Rotting Christ - Satan over Athens

When we talk about black metal, the first thought inevitably goes to the pioneers from the Scandinavian countries and the second-wave bands, forerunners of a completely new way of approaching that sonic universe. Those bands (Mayhem, Darkthrone, Immortal etc.) laid down the genre's core coordinates, from its musical style to its themes to the creation of a typically black aesthetic. But black metal, as was to be expected, soon broadened its geographical horizons thanks to a very long line of followers who enriched the movement by cross-pollinating with practically everything, giving rise to a series of national scenes from every corner of the world. Among these, the southern European or Mediterranean scene gave birth (or in this case, gave darkness) to a number of essential bands – such as the early Moonspell, the Italian Inchiuvatu, and the Greek Rotting Christ, Varathron and Necromantia.

Rotting Christ, in particular, are considered the leading band, as well as the founding fathers, of all Greek black metal, a status they've earned through a string of astonishing records and an almost maniacal consistency that, as we'll see, now spans three decades. The Tolis brothers' band had the ability to craft an original version of black metal, less brutal than that of the Scandinavian bands, infused with heavy doses of other metal subgenres – thrash at first, then epic and gothic metal later on. What's truly remarkable is that, despite the sheer number of albums released, the band's quality has consistently stayed at a high level, moving from early masterpieces to records that are, at the very least, always solid. Every record becomes a black mass to be celebrated with each new listen.

The early years

This alchemy comes together perfectly on the first two albums – Thy Mighty Contract (1993) and Non Serviam (1994) – which, with a different production, could easily pass as flagship records from very different scenes altogether, be it thrash, epic, power or gothic metal. Singer and guitarist Sakis Tolis is the band's creative mastermind, writing both the music and the lyrics, capable of penning innovative riffs and, especially on the early albums, elaborate compositions bordering on prog-metal – almost a black metal take on early Metallica.

Rotting Christ's philosophy is deeply anti-Christian and pro-pagan, like most black metal bands, and on this front Sakis Tolis has never wavered. Christianity is seen as the cause of humanity's estrangement from nature and from its deepest essence: the hoped-for return to paganism is therefore a move closer to Greek spirituality and philosophy, which, along with every pre-Christian culture, fell victim to Christian monotheism. In short, the band's anti-Christian stance is entirely considered and sincere, with no provocative intent whatsoever. The very name of the band is emblematic of this philosophy, and it has caused them endless trouble over the years thanks to protests from Catholic associations, with cancelled shows, sit-ins and police intervention (the most recent episode took place in Milan on April 9, 2025, during "The Unholy Trinity" tour with Behemoth and Satyricon, complete with a petition to block the show and a fake exorcist outside the Alcatraz). The 2005 episode in Greece was especially sensational, when Dave Mustaine of Megadeth refused to perform alongside Rotting Christ, forcing Sakis Tolis's band to cancel two dates.

Something similar happened in South Africa in 2016, where the band was forced to perform under a different name at the Witchfest in Johannesburg. Even more astonishing was the 2018 episode in Georgia, where the Tolis brothers were actually arrested.

But these absurd episodes, fuelled even by a metal icon like Dave Mustaine (who perhaps never quite grasped that Rotting Christ's outlook is one of the genre's founding philosophies), did not stop the Greek band from building an enviable career, one that began when three teenage musicians joined forces: Sakis Tolis on guitar and vocals, his younger brother Themis on drums, and Jim Patsouris on bass.

The band's first name was Black Church, at least until 1987, the year they found the name that would make them famous throughout the dark metal world: Rotting Christ was born. Their first recordings make up Satanas Tedeum (1989), a decidedly raw demo (the trio was made up entirely of minors at the time). Regardless, they caught the attention of Greek label Decapitated Records, with whom they released their first EP, Passage To Arcturo (1991), a record hampered by unprofessional production values, but one that still offers a few glimpses of what was to come.

The black-metal masterpieces

As their name started circulating more and more within the extreme metal underground, they were approached by Euronymous's Deathlike Silence Production. The well-known turn of events (his murder on August 10, 1993, at the hands of Varg Vikernes, aka Burzum) pushed them to change course and sign, temporarily, with French label Osmose Production.

Their true debut thus arrived with Thy Mighty Contract (1993), a staggering album, with ten tracks that each stand as masterpieces of black metal as a whole.

