Absu, and Blasphemy. It was the deal that would become their first big break.

Standout tracks: Are you kidding me? The whole fucking thing is legendary.






Thy Mighty Contract is an iconic record that signified the real explosion of the Hellenic black metal sound; in the same year Varathron's His Majesty At The Swamp (with Mutilator on bass) and Necromantia's Crossing The Fiery Path were released. Bands like Kawir, Agatus, Zemial, and Nergal were formed around that time. Offering a largely different take on black metal than what was done in Norway and Sweden, Thy Mighty Contract is not as aggressive and menacing as northern black metal, but it is mostly apocryphal and mystical, taking influences from other metal styles, mainly heavy and doom, and it is shrouded in the darkest and most sinister atmosphere. The haunting riffs, the ritualistic keyboards, the deep-sounding drums, and the vocals that often come across as narrating texts from a book of spells are all elements that make Thy Mighty Contract an exceptional album and one of the most significant debuts in the history of black metal. Later versions include the amazing "Visions Of The Dead Lovers" as bonus track.

Standout tracks: "The Sign Of Evil Existence", "Transform All Suffering Into Plagues", "Fgmenth, Thy Gift", "Exiled Archangels", "The Fourth Knight Of Revelation".





1994 - Non Serviam


Following the release of their debut LP, Rotting Christ embarked on their first European tour, the aptly named 'Fuck Christ Tour', with two other Osmose bands, Blasphemy and Immortal. Osmose then gave Jim Mutilator (who was the band leader at the time) a deposit for the recording of the follow-up to Thy Mighty Contract but Jim lost the money gambling. He didn't tell the truth to the other bands members but only said he had fallen out with the label owner. Rotting Christ consequently signed with a Greek label, Unisound, which was a big step back for them. Musically, Non Serviam is more melodic than the debut and with a more prominent presence of the lead guitar. The band is not afraid to compose longer songs and they are very successful at that, with "Wolfera The Chacal" and "Where Mortals Have No Pride" clocking in at over 7 minutes and being among the highlights. The title track has become a concert staple and is one of the most epic compositions in the history of the band. The production is somewhat sterile but the quality of songwriting is as high as in the debut, with abundance of memorable riffs; in fact, Non Serviam probably features more riffs than any Rotting Christ release. Some of the melodies are melancholic and hint at the more gothic approach the band would take with the next album. Non Serviam was unfortunately left almost entirely unpromoted by the label and as a result the band lost critical momentum. However, it gained recognition in the following years and is now rightly considered one of the band's best.

Standout Tracks: "The Fifth Illusion", "Wolfera The Chacal", "Where Mortals Have No Pride", "Non Serviam", "Saturn Unlock Avey's Son".






The minimal support from the label led to very few opportunities to play abroad live but Rotting Christ still managed to become the first foreign black metal band to perform in Israel. Jim and Sakis left Unisound and decided to travel by car to Europe and meet face to face with label representatives. Inside their luggage they carried a promo demo featuring the new songs "One With The Forest" and "The Opposite Bank" that would be later featured in Triarchy Of The Lost Lovers. The mighty Century Media Records offered them a contract and flew them to Germany to record with producer Andy Classen. Only the three founding members went though; Morbid decided to leave the band for various reasons, including his desire to focus more on Necromantia and his lack of enthusiasm towards the band's new sound. That left the core trio to record their most emotional album up until that time, hence its title. Rotting Christ's third full-length takes a step back as far as the black metal is concerned and it embraces an almost epic heavy metal style of songwriting with a lot of gothic ambiance. It is even more melodic than its predecessor, mid-tempo for the most part, and each song focuses on a restricted amount of riffs in stark contrast with what the band did in Non Serviam. For the first time, nothing needs to be tweaked, nothing is missing, nothing is overdone. The songwriting is outstanding, the atmosphere is compelling, the sound is engrossing, and the band is at their peak, both technically and inspirationally. Triarchy Of The Lost Lovers is Rotting Christ's best LP of the '90s and among the top-3 releases of their history.

Standout Tracks: "King Of A Stellar War", "Archon", "Snowing Still", "Diastric Alchemy", "The Opposite Bank". Generally, all killer - no filler.





