Rotting Christ

Yoth Iria – As The Flame Withers Review

By GardensTale on January 29, 2021 in Reviews, Melodic Black Metal, 53 comments

“The debut of a band formed by seasoned veterans is, in a way, the best of both worlds. You get the fresh perspective of a new artist, eager to try something different, without the inexperience that may lead to errors in performances or songwriting. You also get all the good of a collection of artists who know what they’re doing, without the expectations that come with extensive back catalogs, hard-earned fan bases and established styles. Yoth Iria is one such acts, and As The Flame Withers is such a debut.” New black is the new black.

Prometheus – Resonant Echoes From Cosmos Of Old Review

By Dear Hollow on October 21, 2020 in Reviews, Atmospheric Black Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, 14 comments

“Prometheus is a Greek trio, releasing two demos, an EP, and one full-length since 2007. Their style professes to carry “the heritage of Hellenic and Scandinavian black metal” while fusing it with esoteric death metal. And fuse do they.” Tentacle-core reborn.

Tomorrow’s Rain – Hollow Review

By Grymm on September 8, 2020 in Reviews, Gothic Metal, 16 comments

“With all the tech-death, funeral doom, and post-whateverthefuck being hurled our way over the last couple of years, it’s paradoxically refreshing when certain sounds of yesteryear make an unexpected, yet somewhat welcome, return. In today’s case, it’s in the form of mid-90s-flavored gothic metal that would have Century Media doing a violent double-take as to what decade it is.” Blame it on the rain.

Cemetery Lights – The Underworld Review

By Mark Z. on September 23, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Black Metal, Nuclear War Now! Productions, Reviews, Black Metal, 6 comments

“When I was younger, I didn’t care much about production. Usually, I would look past an album’s sound and simply focus on its riffs and songwriting. That’s changed in my time writing here, as I’ve listened to a lot more music and started to care more about how an album sounds. Even still, it’s rare to find an album whose production outright ruins it. Most of the time, awful production goes hand in hand with awful music.” Ruins to their memory.

Synteleia – Ending of the Unknown Path Review

By Mark Z. on September 8, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, Greek Metal, Hells Headbangers Records, Reviews, Black Metal, 16 comments

“In recent years Greek black metal has become one of my favorite strains of the genre. To me, the scene excels because it rejects rote riffing and instead embraces a style that’s at once militant, melodic, and mystical. The Greek sound has existed for a while and often the bands that embody it are either older acts (Rotting Christ, Varathron) or have scene veterans in their ranks (Funeral Storm). In this regard, Synteleia are an anomaly.” Greek freaks.

Funeral Storm – Arcane Mysteries Review

By Mark Z. on May 31, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, Greek Metal, Hells Headbangers Records, Melodic Black Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, 42 comments

“Mystical. Archaic. Melodic. Militant. Triumphant. All words that could be used to describe Greek black metal, and all reasons why albums like Macabre Omen’s Gods of War – At War and Rotting Christ’s mid-00s material hold a special place in my blackened heart. Funeral Storm aren’t technically a new name on the scene, though you’d be forgiven for never having heard of them given they’ve released virtually nothing other than a few splits since their 2002 formation.” Putting the Hell in Hellenic.

L’Acéphale – L’Acéphale Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on May 4, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Black Metal, Eisenwald Records, Folk Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Folk Metal, 24 comments

“Twenty-nineteen has, so far, been an interesting year for metal. Not including the fact that the infamous Lords of Chaos has finally hit the big screen. And it seems to be the catalyst for some interesting current events. Events brought on by weirdos that wish they were 1) Norwegian and 2) friends with Count Grishnakh. Churches of all denominations have been going up in flames around the world and one can only wonder how far this will go. Hell, as of this writing, the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris has gone up in smoke. And one can only wonder, with the nonstop success of the French scene, who is responsible.” Burning times.

Mystifier – Protogoni Mavri Magiki Dynasteia Review

By Mark Z. on March 11, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, Brazilian Metal, Death Metal, Reviews, Season of Mist Underground Activists, Black Metal, Death Metal, 52 comments

“Mystifier are an ancient Brazilian black metal band and the latest to emerge from whatever dank place veteran bands who haven’t released a comeback album are hiding. Formed in 1989, their early releases were renowned for a style that combined the primitive extremity of Sarcófago with the ritualistic and otherworldly aura of Beherit. With this sound they produced such underground classics as 1992 debut Wicca and 1996’s The World Is So Good That Who Made It Doesn’t Live Here. Yet widespread popularity was not to be.” Wicked Mystic.

Vanum – Ageless Fire Review

By Cherd on February 15, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Profound Lore Records, Reviews, Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, 161 comments

“Vanum caught my attention with this gorgeous image of a violent geological process–a particular interest of mine–that is both legibly pictorial and pulling at the edges of abstraction. Tasteful typography and minimal framing compliments rather than competes with the painting. Interest piqued, I dug further and discovered this to be a project of K. Morgan and M. Rekevics of American black metal bands Ash Borer and Yellow Eyes, respectively, both of which I enjoy. Now firmly on the hook, my main question is: does the musical carpet match the visual drapes?” For lavas of fine art.

Rotting Christ – The Heretics Review

By Grymm on February 11, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, Greek Metal, Reviews, Season of Mist, Black Metal, 259 comments

“I want to start off this review on a different foot. You see, in 2016 I reviewed Rituals by Greek black metal institution Rotting Christ, and I was not kind. As someone who jumped on board the Rotting bandwagon after 2007’s incredible Theogonia, I noticed Sakis Tolis, his brother Themis, and company repeating that grandiose, come-at-me-fucker battle-ready style with diminishing returns on every album after that. I called it out both in the review and its comments section that a change of course, or at least a needed spike of adrenaline, could do wonders for the band. Even more so, exploring different motifs and tempos, not to mention lyrical ideas, would also help. But after listening to The Heretics for a solid week, I realized I was wrong to call Rituals a boring album at the time, and I want to apologize for that…” Heresy is an ugly word.