Rotting Christ
- GENRE: black metal, gothic metal
- COUNTRY: Greece
The most impious black metal force of Greece will invade our country once again! Rotting Christ have performed many times on Polish stages, but they still haven’t played the one at Mystic Festival, so suffice to say, we can scarcely wait. This will be black metal played with vigour, granduer, great melodies and pure professionalism.
History:
The biggest, the most important and inventive band in the history of Greek black metal was formed in 1987. Although, everything had started out three years earlier under a different name, Black Church, but that’s not really important as it was only as Rotting Christ that they started recording and acting at full throttle. Initially – so on their first two demos – the band was playing grindcore, but they quickly switched gears and embraced black metal. In a blink of an eye, they developed their own sound, aggressive yet atmospheric. Their debut album, Thy Migthy Contract, is one of the biggest classics of the 90s metal extreme, just as their follow-up, sophomore record, Non Serviam. On their breakthrough record in terms of popularity, Triarchy of the Lost Lovers, they added an element of gothic to their melodic black metal, and then some symphonic leanings on the subsequent album, A Dead Poem. These are elements of the Greeks’ style that are still present till this day. The band’s latest release is the 2024 Pro Xristou, though they will come to Mystic Festival with the freshly recorded Aealo.
Discography:
LP:
Thy Mighty Contract, 1993
Non Serviam, 1994
Triarchy of the Lost Lovers, 1996
A Dead Poem, 1997
Sleep of the Angels, 1999
Khronos, 2000
Genesis, 2002
Sanctus Diavolos, 2004
Theogonia, 2007
Aealo, 2010
Κατά τον δαίμονα εαυτού, 2013
Rituals Full-length, 2016
The Heretics, 2019
Pro Xristou, 2024
Aealo (Re-recorded), 2026
EP:
Passage to Arcturo, 1991
The Mystical Meeting, 1997
Der perfekte Traum, 1998
The Call, 2018
Echoes of Apostasy (35 Years of Rotting Christ), 2024
Demo:
Leprosy of Death, 1988
Decline’s Return, 1989
Satanas Tedeum, 1989
Ade’s Winds, 1992
Promo 1995, 2013
Singles:
Dawn of the Iconoclast, 1992
Αποκαθήλωσις, 1993
Fire and Flame, 2020
Holy Mountain, 2022
Splits:
The Other Side of Life, 1989 (z Sound Pollution)
Rotting Christ / Monumentum, 1991 (z Monumentum)
Out of the Dark – Live Compilation, 1997 (z Samael, Mooonspell, Sentenced, Crematory i The Gathering)
Shattering the Barriers, 2000 (z Carnal Forge, Eyehategod i Cryptopsy)
Rotting Christ / Negative Plane, 2012 (z Negative Plane)
Primordial Evil, 2017 (z Necromantią)
Duality of the Unholy Existence, 2019 (z Varathron)
Live albums:
Live in Hellas, 2009
Lucifer over Athens, 2015
The Early Days – Live in the Studio, 2022
Fuck Christ Tour ’93, 2023
35 Years of Evil Existence – Live in Lycabettus, 2025
Compilations:
The Mystical Meeting, 1995
Passage to Arcturo + Non Serviam, 2006
Thanatiphoro Anthologio, 2007
Semigods of the Serpent Cult, 2009
25 Years: The Path of Evil Existence, 2014
Abyssic Black Cult, 2017
Their Greatest Spells: 30 Years of Rotting Christ, 2018
Abyssic Black Metal, 2018
The Apocryphal Spells, Vol.I, 2022
The Apocryphal Spells, Vol.II, 2022
The Apocryphal Spells, 2023