1997 - A Dead Poem


After Triarchy Of The Lost Lovers hit the record stores, Rotting Christ went on tour with Samael and Moonspell who had just released Passage and Irreligious respectively. Halfway through that tour though, Jim quit the band due to family obligations - he was a father of two at the time - and only resurfaced again in a spectacular way in 2020 forming Yoth Iria with Morbid (yes, 23 years later!). Themis got depressed and left too. Sakis completed that tour by himself with session musicians. Rotting Christ was now a one-man band and this is how A Dead Poem was recorded; with Sakis composing everything - even the drum parts - and doing vocals, guitars, and bass. Themis returned to play the drums and Samael's Xy contributed by producing the album and playing keyboards. The music takes a turn towards pure gothic metal, it is very influenced by Moonspell and classic heavy metal, and it is very melodic. The vocals are still harsh but the music is fully emotional and quite far from the band's black metal roots. The intentions of Rotting Christ were obvious since they even changed their logo; they wanted to take a more commercial path and they succeeded. The album sold many copies but Sakis didn't compromise the quality of the songwriting to achieve that. In fact, this is one of Rotting Christ's most memorable albums. The cover art is dreadful though.

Standout Tracks: "Sorrowfull Farewell", "Among Two Storms", "Full Colour Is The Night", "Semigod".






Since A Dead Poem was so successful, it was only natural for Rotting Christ to continue on the same path. Sleep Of The Angels is the most controversial album in the band's career and it divided both fans and critics at the time. In the studio there was the same team that recorded A Dead Poem, and Sleep Of The Angels is a similar-sounding album to its predecessor, albeit a lot softer and a lot less inspired. The atmosphere is dark and depressive but the songs are sub-par for Rotting Christ's standards and Sakis has admitted that his sole focus was to build upon the commercial momentum the band had gained from the previous album. Moreover, there was a general gothic/darkwave madness infecting many extreme metal bands at the time. The problem with Sleep Of The Angels is not the style though; it's the songwriting. The first four tracks are the best ones - and "Victoriatus" is among the band's finest - but the songs have such a similar structure that not much stands out, despite the fact that the album is generally quite listenable. There are moments in the second half that are memorable, like the lead melody in the middle of "Sleep The Sleep Of Angels" or the outro of "Thine Is The Kingdom" but the album as a whole is mostly uneventful. At least the cover art was fantastic this time.

Standout Tracks: "Victoriatus", "Der Perfekte Traum".





2000 - Khronos


Only one year after Sleep Of The Angels, arrived Khronos, and it was a much better album in every department. The band kept their gothic metal devotion; "Art Of Sin" could have been part of A Dead Poem, while "Khronos" feels like a more energetic version of the material on Sleep Of The Angels. However, they also incorporated some of the long lost black metal of their earlier recordings and they made that very clear by choosing the furious "Thou Art Blind" to open the album with. At the same time some industrial and EBM elements are introduced and these were very much in fashion in those days; Rotting Christ once again tried to keep up with the times, and you can hear that on songs like "My Sacred Path", "You Are I", "Glory Of Sadness", and in the hidden outro of the album's closer. The keyboardist George Tolias played an important role towards that industrial shift and he was the only person that recorded next to Sakis; his brother Themis was going through a second bout of depression and Khronos is the only Rotting Christ album that he had to sit out (a session musician recorded the drums). Rotting Christ was a band that seemed like it was rotting away (pun intended), with only Sakis being the person holding it together. However, Khronos is a return to form musically; a cold, raw, and aggressive album that owes much of its feel to the fact that it was recorded at Peter Tägtgren's (of Hypocrisy and Pain fame) Abyss studios in Sweden.

Standout tracks: "Thou Art Blind", "My Sacred Path", "Art Of Sin", "You Are I".





