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• Representative Albums: "Triarchy of the Lost Lovers," "A Dead Poem," "Theogonia"
• Representative Songs: "King of a Stellar War," "Archon," "Out of Spirits"
Noticing the start of the crazed black metal scene in the Scandinavian region, the Tolis brothers, Sakis (vocals/ guitar) and Themis (drums), wanted to begin their own spectacle in their hometown of Athens, Greece. Hence, Rotting Christ was born in 1987 with the addition of Kostas on second guitar and bassist Andreas. However, the nationwide attention as a second-generation black metal act didn't start until the release of their 1991 EP Passage to Arcturo.
After adding a keyboard player to their lineup full-time (George, just George) and hooking up with France's Osmose Records, their first full-length, Thy Mighty Contract, was released in 1993, followed by Non Serviam two years later. Clearly showing off their Venom and Celtic Frost influences with those two releases, Rotting Christ established themselves as one of the premier European underground metal acts. After recording 1996's Triarchy of the Lost Lovers, a deal was secured with Century Media Records, meaning that they where finally getting distribution on both sides of the northern Atlantic. Following the 1997 release of the melancholy but keyboard-driven A Dead Poem, their sixth release, Sleep of the Angels, was released two years later and Khronos 666 followed two years after that.
History
Rotting Christ is a Greek metal band formed in 1987. They are noted for being one of the first black metal bands within this region, as well as a premier act within the European underground metal scene.
Line-up
The permanent line-up consists of brothers Sakis Tolis (born June 29, 1972, Athens, vocals and guitar) and Themis Tolis (born March 28, 1974, Athens, drums). Andreas Lagios (born November 11, 1972, Athens) has been the bassist since 1996, taking the stead of Jim Patsouris. Nightfall's Giorgos Bokos joined as a guitarist in 2005, replacing Kostas Vassilakopoulos.
Three keyboardists had previously been a part of the band; George Tolias, George Zaharopoulos and a session known only as Panayiotis (on A Dead Poem).
Biography
In their two decades of existence, the band started as raw black metal, but utilized what has been described as a "dark metal" direction on later releases, almost doing away with the black metal title, but not compromising their extreme sound.
During their rehearsal era in the late 1980s, the band began as grindcore and released various demos and splits with other bands from the Athens area. The group would later alter their sound with influence from proto-black metal bands like Celtic Frost and Venom, and in the process became one of the genre's instigators. Their 5 song demo, Satanas Tedeum, would show a grindcore/black metal crossover, followed by their career-breaking EP, Passage to Arcturo, in 1991.
One of band's first major appearances was on the 1993 "Fuck Christ Tour" consisting of Immortal and Blasphemy. During this concert, some audience members had engaged in cutting and self mutilation that resulted in hospitalization. Before signing to Unisound, Mayhem's Øystein Aarseth had expressed interest in distributing the band through his "Deathlike Silence Productions" label, but due to Aarseth's murder the same year, nothing materialized. The band would sign to Century Media in 1996 and remain on their roster for 10 years before joining Season of Mist.
Rotting Christ have played in many continents outside their native Greece, including both Americas, Greater Europe, Russia, the United Kingdom, Malta and the Middle East. Several heavy metal festivals around the world have hosted the band, including the 2003 Wacken Open Air in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Past tourmates have included My Dying Bride, Tristania, Tiamat, Vintersorg, Finntroll, Agathodaimon, Old Man's Child, Malevolent Creation, Anorexia Nervosa, Vader, Krisiun, Deicide, Behemoth and Nile, among many others.
Publicity
Over the years, the group has faced controversy due to their name and gained international media attention in November 1999 during the 2000 United States Presidential Primaries for Republican Nomination, when candidate/Christian conservative Gary Bauer accused the band of being "anti-Catholic", among other things. In response to Bauer's criticism, Sakis wrote:
"Living in (so called) democratic societies, I think everyone should have the right to call religions as he/she wants. We in fact simply believe they are "rotting"! We are not a "satanic-crusader" type of band but rather one of the many bands that represent the dark side in nowadays Metal music."
They also have had to cancel some shows, most recently in May 2005, when Megadeth front man Dave Mustaine refused to play at a Greek concert if Rotting Christ were on the bill. In response to their forced cancellation, Sakis noted:
"I didn't expect something like that from Dave Mustaine, because, you know, he's supposed to be metal — you know, 'metal band,' all metal ... I just feel sorry for him and for every new Christian with new ideas, because we think Christianity is the worst thing to happen in human history. This is a well-organized trick in order to control society, so when I see someone that's very much Christian, that's full of the system, I feel very sorry for him because he's not free."
When playing in Malta, a country which in its constitution declares itself as Roman Catholic, trouble from the Church and other Catholic groups ensued when an unknown person stuck a Rotting Christ flyer to a church door. The band was allowed to play eventually even if they had to change venue.
Despite the name, the band's traditional lyrical themes involving evil and occultism has evolved into a more "mystic" path , and they have modified their musical direction on each album, utilizing elements such as clean melodic baritone vocals, doom, gothic metal and industrial music traits, and male/female Benedictine chants. Recent albums, beginning with Khronos, have shown the band taking a more modern, faster and more aggressive approach to their blackened-gothic style. Their last album, Theogonia, especially, has been described as more "atmospheric" and "epic" by their label.
The group's choice of producers, engineers and mixers has also been varied; Swedish extreme metal figures Dan Swanö (Unisound), Peter Tägtgren (Abyss Studios) and Fredrik Nordström (Studio Fredman), German producers Andy Classen (Asphyx, Belphegor) Siggi Bemm (Therion, Theatre of Tragedy) and Waldemar Sorychta (Lacuna Coil, The Gathering) as well as Xytras (Samael percussionist/keyboardist) have all contributed to production on the band's albums.
As of 2007, Rotting Christ have been around 20 years, one of the longest running bands within the black metal genre. In celebration of the band's longevity, the 2 DVD + 2 CD compilation, "Non Serviam: A 20 Year Apocryphal Story," shot in Athens on December 8, 2007, was released worldwide February 23, 2009.
On December 31, 2009, Rotting Christ will be playing Australia's first heavy metal festival Screamfest.
On June 10, 2009 the band announced via their MySpace page that they had nearly finished writing their next album, also suggesting a January 2010 release date.
Band members
Current members
• Sakis Tolis - guitar/vocals (1987-present)
• Giorgos Bokos - guitar (2005-present)
• Andreas Lagios - bass (1996-present)
• Themis Tolis - drums (1987-present)
Past members
• Kostas Vassilakopoulos - guitar (1996-2004)
• Georgios Tolias - keyboard (1996-2004)
• George "Magus Wampyr Daoloth" Zaharopoulos - keyboard/backing vocals (1992-1994)
• Jim "Mutilator" Patsouris - bass (1989-1996)
• Panayiotis - session keyboard (1997)
Discography
Full Length
• Thy Mighty Contract
November 11, 1993
Osmose Productions
(re-released on Century Media, January 20, 1998)
• Non Serviam
October 10, 1994
Unisound
(re-released on The End Records, January 24, 2006)
• Triarchy of the Lost Lovers
August 20, 1996
Century Media
• A Dead Poem
October 7, 1997
Century Media
• Sleep of the Angels
March 9, 1999
Century Media
• Khronos
August 29, 2000
Century Media
• Genesis
October 29, 2002
Century Media
• Sanctus Diavolos
September 20, 2004
Century Media
• Theogonia
February 6, 2007
Season of Mist
• New album
January, 2010
Season of Mist
Official website: http://www.rotting-christ.com/
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