If there is something difficult about reviewing, writing an objective review about a band which you almost idolize would me the number one. However, the new album
Aealo (meaning destruction) has destructed all my prejudices and rebuilt my opinion. The album unlike the most of the older works is one of these which you have to listen to, have a break, listen to it again, then again and again to get really into it.
From the very start, in the title song you are struck by the album’s most outstanding features of the album – the female chorals dragging you right into the ancient Greece and together with fast drums and folk instruments creating almost ecstatic atmosphere.
And while listening to the fading war-whoop sounding shouts, you can be sure that the feast has begun.
Eon Aenaos doesn’t chow much change compared to
Theogonia, except of more effects, squalls and clearly rhythmic parts. The shorter guitar solos and gradations is something that the band didn’t forget to use as well. The following, in Greek started composition Demonon Vroisis is a very rhythmical yet still very melodic song in a classy
Rotting Christ piece of work. The Greek brings a mystic mood, especially through the years of non-speakers and, the guitar solo is so good that you don’t mind all over again repeating (but here and there enlivened) riffs and a little monotonous run of the composition. The vocals sound interesting as closely to the end Sakis is audibly trying to push them as high as possible. ¨
For fans who were expectant of the new album
Noctis Era is nothing new since it is the song that was revealed as an allurement some days earlier. To compare with the darker, deeper rest of the album, this song may sound almost whooping, but the energy scintillates from it all around. Shouts, fast rhythms and catchy riffs are anything but boring. The album is slightly curtailment of classic Sakis’ vocals but in compositions like this they are fully compensated, including his slight Greek accent without which their music would never be what it is of course.
Dub-sag-ta-ke is almost absent of the main vocals, but it is not empty at all. The chorals, the shouts (from which for me discernible is only the name of the track) and guitar solo don’t let the listener get bored and keeps him prepared for the following, slightly resembling
Fire, Death and Fear. Unfortunately I can’t tell about it much more than that it dovetails into the album, with all the compliments as well as rebukes that it means. As a listener you will enjoy the song but the swiftness doesn’t bring many changes.
Nekron Lahes... is an insertion of nothing but the female chorals, as well as an intro for ...Pir Threontai. The narrative parts underpainted with expressive drums and riffs create transient ominous appeal but it doesn’t lose much of its energy as the solo and male chorals in the background make the composition complex and interesting in general.
Thou Art Lord. Sound familiar? No wonder.
Anyway, the clear vocals is a really pleasant chequering not only of the song, but of the whole album as well. On every
Rotting Christ album you can find some track that a little exceeds and in this case this is the one, if I pass away the last track. But more later.
Sounding like getting back to the starts comes
Santa Muerte in faster tunes and more aggressive mood. But again – I’d swear for few (or too many) moments I hear something from
Theogonia. But what is truth is that you can hear more anger in the vocals than in the last album. Occasional higher tessitura makes a difference even without actually spotting it.
That the main inspiration for
Rotting Christ is history is not a secret at all. But for those, who are used mainly to the ancient topics, the cover of Orders of the
Dead by Diamanda Galas devoted to the genocide in the beginning of the last century would be a surprise.
Anyway, prolongation of the original version and adding the usual
Rotting Christ elements and adding some “spice” to already amazing work made an epic ending.
To sum up, the album mixes the old well known features of the band’s music with new improvements. Sounding more complex than most of the earlier works it needs more time and more open minded attitude to be able to fully appreciate a piece like this one.
Though the folk side of "Aealo" works out just fine for me, many listeners will have big problems coping with the "new" side of the band. Since I'm from Bulgaria and the special chant parts they included are done by a North Greek choir, all this sounds right at over 100 percent for me as our own native music is pretty much the same without any differences. Anyway, the Balkan inspirational touch won't fit the expectations of the mass fan base of Rotting Christ, but then again, Sakis himself said he'll go for something entirely different. "Aealo" has the chance to become the most controversial album of RC up to date, but that doesn't necessary mean it's a bad record or something.
P.S. The final curtain fall "Orders From The Dead" is a remarkable ending. I adore the original, but Diamanda's cooperation with Sakis' skills as a composer on this one really does the trick!
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