2002 - Genesis


In the beginning of the millennium, Rotting Christ were losing popularity. While Khronos was a welcome return to the more extreme metal of yore, it went largely unnoticed compared to the two albums that came before it. Genesis was one step further towards the more extreme direction; introducing the start-stop motif that would become part of their trademark sound in the following years, it travels back to the roots of Rotting Christ more than Khronos did. The original logo returns on the cover art and the album features again the keyboards of George Tolias who is the only other member in the studio along with the Tolis brothers (yes, Themis returned). Genesis is an album for the longtime fans, the gothic element of the previous releases is almost non-existent and in its place there lies black metal. It is quite melodic, as evidenced by the chorus of "Nightmare", the synthwave tendencies of "Release Me" or the solo of "Dying", but it is still aggressive and has a strict, almost militaristic structure. The songs are generally competent but overall it somewhat lacks variety when compared to both its predecessor and its successor.

Standout tracks: "Lex Talionis", "Quintessence", "The Call Of The Aethyrs".






Sanctus Diavolos is a very significant album in Rotting Christ's career. It was mixed at Sweden's Fredman Studios by Fredrik Nordstrom and it retains the coldness of the previous releases. However, it introduces a lot of never used before symphonic, orchestral, and choir elements in the music, with the help and arrangement of Septicflesh's Christos Antoniou. The album is very diverse, with almost every song showcasing a different aspect of Rotting Christ's sound. Themis was not convinced with all the choirs but Sakis and Christos were spending a lot of time together at the time and the former gave the latter a lot of freedom to work on the orchestrations, which was uncommon for Sakis since he had dictated all by himself the sound of the band after Mutilator left. Rotting Christ promoted the album with the first world tour of their career, although they failed to play in their homeland; they were supposed to support Megadeth in 2005 in Greece but the born-again christian, Dave Mustaine, had other plans. In any case, this incident probably benefited them with extra publicity and the album in general had a great response. Sanctus Diavolos is a splendid record and their last for Century Media; it is so good that not even the most devoted fans could have predicted (or hoped) that Rotting Christ would actually top it three years later.

Standout tracks: "Visions Of A Blind Order", "Athanatoi Este", "Sanctimonius", "Serve In Heaven", "Sanctus Diavolos".





2007 - Theogonia


Despite the - fully deserved - success of Sanctus Diavolos, Theogonia is a departure from it and a new chapter in Rotting Christ's sound. It is such an important album that Sakis still hasn't managed to get over it to this day and has been trying unsuccessfully to recapture its majesty with every full-length released after it. The same choir that was used in the previous album is also present in Theogonia, but the symphonic elements are much fewer and in their place ethnic and folk passages have been added. All the songwriting, orchestrations, guitars, and synths as well as the production, mixing, and mastering of the album is Sakis's work. Traditional Greek music has an influence on this album and there is also a presence of the militaristic / ritualistic approach to drumming that would become a lot more frequent in the following albums. Lyrically, it mostly deals with Hesiod's Theogonia, the book that describes what Ancient Greeks believed about the creation of the world. Musically, it is an album full of energy, extremely melodic, and masterfully executed. It embraces diversity, going from the folksy "Nemecic", to the industrial-like, oriental, and dissonant "Enuma Elish", and from the epic "Phobos' Synagogue" to the blistering "Rege Diabolicus", which is my absolute favourite Rotting Christ song. Theogonia is fantastic in its entirety; in my opinion, it is the greatest melodic black metal album of all time.

Standout tracks: All songs rule but if you put a gun to my head, I'd choose "Χάος Γένετο (The Sign Of Prime Creation)", "Keravnos Kivernitos", "Enuma Elish", "Rege Diabolicus", "He, The Aethyr".





