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Rotting Christ Χ Ξ Σ \m/


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1 hour ago, BlutAusNerd said:

That's what the Greek black metal scene was famous for. Next up, feast your ears upon Varathron's His Majesty at the Swamp and Necromantia's Scarlet Evil Witching Black, the latter of which is a top 10 black metal album for me.

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He’s doing the “being right thing” again.

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On 1/20/2018 at 5:30 PM, BlutAusNerd said:

Yes. Stop what you're doing and listen to Thy Mighty Contract. You can thank me later.

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Apart from being a stella album, it has one of the all time great album titles.

I was perusing the shelves of a music store today and on a whim bought the digipak version of ‘Lucifer Over Athens’ or whatever the double live album is called. 

Great stuff. 

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On 1/21/2018 at 4:33 AM, BlutAusNerd said:

That's what the Greek black metal scene was famous for. Next up, feast your ears upon Varathron's His Majesty at the Swamp and Necromantia's Scarlet Evil Witching Black, the latter of which is a top 10 black metal album for me.

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I've just put Scarlet Evil Witching Black on my ebay watch list. I haven't heard it since high school and I loved it back then. I need this in the collection. I'll get His Majesty at the Swamp too (great title...). 

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I loved Rotting Christ up to the Theogonia album, then didnt listen to them again until I saw them open up for Mayhem last year. I was pretty disappointed with their set. It sounded good but most of the material they played was just some lame fist-pump metal with blackish tones and a blast here or there. It lacked the sharpness and overall buzzsaw edge that I remember them for, I figured it was a newer development in their sound but tbh I was so turned off I didnt even go back to give the new albums a listen

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On 6/21/2018 at 11:50 AM, Black Milk said:

I loved Rotting Christ up to the Theogonia album, then didnt listen to them again until I saw them open up for Mayhem last year. I was pretty disappointed with their set. It sounded good but most of the material they played was just some lame fist-pump metal with blackish tones and a blast here or there. It lacked the sharpness and overall buzzsaw edge that I remember them for, I figured it was a newer development in their sound but tbh I was so turned off I didnt even go back to give the new albums a listen

Their last two albums are definitely fist-pump metal, although I wouldn't call them lame. They're blackened rituals that conjure the dark spirits of the the human soul exclusively. 

Have Rotting Christ ever really had a "buzzsaw edge"? Even 'Non Serviam' doesn't really have that, let alone albums like 'A Dead Poem' or 'Sanctus Diavolos'. They've always been pretty melodic and rhythmic to my ears. 

They definitely have a formula for songwriting these days though, and it took me a while to just accept it and go with it. Many of their riffs sound suspiciously similar. Luckily it's a great riff! 

 

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On 6/22/2018 at 6:41 PM, Requiem said:

Their last two albums are definitely fist-pump metal, although I wouldn't call them lame. They're blackened rituals that conjure the dark spirits of the the human soul exclusively. 

Have Rotting Christ ever really had a "buzzsaw edge"? Even 'Non Serviam' doesn't really have that, let alone albums like 'A Dead Poem' or 'Sanctus Diavolos'. They've always been pretty melodic and rhythmic to my ears. 

They definitely have a formula for songwriting these days though, and it took me a while to just accept it and go with it. Many of their riffs sound suspiciously similar. Luckily it's a great riff! 

 

Theogonia had pretty sharp tones from my recollection, I remember the opening riff of Sign of Prime Creation feeling like it a tattoo gun between my eyes (in a good way). I guess thats what I mean by buzzsaw.   

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14 hours ago, Black Milk said:

Theogonia had pretty sharp tones from my recollection, I remember the opening riff of Sign of Prime Creation feeling like it a tattoo gun between my eyes (in a good way). I guess thats what I mean by buzzsaw.   

Those first two songs from ‘Theogonia’ are brilliant tracks. The second track in particular when it reaches that breakdown (for want of a better word) is sublime melodic metal at its best.

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On 11/20/2018 at 10:01 PM, Vampyrique said:

I'm albums behind on Rotting Christ. Rituals plays whilst I'm philosophizing the mind with the ghosts of ancient Greece. Pretty good so far. 

