Rotting Christ: The Heretics (2019)

2007 saw Rotting Christ release Theogonia.  That album was my introduction to the world of Rotting Christ, though I had heard of the band previously, and I was absolutely blown away by it.  This blog did not exist at the time, but if it had, it is highly likely that it would have been my Album of the Year.  It was that good.  2010's Aealo made it to third on my Best Albums list that year.  The band had quickly become one of my favorite bands.

Unfortunately the last two releases have seen the band treading water, basically playing the same thing over and over again.  Rotting Christ has essentially been playing the soundtrack to a Greek action-adventure video game for the last several years.  So when this album was announced, I was not sure what to expect.  I was cautiously optimistic however when I saw that they had returned to the previous logo, a jagged script befitting a harsh black metal band instead of their more gothic take. 

The album is, more or less, a return to the Aealo form and is certainly their best full-length since that album.  There is still a fascination with playing overly drawn-out atmospheric black metal numbers that do not really go anywhere and the band overdoes the spoken-word sections that still give the impression that they are doing a soundtrack more than a full-length album.  Tracks like "In the Name of God" and "Hallowed be Thy Name", which are the two tracks that had videos made, are mostly boring songs that are too similar to the last two albums.

Luckily, most of the remaining tracks sound terrific.  "Ветры злые" features a scalding tremolo riff and terrific guest vocals of Irina Zybina of Russian folk metal band Грай (Graj) and "Heaven & Hell & Fire" has one of the most spine-tingling guitar solos Rotting Christ has ever recorded.  Ashmedi of Melechesh also provides guest vocals on "The Voice of the Universe".  This album did not immediately speak to me, but after a few more close listens it began to truly sink in.

One time when the spoken word elements really worked out well though is "The Raven".  As might be guessed, this song features excerpts from the classic Edgar Allan Poe poem that is a horror mainstay.  The sections fit in quite well with the band's unique gothic take on black metal and it is one of the best tracks on the album.

I am thrilled that this album is so good.  I do not yet know if it is a contender for Album of the Year, though it may be up there right now.  It seems to get better every time I listen to it.  There are some weak moments on the album but they are outweighed by the great songs on the album.