2010 - Aealo


Aealo begins where Theogonia ends, adding many more folk and ethnic elements, and going as far as to use a women's choir, called Pleiades, specialised in polyphonic, traditional singing - check out "Nekron Iahes...", in particular (interestingly, Nekron Iahes or Νεκρών Ιαχές is the name of the spoken word/ambient project by Sakis Tolis and Andrew Liles of Current 93 that released their mini album, Oracle, earlier this year). As far as the music is concerned, the major success of Aealo is how the vocal and guitar harmonies often blend together to create a very melodic result. In terms of concept, 'Aealo' is using the Latin alphabet for the word 'Eάλω', which in turn is mostly known from the phrase 'Η πόλις εάλω' - 'The city has been captured' - and refers to the capture of Constantinople in 1453 by the Ottomans and the subsequent fall of the Byzantine Empire. With the exception of songs like "Santa Muerte" and "Thou Art Lord", the lyrical theme has a very Greek focus and the band went to a small studio very close to Mount Olympus for inspiration and recording purposes. Apart from Pleiades, many guests appear in Aealo, most notably Primordial's Nemtheanga, Horrified's Stavros Mitropoulos, Chaostar's Androniki Skoula, and even Morbid returned and contributed some vocals. But the absolute star is the Greek-American vocalist, keyboardist, and composer Diamanda Galás. The cover / adaptation / collaboration on the 9-minute chilling epic, "Orders From The Dead", tells the story of the horrific events that took place at the port of Ismir in 1922, before the end of the Greek-Turkish war, and the performance of Diamanda is soul-ripping. Aealo was generally very well received in Greece but not as much abroad. The album's themes raised questions about the band demonstrating nationalistic tendencies, a claim that is outright ridiculous and stupid for anyone who is even remotely familiar with Rotting Christ and what they have been standing for throughout their career.

Standout tracks: "Δαιμόνων Bρῶσις", "Fire Death And Fear", "Santa Muerte", "Orders From The Dead".






With two new members in the lineup, guitarist George Emmanuel (Lucifer's Child, Yoth Iria) and bassist Vagelis Karzis (Wolfheart), Rotting Christ were so confident of their new material that they released it with a title that no one - apart from the Greeks - could read or pronounce, while none of the tracks had an English title. 'Κατά Τον Δαίμονα Εαυτού' can be translated as 'Do What Thou Wilt', a phrase attributed to Aleister Crowley. Lyrically, it explores ancient civilisations and those civilizations' dark and apocryphal side. Musically, it is quite an uneven album. The first half is extremely catchy - albeit quite rehashing - every instrument is on point, and the tracks are all memorable. There are passages of sheer brilliance in this half; the moment in the middle of "In Yumen - Xibalba" when the band suddenly stops the blasting, Themis clicks his sticks together three times and they all go full speed again; the lead guitar melodies on "P'unchaw Kachun - Tuta Kachun" and "Grandis Spiritus Diavolos"; the wind instruments over the furious riffing and the blastbeats in the title track; and, finally, the splendid cover of the Romanian song "Cine Iubeşte Şi Lasă". The second half almost collapses under the weight of what came before it. Repetition is the main problem and the songwriting is not as engaging, with the exception of the doomy closer "Χξς'" and the bonus track "Welcome To Hel". The mix and mastering was done by Jens Bogren and the sound of this album is fantastic, oozing power and clarity.

Standout tracks: "In Yumen - Xibalba", "Cine Iubeşte Şi Lasă", "Κατά Τον Δαίμονα Εαυτού", "Χξς'".






Live albums are mostly uninteresting but Lucifer Over Athens is not. At that point, Rotting Christ had been active for more than 25 years in the metal scene and had played countless shows in every little corner of the planet. Recorded in December 2013 in Athens, the setlist is full of fan favourites while paying tribute to all phases of the band. It takes us back to their early demo days and brings us right up to Rotting Christ's more recent moshpit burners. It is highly recommended as an overview of the band's career, even though it is only partly indicative of what kind of mayhem they induce when they are on stage. Like most live albums, it doesn't really convey the electricity of the live setting but it gives you a hint at least. Make sure you listen to "Societas Satanas" (a track by Thou Art Lord, a band formed by Sakis and Morbid), the best black/thrash song ever.





2016 - Rituals


The lyrical subject matter expansion that was observed on Κατά Τον Δαίμονα Εαυτού became a full-fledged, multicultural extravaganza on Rituals. The album's main contributors are again Sakis and Themis but there is a large number of guests featured and some of them are very high profile ones. The atmosphere is dark and ritualistic and the band's promo photos emphasize the obscure direction of the album. The theme focuses on rites and myths from all around the globe and, while this is all very interesting, the music does not live up to it. Rituals is often monotonous, with very few of the Rotting Christ trademark melodies and with way too much use of those repetitive drum patterns and riffs that the band had already done excessively up until that point. The vocals do take the front seat, with Morbid (Necromantia), Nick Holmes (Paradise Lost) and Vorph (Samael) adding something extra to "In Nomine Dei Nostri", "For A Voice Like Thunder", and "Les Litanies De Satan" respectively. However, the haunting vocals of Danai Katsameni on "Ἐλθὲ Κύριε" are those that steal the show. The sound is once again huge but not enough to save the album from its mostly unspectacular music material.