So good!!! This and the album before it, "Kata ton...." are brilliant. I may even prefer 'Kata...' these days. Impossible to remember the full title, however. 

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On 11/23/2018 at 1:29 AM, Requiem said:

So good!!! This and the album before it, "Kata ton...." are brilliant. I may even prefer 'Kata...' these days. Impossible to remember the full title, however. 

I recently listened to Khronos and enjoyed it, moreso than Sleep of the Angels. What are your thoughts on Khronos? I figured I should go chronological, so Genesis is next on my list. 

 

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On 12/11/2018 at 8:46 PM, Vampyrique said:

I recently listened to Khronos and enjoyed it, moreso than Sleep of the Angels. What are your thoughts on Khronos? I figured I should go chronological, so Genesis is next on my list. 

 

'Khronos' and 'Genesis' are by far my least favourite Rotting Christ albums. In fact, I keep forgetting about them and they're the only albums of theirs that I don't own and have no ambition to do so. I'll do a list when I can be bothered. 

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59 minutes ago, NeoNoxEternal said:

Is it a poser answer to say Xibalba? Because that's definitely my favorite song from them. That whole album was killer.

Not only is this a not a poser answer, you've got it basically right! 'Kata Ton Daimona Eautou' is a brilliant album and if I'm pushed could almost call this my favourite of theirs too. Amazing album of occult ritual darkness. 

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So their new album 'The Heretics' has been out for long enough for it to deserve some comment. 

Personally I really like it, but at this point I don't like it quite as much as 'Rituals' and 'Kata Ton...'. There are some catchy and excellent songs here, but there's also a more polished production and it feels a bit more commercial than the foreign language death-chants of the previous two albums, even though we still get plenty of verses in different languages with 'The Heretics'. The previous two albums were full on rituals that dealt with ancient cultures, this has a different vibe. 

The same old Rotting Christ riff reappears here several times (you know the one?), and it amazes me that Sakis can find new ways to play the same damn thing. Hats off to him, though, because it comes across really well. It's like an old friend who keeps turning up. 

The lyrics are a strange proposition. Every single song contains the word "fire" several times, and it's just weird. I know you tend to burn heretics, so it does make sense on some level, but why is he forever yelling "fiiieeeerrrrr" in every track. He did it often enough with the previous albums, but here it's a fire-orgy of fire. The anti-christian thing is ok but it feels a bit well worn by now. I find them more effective when conjuring up Mesopotamian demons, or Aztek death rituals. The old, "my own mind is my own church" thing lacks power for me these days and feels very un-spiritual, which is the antithesis of Rotting Christ's modus operandi as I feel very spiritual when I listen to them - make of that what you will.  

I think the album cover is a little awkward, despite being a pretty great artwork of itself. On a CD it looks a bit ungainly. I guess it's something different for them, so it's fine. The booklet, however, is amazing, and definitely worth the purchase. The artwork and layout are a real pleasure. I think it's their best package yet. 

So overall I really like 'The Heretics'. Rotting Christ seem to be the flavour of the month at the moment with the youtube set, which is a bit of a worry, but you can't argue with the greatness of their music. Like 'Rituals' and 'Kata Ton...' it needs a few listens, but once it sinks in it's brilliant. 

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I have to say that I’ve cooled quite a bit on ‘The Heretics’ and I rarely put it on anymore. 

There’s just something about it that leaves me a little cold. Maybe it’s the overly serious quoting that’s always going on. Maybe it’s the pro tools sounding drums. Maybe it’s the repetitive “fire” lyric and their bloody repetitive riff that I’ve been listening to for 25 years. 

Bring back the ‘Rituals’ sound and attitude. 

On 3/9/2019 at 10:34 PM, RelentlessOblivion said:

This just reminds me I don't own nearly enough Rotting Christ. Non Serviam and Thy Mighty Contract being the two records I currently own. Curse my perpetual lack of funds/ever expanding recommendations list situation.

These are cool albums for sure, but the drum machine on ‘Non Serviam’ is pretty annoying.

It was annoying on the early Septic Flesh albums and I find it dull and distracting on ‘Non Serviam’ too. I guess there was a shortage of drummers in Greece or something. 

 

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