Review ROTTING CHRIST “Pro Xristou”

Rotting Christ have been around since 1987 and if you consider the times as Black Church, the foundation goes back to 1984. This means that we are dealing with real metal veterans who are releasing a new album with “Pro Xristou”. The Tolis brothers have recorded ten songs, of which the title track can be seen as a dramatic intro straight from the abyss.

Rotting Christ never stands still. There are the grindcore driving early days, the black metal excursions and the latest album that shows a band that is evolving.

“Pro Xristou” is an album that leaves you with a few questions after the first listen. The Black Metal vibes are reduced to a minimum, while the slower and more devilish sounds get more space. Some signs of this could already be seen on “The Heretic”, which contains a song called “Hallowed Be Thy Name”. The musical approach of this song is also what drives the latest longplayer.

“The Apostate” and “Like Father, Like Son” are theatrical metal tracks with a lot of pathos. Hypnotic and with narrative vocals, Rotting Christ manage to create an evil grin. The repetitions and the haunting vocals of Sakis Tolin are an important stylistic element in Rotting Christ’s sound. In a way, listening to this album is like listening to the metal soundtrack of an ancient Greek tragedy with a Nordic shine. Nothing is lighthearted, nothing comes with an easiness. Each of these songs is a powerful and wistful one, reflecting a blackened heart.

What adds to the density of the album are the choral moments like during “Pix Lax Dax”. The melody lines have a catchy element and as the basic mood is a dark one, you might not want to get caught by the hooks.

Thematically the album is built around the last pagan king and songs like “Yggdrasil” reflect this very well.

With all this in mind, the album has some good moments, but also sticks to the same pattern running through the entire album. There is too little variation, even though some details provide a certain thrill. Especially in the beginning, the songs unfold a fascination, but as the songs all operate within a narrow framework, the album starts to get lengthy after a while. There are better longplayers to be found in the band’s long discography.