Standout tracks: "זה נגמר (Ze Nigmar)", "Ἐλθὲ Κύριε (Elthe Kyrie)".





2019 - The Heretics


Staying loyal to the modern Rotting Christ tradition of releasing an album every three years, The Heretics came out in 2019. It is also based on a single concept and this time the theme is heretic minds. The songs refer to writers, poets, and philosophers that were too unconventional for their time; Voltaire, Edgar Allan Poe, John Milton, William Shakespeare, Nikos Kazantzakis, and others. Once again the theme is much more interesting than the music. Despite the welcome presence of more familiar Rotting Christ riffs and melodies, and the fact that the drums showcase some more liberty compared to Rituals, The Heretics is the band's most recycled album to date. It is hard to find anything that they haven't played before and on top of that the lyrics are annoying with the words 'fire', 'pyre', 'empire' 'desire' being repeated to death. Sakis and Themis were already having conflicts during the Rituals' recordings because of the former's obsession to write the same music again and again, and on The Heretics this conflict escalated to the point that Themis recorded the drums by himself without Sakis being in the studio. That did not change the direction of the album of course since Sakis has been the only one who writes music since the departure of Mutilator with very few exceptions. This is Rotting Christ's most disappointing full-length with one of its two best songs being "The Sons Of Hell", a bonus track reminiscing of their glorious Triarchy Of The Lost Lovers / A Dead Poem days. Anyone who has listened to Theogonia and the albums after it will easily pinpoint copy-paste passages on more than half of The Heretics' material.

Standout tracks: "The Raven", "The Sons Of Hell".










So there it is, a brief (?) account of Rotting Christ's basic discography with some of their story to go with it. Historical information was assembled from my own memory of things, band interviews, published articles, and the book Non Serviam: The Official Story Of Rotting Christ, written by Sakis Tolis and Dayal Patterson.

Rotting Christ were the first black metal band from this South-East corner of Europe, the ones that created and defined the classic 'Hellenic Black Metal' sound. If you want to know where to go from here, there are mentions of bands and albums that you might be interested to check out throughout the article. Like all local metal scenes, the Greek scene is full of bands that share members, sounds, and influences. And Rotting Christ have had many shifts in their long career, even though they lately seem to be stuck in a certain motif, milking a cow that has no milk left to give. The band is a joy to watch live, one of the most energetic and uplifting acts in extreme metal worldwide. They have been touring incessantly for years now and 'lazy' is the last word someone would use to describe them. They have played in every part of the world and this Covid-19 situation must have been a great strain for them both financially and psychologically because I know for a fact that the stage is their natural habitat. On the positive side, I am optimistic that all this free time without the excessive touring that is the norm for his band may have given Sakis the inner tranquillity and space for him to come up with one more grand release. It is long overdue.






Written on 29.08.2021 by Only way to feel the noise is when it's good and loud!


Comments

Comments: 44   Visited by: 223 users
29.08.2021 - 10:43
AndyMetalFreak
A Nice Guy
One of my favourite Black metal bands, and I always thought they were alot more Melodic than most other black metal bands.

I prefer the early albums, Thy Mighty Contract, Non Serviam and Triarchy Of The Lost Lovers have always been amongst my favourites, with the exception of Theogonia, which is an unbelievable album.
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29.08.2021 - 11:39
RaduP
CertifiedHipster
Congrats on your first Getting Into, nik. Well written and it got me curious to dive into these albums again.

I got into them through Kata Ton Daimona Eatoy (I wrote that from memory, so it's probably hilariously mistyped) so that one holds a special place for me. It's probably also because that one had the cover of a Romanian song, even if the choir's pronunciation makes me laugh every time. I remember showing my mother that song and then having to come up with a lie when she asked me for the artist's name.

Saw them live on tour for The Heretics and I had an amazing time. Songs from that one sound better when alternating between older songs instead of the monotony of the album itself.

