ROTTING CHRIST „Aealo”

Music: Melodic Black Metal
Website: http://www.rotting-christ.com
Country: Greece
Duration: 50:05 (11 songs)
Cool Songs: …Pir Threontai, Demonon Vrosis, Aealo, Noctis Era

It's already been three years since Greek metal virtuosos ROTTING CHRIST released their ninth full-length album “Theogonia”, and every day since then I was anxiously searching for any news regarding their upcoming album. And today, finally, it's here, and I'm not only eager, but also a bit scared to listen to it. After the blast that “Theogonia” was, I wasn't sure if they can ever go any better than that. But ROTTING CHRIST made me believe in fairy tales again.

“Aealo” carries on in a style “Theogonia” settled. It bears even more Greek folk elements and choirs; the band invited Pliades, a traditional choir of Epirus in the central western Greece to take care of it, as well as a Greek folk band DAEMONIA NYMPHE and DIRTY GRANNY TALES. Yet there is something very different on this album, and it's not only that the songwriting is more complex and no more that easy to remember. This obvious thing took me quite a long time to figure out, but now it makes a perfect sense – it's the war atmosphere of the record. And though I'm not a fan of battle-themed albums, this is just nothing less than impressive. 'Aealo' is an ancient Greek word, that means 'catastrophe' or 'destruction', and as well as the cover by Jérôme, it represents the album's atmosphere perfectly.

The album is opened with a song called “Aealo.” A very straight song, from the choir beginning till the end, followed by “Eon Aenaos” with unbelievable battle riffs. The next song “Demonon Vrosis” is a typical ROTTING CHRIST song, with its catchy riffs and powerful solos making it one of my favorite. “Noctis Era”, the only song that was published by the band before the release of “Aealo”, is a rhythmically very strong song, that is along with the following “Dub-Saĝ-Ta-Ke” one of the mightiest combat songs I've ever heard. “Fire Death and Fear”, with lots of rhythmic changes, turns and ethnic elements, can despite its title only bring to mind a scent of oncoming victory, but the following Pliades 'intro' “Nekron lahes…” completely wipes this feeling away. “… Pir Threontai” is my personal pick from this album, an epic song that in my eyes is itself a direct successor of “Theogonia”. Magus from NECROMANTIA also made a guest appearance on this song. Also Alan A. Nemtheanga from PRIMORDIAL added some clean vocals to the next song “Thou Art Lord” and I think that the title speaks for itself, another typical rotten piece. “Santa Muerte” is a very fast song with some impressive chorus from Pliades in the end, implying that the war is coming to its end. The last song “Orders From the Dead” is a song originally written by DIAMANDA GALÁS, an American singer of Greek origin, well known for her avant-garde music full of agonized shrieking and yelling as well as for her three and a half octave voice range. ROTTING CHRIST added some epic riffs to her lamentation, thus making an even more scary impression.

I just don't know if any words can describe how exciting this album is. A perfect successor of “Theogonia”, that just makes me wonder what can ROTTING CHRIST possibly bring in next time. It definitely needs more than one spin, so don't waste your time and do listen to this, it's really worth it.

note: 10/10

Tracklist

1. “Aealo”
2. “Eon Aenaos”
3. “Demonon Vrosis”
4. “Noctis Era”
5. “Dub-Saĝ-Ta-Ke”
6. “Fire, Death and Fear”
7. “Nekron Iahes…”
8. “…Pir Threontai”
9. “Thou Art Lord”
10. “Santa Muerte”
11. “Orders From The Dead (Diamanda Galás cover)”

Line-up

Sakis Tolis – Vocals, Guitars
George Bokos – Guitars
Andreas Lagios – Bass
Themis Tolis – Drums