Obviously there are Rotting Christ influences here, Tolis is after all the mastermind behind that great band. His clearly gone for the blackened gothic approach, in regards to the sole black approach of Rotting Christ, the sound reminds me of Triarchy Of The Lost Lovers, Non Serviam, and Sanctas Diavolos, a blend of all three I would say, with the epic style riffs of Theogonia.

The lyrics and vocals aren't anything standout, but they are passionate which is what counts. But Most importantly his kept the melodic riffs, it's like listening to a collage of his greatest Rotting Christ riffs, it's even rivaling Theogonia in the riff melody department.

This has exceeded my expectations, and I thoroughly enjoy it, despite it being a short album, and lacking originality. It's difficult to pick a favourite song, because they are pretty much all equally as good imo, aside from the closing song "The Silence" which is the weakest song on the album imo, not such a bad one though.

I was excited to hear from Sakis himself that he was releasing a solo album, as I am one of the admins of the Heretics fan page. We were not in on it. At all. The singles started to drop and I was impressed. Loads of nostalgia in blend with the modern sound of Rotting Christ. All very comfortable. The 6 track sampler released by Metal Hammer in Greece is phenomenal, but it is not the whole album, which was finally dropped today, and so was my jaw.

Live With Passion (Die With Honour), I Name You Under Our Cult and the absolutely magnificent cover of Daemonia Nymphe's Nocturnal Hecate... a band that had such a rich part in Rotting Christ's 2010 opus magnum Aealo.

I can't even begin to describe how I feel about this album. It is almost a continuation of Rotting Christ stellar release record since... well, forever, but let's say Theogonia, where their career really picked up. But it is not. This is definitely Sakis' solo album. No RC member partakes in the recordings. Really remarkable.

11/10. Absolutely.

Gothic metal?

Written by Karlabos on 23.03.2022 at 01:23

Gothic metal?

I would say black/gothic slightly leaning towards gothic, but it does have black metal influences I admit.

I like this. A lot.
I loved the new material as well as the old melodies revisited. I imagine he wanted to give some of his old favourite songs new life. And I think he managed to do it quite well.

First track sounds a bit like Paradise Lost...the second part of the album is dynamite! Especially the last slow tracks!

I now get why this is not a Rotting Christ release. Sakis has almost entirely used passages from his band's past and there is very little (if anything) here that is brand new. It's well-established that he has been recycling like there's no tomorrow after Theogonia but here he does not try to mask it at all; this is clearly a patchwork of a big part of Rotting Christ's history. In terms of direction, I hear a blend of the late '90s gothic period of the band and of the stuff from the previous decade. Overall, a very enjoyable listen since he has chosen some of RC's greatest moments (and the band has a ridiculous amount of such great moments). It is not much more than a mashup though, since it has all been played before note for note and sometimes even lyric to lyric.

And yes, this is blackened gothic metal. I would love to see Rotting Christ going down this road for the next album but with original material. It is fantastic music to my ears. As Atli Jarl said above, "Live With Passion (Die With Honour)", "I Name You Under Our Cult" and "Nocturnal Hecate" are the best tracks.

He's been copying his own songs for years now and this is shamelessly no different. Is it limited musical knowledge, lack of inspiration, unwillingness to try something new? Or, more importantly, zero fucks given for all the above since every recent release seems to receive praise from the press and the fans?

This is a good album but nowhere close to a 9 because there's aboslutely nothing new under the sun here. Sakis even uses the words "fire" and "hell" in the title, the two most overused words by Rotting Christ by far. I remember the criticism from people here on MS when they released The Heretics, calling it repetitive for one. This is even worse, the difference is that The Heretics is heavier and has way better production and overall is a much better album. One good example on this album is The Silence. The song is extremely repetitive and the spoken lyrics just feel cheesy. The best song on the album is Nocturnal Hecate which funny enough is a cover.
I know I sound very negative but I do like the album. Just wish Sakis would've stepped out of his comfort zone and given us something different but still with his distinctive touch to it.

At this point you can train an AI to generate Rotting Christ songs.

Can't say I'm hearing all that much blackened in this aside from a couple of snippets, for the most part just sounds like straight-up gothic metal in the Paradise Lost mould. I like it, although I do find Sakis' vocals to frequently be the least appealing part of it

It's not bad but can't say it grips me either. It's good. That Daemonia Nymphe cover, however, is excellent.

Written by RaduP on 24.03.2022 at 19:32

At this point you can train an AI to generate Rotting Christ songs.

I hope it wont come to that... AI s generating songs, or at least if it happens - since it seems unevitable - we should be aware of it. actually dont know which is worst, knowing upfront and deciding u want it or not, or liking a song and then finding out its fully robo-made... knock , knock... who is it?

Written by DarkWingedSoul on 26.03.2022 at 18:29

I hope it wont come to that... AI s generating songs, or at least if it happens - since it seems unevitable - we should be aware of it. actually dont know which is worst, knowing upfront and deciding u want it or not, or liking a song and then finding out its fully robo-made... knock , knock... who is it?

Well, we already have that:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwtVkPKx3RA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0dOin79Hm0

Written by nikarg on 23.03.2022 at 20:26

I now get why this is not a Rotting Christ release. Sakis has almost entirely used passages from his band's past and there is very little (if anything) here that is brand new. It's well-established that he has been recycling like there's no tomorrow after Theogonia but here he does not try to mask it at all; this is clearly a patchwork of a big part of Rotting Christ's history. In terms of direction, I hear a blend of the late '90s gothic period of the band and of the stuff from the previous decade. Overall, a very enjoyable listen since he has chosen some of RC's greatest moments (and the band has a ridiculous amount of such great moments). It is not much more than a mashup though, since it has all been played before note for note and sometimes even lyric to lyric.