The cover already says it all: three crucified men in the foreground, and in the background a goat with a pentacle on its forehead. The band's musicianship is a cut above the average act from the same scene, and it's clear that the guitars could just as easily fit on a thrash record, an epic metal album, or a classic heavy metal record, with just a few production tweaks. The constant shifts of "Trasform All Suffering Into Plague" are worthy of early Metallica, as is "Fgmenth, Thy Gift", which reaches almost prog-metal levels in terms of compositional complexity.

The music of the Tolis brothers (almost) never relies on excessive speed, but rather on atmosphere and technique, with brief synth intrusions stitching the guitar riffs together. Any metal band would kill to have a riff like the one in "Dive The Deepest Abyss" in their discography, and the same could be said of gems like "The Fourth Knight Of Revelation" or "His Sleeping Majesty". Somewhere between Celtic Frost, Venom, Bathory and many others, Rotting Christ forge a style packed with countless influences while always remaining instantly recognizable. 1993 was also the year of the "Fuck Christ Tour" alongside Immortal and Blasphemy, a tour that, predictably, stirred up a storm of controversy.

After a milestone so iconic that it becomes a must for all the new metal bands of the Nineties, repeating the feat would seem almost impossible, yet the Salis brothers manage it. Having moved to the Greek label Unisound Records, they release Non Serviam (1994), their second masterpiece, which follows in the footsteps of the debut. "Non serviam" ("I will not serve") is the Latin phrase found in John Milton's "Paradise Lost", attributed to Lucifer, expressing his refusal to serve God in the kingdom of heaven. In the same work, Milton also attributes to Lucifer the line "Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven". In the Old Testament, the prophet Jeremiah uses the phrase "Non serviam" to condemn the Jews who reject God's dominion. Non Serviam thus becomes the perfect title, encapsulating the band's philosophy, and together with the debut it stands as the manifesto album of Greek black metal.

The title track is exemplary, with a simple, not-too-fast riff, keyboards creating a backdrop functional to the theme, and continuous variations within the song, with bass and guitar runs, bass drum work and much more. "Wolfera The Jackal" is a masterpiece of black metal originality, with constant accelerations and decelerations that have by now gone down in the genre's history. The manifesto tracks of Greek metal are countless, from "The Fifth Illusion" to "Morality Of A Dark Age".

Non Serviam is the second (and probably last) genuine masterpiece from the Solis brothers' band.

After two albums like these, it's practically impossible to keep up expectations, and indeed things start to change, but Rotting Christ's quality still remains well above average and will never suffer any dramatic dips.

Triarchy Of The Lost Lovers (1996) marks another change of label, moving to Century Media, with whom they begin a partnership that lasts a full six albums. This third effort shows clear continuity with the previous two records, but contains no truly memorable tracks, almost as if it were a collection of pieces discarded in previous years. While the style rooted in their early work is still evident, small signs of change begin to appear, with less aggression, slower tempos, less black metal sonorities, and an early shift toward the gothic metal that will become more evident in later years. A transitional work, then, but one with a few tracks such as "King Of A Stellar War", "Archon" and "The Opposite Bank" that have become classics of their discography.

The goth turn

The real first turning point, however, comes with the following A Dead Poem (1997), produced by Xy (keyboardist of Samael), featuring a more professional recording and a decidedly stronger gothic metal influence that hints at part of the band's future. It's no coincidence that, after the previous tour with Samael and Moonspell, Fernando Ribeiro, a member of the latter, contributes to the beautiful track "Among Two Storms", with a riff in Van Halen style and a melody with hit potential (with a different production it could have become a stadium anthem for any successful metal band). Notable too is the attempt to venture into new territory, as in the title track, which has a typically post-rock intro that is interrupted by a monolithic Sakis riff. Tracks like "Sorrowfull Farewell" and "Out Of Spirits" are also surprising for how easily Sakis writes songs that stick in the memory right away. The dark keyboards of "As If By Magic" anticipate the finale, a triptych in pure goth style that runs from the instrumental "Ten Miles High" — almost a cross between Cure and Type O Negative — to the two closing dark ballads "Between Times" and "Ira Incensus", which clearly bear the influence of Moonspell. An evolution that would never have been possible on the first albums.