Also you can use band tags for Current 93.
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Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking
One day there will be no heart at all?
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29.08.2021 - 12:08
nikarg

^ Thanks, man. The pronunciation in any language is a bit of a theme for Rotting Christ but I also love them for that. Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy (you did really well at that) is the last album of theirs that I can still enjoy. Oh, and I am sure we all have very funny stories with our mothers, especially those of us that grew up in hardcore christian countries. I have edited Current 93 accordingly, I did not expect us to have them in our database.

For everyone else to know, this article was a request/suggestion/demand from you a long time ago. It wouldn't have happened if you hadn't put the idea in my brain around the time I was reading their book. From when I decided to do it back in the summer of 2019, it took me almost two years (on and off) to complete.
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29.08.2021 - 12:16
RaduP
CertifiedHipster
Written by nikarg on 29.08.2021 at 12:08

Oh, and I am sure we all have very funny stories with our mothers, especially those of us that grew up in hardcore christian countries.

Your turn.

Written by nikarg on 29.08.2021 at 12:08

I have edited Current 93 accordingly, I did not expect us to have them in our database.

And yet you have commented on my review of their album.

Written by nikarg on 29.08.2021 at 12:08

For everyone else to know, this article was a request/suggestion/demand from you a long time ago. It wouldn't have happened if you hadn't put the idea in my brain around the time I was reading their book. From when I decided to do it back in the summer of 2019, it took me almost two years (on and off) to complete.

Glad to know it came to fruition, but I hope the next one won't take as long
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Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking
One day there will be no heart at all?
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29.08.2021 - 12:40
nikarg

Written by RaduP on 29.08.2021 at 12:16

Your turn.

The most vivid thing I remember is my mother coming in my room when I was a teenager with a cencer every Sunday to make the demons go away. She freaked out with my walls that were covered with huge posters of bands and album covers from Slayer, Death, etc., there was the vinyl of Reign In Blood hanging from my ceiling and pentagrams and inverted crosses; she thought I was possessed by satan. In hindsight, and to be fair to her, I would have freaked out too if I had a kid with a room like mine.

Written by RaduP on 29.08.2021 at 12:16

And yet you have commented on my review of their album.

Fuck, Alzheimer's is kicking my door.

Written by RaduP on 29.08.2021 at 12:16

Glad to know it came to fruition, but I hope the next one won't take as long

I don't know if and when there is going to be a next one...
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29.08.2021 - 14:31
RaduP
CertifiedHipster
Written by nikarg on 29.08.2021 at 12:40

I don't know if and when there is going to be a next one...

I guess that only depends on how much I bug you about it.
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Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking
One day there will be no heart at all?
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29.08.2021 - 14:38
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Sorta first 5 albums is their best.
How does Greeks re act to band name and their music?
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Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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29.08.2021 - 15:11
AndyMetalFreak
A Nice Guy
It's interesting how they started as a grindcore act, when listening to the type of black metal they play, it sounds a long way off what they would of sounded like if they had continued down that route.
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29.08.2021 - 17:11
Starvynth
i c deaf people
I really enjoyed reading your article, especially for the interesting details and anecdotes I hadn't heard of (eg Mutilator squandering Osmose's deposit).
Rotting Christ is one of the very few bands I've seen live more than five times, for it is absolutely true that it's always fun to experience them live on stage. Your mention of the 93's tour gave me nasty goosebumps, because this blasphemous club tour at Christmas time was my first black metal concert ever and a very intense experience. For various reasons, I will also always keep the 1996 Out Of The Dark Festival (with Samael, but unfortunately Gorefest had to stand in for Moonspell) and the Up From The Ground Festival in 2005 in good memory, first and foremost because of my companion at the time. Oh, what great times those were...

Very interesting that you mention "Elthe Kyrie" as a standout track of an otherwise fair to middling album. I think it's one of the most unusual Rotting Christs songs ever - thanks to Danai Katsameni's vocals - and unfortunately pretty much the only highlight on Rituals, but until now I thought I was very much alone in that opinion.
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signatures = SPAM
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29.08.2021 - 17:24
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Written by Starvynth on 29.08.2021 at 17:11

I really enjoyed reading your article, especially for the interesting details and anecdotes I hadn't heard of (eg Mutilator squandering Osmose's deposit).



