You don’t need to hire Columbo to discover The Heretics is a deafening echo of Rituals. It’s not a galloping stride into the unknown, nor is it an album that looks into their illustrious past. No, The Heretics, for all intents and purposes, is still very content with exploring the same sounds forged back in 2016 – largely procuring the album’s bombastic crescendos and weighty atmospherics – and it isn’t ashamed to admit as much…
Rotting Christ have stood the test of time. 'Rituals' is an album that has obviously been written by veterans. The Greek legends inject a 27-year career, 12 albums, and more than 1.200 shows into their songwriting. With confidence and skills derived from experience, each song represents its own sonic universe. Guitarist / vocalist Sakis Tolis and brother Themis on drums achieve a perfect balance of amalgamating their classic and unique style of riffing and rhythm with exciting new elements sprinkled in to keep their material exciting and fresh. Carefully chosen guests are being added for better effect, not name dropping such as the spoken words of Nick Holmes (Paradise Lost) on "A Voice Like Thunder" or Samael's Vorph mesmerizingly quoting from Charles Baudelaire's "Les Fleurs Du Mal" throughout the song "Les Litanies De Satan"…
Greek extreme metal veterans ROTTING CHRIST will release their new album, "The Heretics", on February 15, 2019 via Season Of Mist. The artwork for the disc created by Greek artist Maximos Manolis. With "The Heretics", ROTTING CHRIST is opening a brand new chapter. Guitarist and vocalist Sakis Tolis, in collaboration with his brother Themis on drums, achieves a perfect balance of amalgamating the band's classic and unique style of riffing and rhythm with exciting new elements sprinkled in to keep its material exciting and fresh. The experience is enhanced by Jens Bogren's equally clear and transparent yet also massive as well as sombre mix and mastering at his widely renowned Fascination Street Studios (AMORPHIS, BORKNAGAR, MOONSPELL, DEVIN TOWNSEND).
Metal For The Masses has a collection of modern metal masterpieces. It's a great mix of Swedish/European bands as well as many great American bands. This album is definitely a must for metal newbies. It gives you a great selection of the various bands going on. Arch Enemy, Lacuna Coil, Strapping Young Lad, Soilwork, Shadows Fall… and many others. If you like metal, this is an excellent choice to add to your collection. Two disc set includes 20 tracks on disc 1 and 160 mp3 tracks on disc 2.
Bleeding Gods, a blackened death metal band from he Netherlands, has managed to put together one of the best concept albums in quite a while (possibly the best all year) and create an album that stands alongside some of the best in blackened death metal…
Mysticism, magic, occult arts and rituals, all of which are driving factors behind ACHERONTAS, are also the most adequate words that can be used to describe the band's image, sound and lyrics. The band is considered as one of the leading representatives of the New Wave of Greek Black Metal, heavily influenced by the original Hellenic metal scene, retro rock (especially the 70's rock) and eastern philosophy. "Psychic Death - The Shattering Of Perceptions" was recorded in Grecce, Germany and UK, at the band's own studios (the "Coven’s Corridors of Wilderness"). The album was produced, mixed and mastered at Pentagram Studio by George Emmanuel (Lucifer's Child, ex-Rotting Christ). Cover artwork was prepared by Chris Undirheimar of Blood and Fire Ritual Art studio.
Of the two albums released in 2004, Lemuria is the most straightforward and, dare to say, catchy. But it does it with some ridiculous attempts and elements to boost. “Typhon” is a detuned Power Metal pseudo-anthem with a depressingly laughable chorus that sees Johnsson trying to imitate The Ophidian Wheel-era Septicflesh not only in the vocals, but also in the harmonies, and that alone may be the highlight of the two albums as a whole…