And yes, this is blackened gothic metal. I would love to see Rotting Christ going down this road for the next album but with original material. It is fantastic music to my ears. As Atli Jarl said above, "Live With Passion (Die With Honour)", "I Name You Under Our Cult" and "Nocturnal Hecate" are the best tracks.

Will original review 21 241 coming?

I never expected to hear anything from Thy Mighty Contract to A Dead Poem, (btw somehow this is Hellenic Moonspell, Sakios in some way is Fernando Ribeiro in music, philosophy, lyrics and how boat bands evolved in sound whit time to pass) ,
Its good album, but for big name as Sakis, could be better, interesting, listened few times, I like it even might be in next msa winner in Gothic metal, even for me, I doubt any band will write better gothic album, even I add in Nr 7 in my each month list, but in the end other albums was weaker, or somehow even I was expected more, I enjoyed it more as I thought? Why things can not be simple?

Its fun at the begining but gets samey with every song, should just be called Rotting Moonspell of Paradise Christ

I think I'll stick with Theogonia, this album is fine, but nothing new, and I can't say that any track on this album is really anything special or original

Written by DarkWingedSoul on 26.03.2022 at 18:29

Written by RaduP on 24.03.2022 at 19:32

At this point you can train an AI to generate Rotting Christ songs.

I hope it wont come to that... AI s generating songs, or at least if it happens - since it seems unevitable - we should be aware of it. actually dont know which is worst, knowing upfront and deciding u want it or not, or liking a song and then finding out its fully robo-made... knock , knock... who is it?

Try this Metallica deep cut:

Written by Daniell on 30.03.2022 at 15:39

Try this Metallica deep cut:

That has just the lyrics done by AI. Not that impressive.
Try this:

Written by RaduP on 30.03.2022 at 15:47

Try this:

No force in the world can make me listen to djent, sorry

I do get the vibe but after second spin I know I won't be listening to it for a while. For me it's a direct sequel to Sleep of the Angels and, as its often the case with sequels, not particularly great. I find it rather monotonous and... boring. Everything on this album has been said before, but there is no freshness and new idea. Its just copy of earlier RCH albums. Don't take me wrong it's good listen but after seconds spin I switched to Sleep of the Angels

Written by Daniell on 30.03.2022 at 15:53

Written by RaduP on 30.03.2022 at 15:47

Try this:

No force in the world can make me listen to djent, sorry

Are you sure?
https://youtu.be/Lml98eHcQu4

When the last RC release came out, I didn't even bother listening to it at full. I gave this particular album a chance, because you know, why not....and I was immediately reminded why I don't bother with RC any more. They are good playing live, I'd love to go see them again, but new album/material. No thanks, it's like opening a Coca-Cola can and thinking it might taste different the 100th time.

The same, the same, the same, the same, THE SAME 3 fucking riffs for all eternity. Aren't they themselves bored playing them?

Some songs are better, some are weaker. Good album overall, but this dude is capable of much more.

Rating: LIKE ❤️🖤🖤

Not great, not terrible. No difference to any modern RC record.

A lot of RC's low hanging fruit is collected on this album: going into mid-tempos, sprinkled with artificial harmonics, solos with a lot of feeling. Self-plagiarism is understood and for the most part Sakis balances those out over the album well.

I can't pinpoint one album this RC record most borrows from, production-wise it sounds more like their more recent releases but some riffs remind me of their more distant past, including lyrical quote to 'Sleep of the Angels'.

All of this stuff has been battle-tested before. The items that don't work include lengthy choruses that run for too long or don't work vocally at all ('My salvation >reeemaiiins<'.). Not all narration or choir parts work well on this album, especially when they wrap up a song all of a sudden. This album could have been a couple of minutes longer so that a few songs, like 'The Dawn of the New Age' or 'We are Fallen Angels' come to a meaningful coda rather than finish on narration.

I'd rate it at 6.5-7 as a commendable but clearly repetitive effort. It is enjoyable as non-distracting background or car music but nothing more for anyone familiar with RC's output over the years.

And no doubt, this stuff will sound great live, just as any other RC gig.

Written by Nightmare^ on 31.03.2022 at 00:02

No thanks, it's like opening a Coca-Cola can and thinking it might taste different the 100th time.

But you keep drinking Coca Cola because it's good isn't it? RC is the same

Written by Fabiano on 11.04.2022 at 10:33

Written by Nightmare^ on 31.03.2022 at 00:02

No thanks, it's like opening a Coca-Cola can and thinking it might taste different the 100th time.

But you keep drinking Coca Cola because it's good isn't it? RC is the same

hahahahah yeah good point I guess. Continuing though on the same Coke logic, it's not that it gets you excited either. Instead of "fuck yeah" feeling, it's just "ok good, meh" or "not bad, not terrible". The same goes for me with RC, I like them of course, but they're stagnant musicaly for the last 10 years. I would not skip a song or an album but it doesn't get me hyped either.

It's something like your favourite food: if you keep eating it for 15 days in a row you'll get sick of it sooner or later.

This is very uplifting! A cool mix of Rotting Christ, Summoning, and Bathory in my opinion.

The standout songs for me are "We The Fallen Angels" and "Ad Astra". (That opening riff on "I Name You Under Our Cult" is straight from Thy Mighty Contract )

Written by F3ynman2000 on 30.05.2022 at 14:51

That opening riff on "I Name You Under Our Cult" is straight from Thy Mighty Contract

That was exactly my thoughts