I think from living metalstormers you, Nik and also maybe BitterCold knows many interesting facts, we had one user what knew a lot of good and cool facts about every single band here

Time to impress Nik ... original Sakis Tolis 21
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Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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29.08.2021 - 20:48
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
I liked intro part a lot, then again if there are such problems then, why use such name? Well in Western Europe BM had also not easy life beck in a days, and Stripper Gore ,... seems Dave Mustane is an ass even was in heroin days.

Hehehe 80's Greek football hooligans, aka molotov party boys. Nik you can share some videos from that time derby days :rolf: like that smily 13 is hunting 21

I wish you would write more about some Greek bm bands as Varathron, Kawir, or other.Maybe getting intro in Hellenic metal .... you have many great bands there, great scene , and big.
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Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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30.08.2021 - 00:58
qlacs
"The Quaker"
Last 2 albums I think have their dates wrong
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30.08.2021 - 02:29
nikarg

Written by qlacs on 30.08.2021 at 00:58

Last 2 albums I think have their dates wrong

And to think that, after I finished it, I went through the whole thing about four or five times before posting
Fixed. Thanks for picking it up
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30.08.2021 - 03:30
MetalDoomMaster

Great read. I really like how you put in some band trivia along with the reviews.
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30.08.2021 - 09:59
RaduP
CertifiedHipster
Written by nikarg on 30.08.2021 at 02:29

Written by qlacs on 30.08.2021 at 00:58

Last 2 albums I think have their dates wrong

And to think that, after I finished it, I went through the whole thing about four or five times before posting
Fixed. Thanks for picking it up

I legit thought it was a subtle comment about how samey those albums are
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Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking
One day there will be no heart at all?
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30.08.2021 - 10:01
nikarg

Written by MetalDoomMaster on 30.08.2021 at 03:30

Great read. I really like how you put in some band trivia along with the reviews.

Written by Starvynth on 29.08.2021 at 17:11

I really enjoyed reading your article, especially for the interesting details and anecdotes I hadn't heard of (eg Mutilator squandering Osmose's deposit).

Thank you, both. I wanted the article to give some extra insight on how all these albums were created. The story about Jim Mutilator blowing the Non Serviam deposit in the casino was actually revealed in the 2018 book. Sakis didn't know about it until then either. Jim said he felt extremely sorry for what he had done, he said that the Osmose owner (can't remember his name now) was a great person and that was feeling too ashamed to reach out to him and apologize. He mentioned that he hoped he would read the book and that he would find that long overdue apology there.
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30.08.2021 - 10:10
nikarg

Written by Starvynth on 29.08.2021 at 17:11

Rotting Christ is one of the very few bands I've seen live more than five times, for it is absolutely true that it's always fun to experience them live on stage. Your mention of the 93's tour gave me nasty goosebumps, because this blasphemous club tour at Christmas time was my first black metal concert ever and a very intense experience.

I remember you mentioning somewhere else that you had seen that tour. Those early days were bloody intense, I tell you. I cannot even begin to describe in what decadent venues they have played in Greece and in front of a handful of people nonetheless. Also, how amateurish they sounded compared to what they are today. The energy of their shows though has always been immense. I see them often (naturally) because they are so great and the setlist is superb whatever they choose to play. As Radu said above, even the material from the not so great albums sounds infinitely better live and when played among the other songs in their discography.
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30.08.2021 - 10:16
nikarg

Written by Bad English on 29.08.2021 at 20:48

I wish you would write more about some Greek bm bands as Varathron, Kawir, or other.Maybe getting intro in Hellenic metal .... you have many great bands there, great scene , and big.

For an overview of Greek black metal, this is a very good read (the more experimental bands are not featured though). Moreover, Ride Into Glory is a highly recommended website for traditional metal lovers.
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30.08.2021 - 10:24
nikarg

Written by AndyMetalFreak on 29.08.2021 at 15:11

It's interesting how they started as a grindcore act, when listening to the type of black metal they play, it sounds a long way off what they would of sounded like if they had continued down that route.

