Customer Reviews

Genesis

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

These guys continue to kick ... with some new Anti-gospel to terrify the sheep and cause a stampede through the pews. Ethereal eerie vocals, Gregorian style Evil chants, and wicked atmospheric harmonies add to the Black Metal maelstrom. I was especially impressed by "In Domine Sathana", "Ad Noctis", and "Under the Name of Legion". It's always nice to hear good music inspired by and dedicated to the majesty of Satan.

4.5 stars. While "Thy Mighty Contract" remains my favorite Rotting Christ album, and "Khronos 666" runs a respectable second, "Genesis" is growing more impressive with each spin. This album has many Gothic touches, akin to their more recent albums, but these Greeks are certainly not afraid of Black Metal blast-beats either. There are moments here where it sounds as if they are chanting directly and exclusively to The Dark Lord. But more often than not, the eerie atmosphere is more of an embracing factor, rather than a potential drowning wave. Along with the always reliable lead guitar riffs there is a formidable rhythm section that keeps things creative with double-bass drumming and more than a few memorable, creative grooves. One odd moment here comes with the track "Release Me" where there is a section straight out of 80s New Wave. Then there is even the occassional Industrial influence, as can be found on the track "The Call of the Aethyrs." These tendencies are not bad, but they are noticably out of context with the rest of the album. As you can probably surmise I prefer the heavier Rotting Christ to the more ambient Rotting Christ from "A Dead Poem" and "Sleep of Angels." But this is still Rotting Christ, and after all my nitpicking this remains a very infectious listen filled with chanting choirs, Gothic keyboards or touches of emotive electronica, a strangely captivating lead vocal performance(complete with Greek accent), and excellent production value. This is Rotting Christ fearlessly branching out from their patented sound and reaping the benefits with undeniable success. Thank you.

I have seen Rotting Christ evolve into one of the best atmospheric bands in the world, and though they have become great at creating these different moods, it is their dedication to their black-metal roots that keep me coming back for more. Whether it's tight, muscular riffs, dizzying dual-guitar frenzies, or ear-rattling low frequency undertones, Rotting Christ delivers the goods time and time again. Sakis named Bathory, Celtic Frost, and Venom as three of his important influences when he was younger, and it's cool to see a band remain true to the innovative spirit of their predecessors while still blazing a new trail to carve out a niche that is truly their own. While other bands head off in directions that may make their long-time fans groan in frustration, Rotting Christ have never given me a reason to doubt the integrity of their direction, producing some of the most brutal, haunting music of our time. Great album, my personal favorite is "The Call of the Aethyrs", with "Quintessence" and "Daemons" close behind, though this whole disc is just amazing and gets frequent play on my many music devices. All hail Rotting Christ!

This band makes great music. Unfortunately, there comes a time of [] mediocrity in every band's career.

One of the major problems of this album is lack of variation. Listen to the first two tracks, "Daemons" and "Lex Talionis". Sound like two of a kind. (Had I not kept an eye on the digital display I could have sworn it was one song.) "Nightmare" reminds me a lot of "Between Times" off their `97 release "A Dead Poem". Singer/guitarist Sakis Tolis has a few spoken words and moments of what is actually his clean voice, however, rather than being dark it comes off as forced and acted, completely doing away with the bleakness they're trying to convey in the music.

Don't get me wrong, they haven't become too heavy, or too light. They've stayed true to their original style and sound (which can be likened to the Napalm Death project Carcass, with a medieval, rather than vegan overtone.) Unfortunately; they haven't spent enough time to think of anything completely brand new.

This is a highly catchy and accessible band with a name that is definitely unrepresentative of their music. Some would recommend the prior, but "Sleep of the Angels" probably stands as their best album and I definitely recommend it over this.

I was eagerly awaiting the arrival of this one, even though at the time I only owned "Khronos" - RC are not easy to buy at U.S. record stores. I was quite pleased with Khronos, and I was just blown away by this album. The band uses choral, orchestral, and keyboard elements to create an eerie cloak of sounds that at no time threatens to dilute their underlying framework of vicious black metal. Instead, these atmospheric aspects enhance the music, adding depth and helping to solidify the images of the album's various themes. From the opening seconds of "Daemons" where a chilling wail can be heard in the background, to the closing moments of "Under the Name of Legion" where a hauntingly beautiful orchestral and choral piece closes out the record, Rotting Christ captures your imagination and assaults your senses with blistering riffs, dual-guitar harmonies, well-placed solos, and drums that seamlessly shift from blast-beat speed to teeth-chattering double-bass rumbles, all shrouded in some of the most chilling ambiance ever conceived. The legacy of extreme metal that was begun by bands such as Venom and Bathory is indeed in some very capable and talented hands. All hail the greeks!

I really don't know what to say about such a CD. I never imagined I would hear something so soft judging by the name of the band. But... this is one of my favorite black metal bands. They don't use blast beats the way we're used to them. Sometimes, the drums are just flat out faster than you would ever elsewhere hear, like in Skyfire.

The biggest thing to note with this band is the keyboards. They are literally out of this... ... ... ... ... galaxy! When you listen to tracks 3-4 and 7-10, you'll see what I mean. The very beginning notes of the CD I hope won't turn you off. Another important thing to mention is that 30% or so of the time, the singer is singing a doom-style, low as can be pitched voice without grunting or growling. My absolute favorite song on the CD is Nightmare, track 4. I just can't get over the harmony you hear in this song. I have a gazillion favorite songs and Nightmare is one of them. BUT, this is one of almost none that actually gives me chills when I listen to it. Artention's "Tall Ships", Thy Serpent's "Only Dust Moves", Stratovarius's "Infinity", the trance song "The Heart of the Ocean", and Ivory Tower's "Treehouse" are the only other 5 I can think of off the top of my head that do also. One of the songs, I think either 3 or 9, has an incredibly soft drumming intro. Track 10 sounds church-ish in the intro.

What you're probably wanting to hear more than anything is are there swears or severe religion things in this. I don't think there's anything past hell and damn and I never detected anything religious - except their name. All in all, I could go on forever saying that this is just amazing. It's about as amazing as Norther's "Mirror of Madness", which I raved about for a while. If you want to know how much I would rave about this CD if I had more time, just look at that review.

After you look at that review, why not check out all of my reviews, unless you're as busy as I am tonight:) You SHOULD have the time to tell me and others if this review was helpful to you or not.

Much better than their previous album Khronos. I can say that this album is a nice black metal album (not the best however). Its typical Rotting Christ -> slow - tempo songs and the known vocals. A must for Rotting Christ fans.

This CD doesn't do anything that the masses would like them to do, and that is a good thing, as it is as brilliant as anything they have done, if not all too different, but still different as anything else. Black metal done right - in a Rotting Christ kind of way... Maxwell

The return of Rotting Christ, the best Greek Heavy Metal band! The album is a perfect example of furious melodic atmospheric Black Metal. The Greek Heavy Metal maniacs are very proud of this band.

This is just an all around great album. They throw in alot of elements that most black metal bands dont, including clean vocals,and keyboards (in cirtain places). They create a very dark atmousphere. Great album \m/