Artist: Rotting Christ
Title: Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy (Do What Thou Wilt)
Genre: Dark Metal
Release Date: 1st March 2013
Label: Season Of Mist
Album Review
ROTTING CHRIST, consisting mostly of Tolis brothers, have been around for 26 years during which time they’ve released eleven albums, their newest ‘Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy’ has just been unleashed at the beginning of the month. Thanks to people holding on tight to their dogmas their name caused some controversy, not least when Dave Mustaine of MEGADETH, who is a born again Christian, refused to play with them. Challenge they will even in the arena of their music, they’re not a band to settle on predictability, but on doing their own thing: they will break the rules of the genre and expectations of music too. Pretty impressive considering the worrying state of their native country, Greece, as you may have forgiven them for churning out material curbed creatively only to widely appeal for the masses, but luckily they won’t treat you as their customer who dictates what they do neither they care about the naysayers who don’t like them pushing the envelope. Reminds me of a musical anecdote about Beethoven – to those who accused him of breaking the rules of music he had one thing to say: “I am Beethoven!” So ladies and gentlemen, get ready – this is ROTTING CHRIST!
‘Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy’ means ‘Do What Thou Wilt’ and comes out of Aleister Crowley, an occultist that will come up in any search into this ‘dark’ area of spirituality though the album spreads in many directions of the world and brings forward poetry from ancient cultures – of Sumerians and Incans, even Romanian folk songs etc. Its employment of various languages will be interesting especially for the more demanding and adventurous listener – and let’s be frank, languages employed here sound more arcane, incantatory, impressive and open to the unknown than today’s English (I’m not saying it’s not a rich or great language, it just hasn’t got that fine dimension to its sound). I feel without the various languages the creative focus of the album wouldn’t come out as richly; not to mention that singing about other cultures in English just doesn’t do them justice and feels (can’t really help using this word) imperialistic.
The album opens with already leaked song ‘In Yumen – Xibalba’, a punchy, fast driven and relentlessly hitting song, the chanting starts here and it can either repel or become a hypnotic element of the album, for how I feel it, it’s effective and not a mere effect. ‘P'unchaw kachun - Tuta kachun’ is where Incan poetry enters, a colossal song that towers way above you and is truly crushing, it doesn’t even feel like evoking an ancient civilisation but reconstructing it. ‘Grandis Spiritus Diavolos’ feels connected to their past and this black mass will invite to some head-banging as well. ‘Cine iubeşte şi lasă’ employs expressive female vocals and feels very experimental. ‘Rusalka’ follows a Slavic legend and is of particular interest to me as my own background is steeped in Slavic culture and the legend of Rusalka has been known and fascinating to me ever since I’ve been a little child, and thanks to Disney (or maybe hopefully also from Dvorak’s opera or Pushkin’s short tragedy) probably even to those who don’t have knowledge of Slavic folklore.
Though the original legend doesn’t only involve a young woman committing suicide (after becoming who she is not) due to unrequited love but also women who murdered their own children, were pregnant out of wedlock or their “bastard” children – whose death and the end of their haunting by the rivers or lakes (and they can haunt even in forests and so on) can be avenged even if they first avenge themselves by seducing men to their death first. After indulging myself with details that are still hopefully useful to the readers/ listeners let’s just say that the song involves both sadness, tragedy and this spirit of avenge; a beautiful horror. The vocals are suitably felt as if suffocated with water; the guitar shivering effect underlined by a solo is simply great. ‘Χ Ξ Σ ("666")’ is another song with ceremonial feel and the album closes with superb ‘Welcome To Hell’, which is erm... bonus, though it feels like a focal point of the album as well. Epic, majestic track that closes the album with such a build-up of feeling that it nearly propels you to do something... brilliant hopefully!
The overall motif of the album, as it seems to me, is the shamanistic search to locate culture's error so to heal it. A truly fantastic album, I found it exciting by the scope of their seeking into the world’s cultures, it’s (deliciously) dark and yet empowering. You may have guessed from my enthusiasm and my response towards criticism heaped on them that I am a fan of theirs, but even if you take my review with a grain of salt this is a fucking kick ass album that should be in your collection if you are a true lover of Metal! And fuck it, full-house rating as well!
Tracklist
01. In Yumen – Xibalba
02. P'unchaw kachun - Tuta kachun
03. Grandis Spiritus Diavolos
04. Κατά τον Δαίμονα Ἐαυτοὗ ("Kata Ton Demona Eaftou")
05. Cine iubeşte şi lasă
06. Iwa Voodoo
07. Gilgameš
08. Русалка ("Rusalka")
09. Ahura Mazdā-Aŋra Mainiuu
10. Χ Ξ Σ ("666")
11. Welcome To Hel (bonus track vinyl & Digibox)
Line-up
Sakis Tolis - vocals, guitars, bass
Themis Tolis - drums
Websites
www.rotting-christ.com/ / www.facebook.com/pages/Rotting-Christ/290468585669
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 10
Sound: 10
Total: 10 / 10
Comments powered by CComment