Take that 'grindcore' term with a pinch of salt, they mostly produced bad noise. The demos are called Leprosy Of Death and Decline's Return, they are uploaded on YouTube. You will find out that they were no Napalm Death or Repulsion.
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30.08.2021 - 10:38
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Nik like 10 years ago a documentary about Greek hm was on YouTube whit English subs. I watched and read all lol.
----
Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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03.09.2021 - 13:38
Aries Rising

Damn I guess I'm in the minority on liking their later albums.
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06.09.2021 - 01:54
Enemy of Reality
Account deleted
I love Rotting Christ! Apart from their gothic metal flirt around A Dead Poem, they've been extremely consistent with their output. And even that album is really really good. Theogonia revitalized their career, but i agree their 2 latest albums have been their weakest. Here's my rank (only full lenghts:

1. Thy Mighty Contract 10/10
2. Triarchy of the Lost Lovers 9/10
3. Aealo 9/10
4. Theogonia 9/10
5. Κατά τον δαίμονα εαυτού 9/10
6. A Dead Poem 8/10
7. Sanctus Diavolos 7,5/10
8. Non Serviam 7/10
9. Sleep of the Angels 7/10
10. Genesis 7/10
11. Khronos 6/10
12. The Heretics 6/10
13. Rituals 5/10

Fgmenth, Thy Gift is my favorite song from them.
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16.09.2021 - 10:00
Leperor

Give me top 10-20 tracks of Rotting Christ, please.
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16.09.2021 - 10:32
nikarg

Written by Leperor on 16.09.2021 at 10:00

Give me top 10-20 tracks of Rotting Christ, please.

Check out this compilation. It's pretty inclusive and will give a thorough idea of the band's sound and evolution.
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16.09.2021 - 11:07
Deadsoulman

I'm realising just now that I had no idea Rotting Christ had released so much stuff. This is one of those bands I really enjoy when I stumble upon one of their albums, but sort of forget about most of the time. I absolutely love Triarchy Of The Lost Lovers, but it's also pretty much their only album I've given more than a passing thought to.
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16.09.2021 - 11:26
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Written by Deadsoulman on 16.09.2021 at 11:07

I'm realising just now that I had no idea Rotting Christ had released so much stuff.


Nja they are amateurs' if we compare whit this band.
----
Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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19.09.2021 - 07:40
Overkill83

The last good album of RC was Theogonia everything after that its just mediocre with the exception of the bonus track from latest album "sons of hell" .The problem is that Sakis is the only composer and in my opinion he just run out of ideas.
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19.09.2021 - 19:47
nikarg

Written by Overkill83 on 19.09.2021 at 07:40

The last good album of RC was Theogonia everything after that its just mediocre with the exception of the bonus track from latest album "sons of hell" .The problem is that Sakis is the only composer and in my opinion he just run out of ideas.

The first sentence is a bit too harsh, I think, but I do get where you're coming from. I definitely agree with the second one but we also need to take into account that if Sakis had been composing everything himself for so many years, it is difficult for him now to accept anyone else's intervention. I am not saying that he is right to be such a "dictator", I am just saying what I think goes on in his mind.

However, as I state in the end of the article, I am cautiously optimistic for the next RC release. The band tours non-stop normally and they haven't for a long time now. Sakis must have used all this spare time to create something good.
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01.10.2021 - 17:23
ScreamingSteelUS
Editor-in-Chief
This article inspired me to buy the first two Necromantia albums as part of my Bandcamp Friday sweep. I've never properly listened to them and thought I should give them a try.

Now, why it was Necromantia and not Rotting Christ, I don't know, but I guess reading this article a month ago made me realize how little I know of Greek black metal.
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"Earth is small and I hate it" - Lum Invader

I'm the Agent of Steel.
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01.10.2021 - 18:02
nikarg

Written by ScreamingSteelUS on 01.10.2021 at 17:23

This article inspired me to buy the first two Necromantia albums as part of my Bandcamp Friday sweep. I've never properly listened to them and thought I should give them a try.

I am so pleased to read this. Their first two albums are superb, Necromantia were one of the most forward-thinking black metal bands (worldwide) of that era.
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