This path is consolidated on Sleep Of The Angels (1999), an LP that is by now purely gothic, with huge doses of darkwave, both in Sakis's vocals and in the sonorities on offer. It's the second album produced by Xy of Samael, and it shows, particularly in the dark one-two punch worthy of Fields Of The Nephilim, "Cold Colours" and "After Dark I Feel". The latter in particular probably marks the peak of the Greek band's goth phase. Sakis alternates between two vocal registers while always remaining convincing, continuing his drift toward the sonorities of bands like Tiamat or Moonspell. Tracks like "Imaginary Zone" and "Thine Is The Kingdom" clearly demonstrate this.

Metal riffs are of course not lacking ("Delusions", "Victoriatus"), but the production radically changes their context, making them sound like mere echoes of a now-distant black metal past. Meanwhile, they nod to Rammstein on the track "Der Perfekte Traum", apparently written specifically to be sung by Till Lindemann.

The return to their roots

After the goth turn, Rotting Christ decide to take a step back and try to evoke the black-metal black masses of their early days. This shift lasts for at least three LPs and is marked by an underlying ambiguity between the two phases, which makes these years less creative than their best periods, even though there's still plenty worth saving across these three records. This choice comes after a difficult period in which they were even mentioned at a rally during the 2000 US Republican presidential primaries by conservative Christian candidate Gary Bauer, who accused them of being "anti-Catholic" and therefore deserving to be banned from the States. In the same year they were forced to cancel their South American tour because their manager abandoned them, frightened by the countless pressures he had received.

In any case, the band took refuge in Sweden in search of peace and recorded Khronos (2000), which turns out to be a good album, even if far from their early masterpieces. The change in production, this time in the hands of Swedish musician and producer Peter Tägtgren, founder of Hypocrisy, brings the band closer to the violence of their origins without neglecting their recent evolution. "If It Ends Tomorrow", with its epic guitars, foreshadows the more recent Rotting Christ, while "Thou Art Blind", with its dark intro and the guitar barrage that follows, is almost frightening.

"Aeternatus" almost feels like an updated version of "Non Serviam", as does "My Sacred Path", an excellent track that any metal band, of any subgenre, would love to have in its discography.

The opening of "Fateless" is interesting, recalling Tool, as does the cover of "Lucifer Over London" by Current 93. Closing things out are the eleven minutes of "Glory Of Sadness" (the longest track in the Rotting Christ catalogue), almost a black metal suite with a dark ghost track at the end.

After the usual tour, the band returns with Genesis (2002), an Lp that follows in the footsteps of its predecessor and ends up feeling like a needless rehash, even though there's no shortage of enjoyable tracks, such as the adrenaline-fuelled "Daemons". When the band reaches for slightly alternative solutions, the results aren't quite convincing ("Release Me"). For the rest, black metal tracks alternate with more speed-oriented ones, but all in all it feels like the beginning of a creative crisis.

Sanctus Diavolos (2004) ramps up the aggression with a more violent, raw sound, and is essentially a concept album about the figure of Lucifer, reeking of sulphur from the first track to the last. Extreme black metal violence ("Visions Of A Blind Order") alternates with the band's first female sabbath-like choirs, halfway between epic sound and black mass, which can recall the satanic chants of "Ave Satani" from the famous film "Omen" ("Thy Wings Thy Horns Thy Sin").

The industrial riffs of "Tyrannical", and above all the truly dark celebration of "Sanctimonius", with a ritual darkwave choir that would have fit perfectly in "Eyes Wide Shut", testify to a genuine attempt at change. The Greek band also knows how to deliver speed-driven charges that would make any thrash band proud ("Serve In Heaven", "Athanati Este"). The closing title track deserves a comment of its own. One might have expected a violent guitar onslaught with an anthem to scream at concerts; instead, Sakis writes an atmospheric track built on percussion that only shifts gear past the halfway mark, with the usual flawless riff and choirs straight out of religious music, albeit a deeply black one.

Dave Mustaine vs Sakis Tolis

It was precisely during the Sanctus Diavolos tour that the unfortunate episode with Dave Mustaine, leader of Megadeth, took place. A few years earlier Mustaine had converted to Christianity, following the Born-Again Christian church, so when, in June 2005, he learned he was due to play a festival in Greece alongside Rotting Christ, he issued the organisers an ultimatum: either Megadeth or Rotting Christ. Backed into a corner, the organisers had no choice but to follow the Latin maxim "Ubi maior minor cessat". Rotting Christ cancelled their dates in Athens on 16 June 2005 and in Thessaloniki the following day.

Sakis issued a statement that read as follows:

Unfortunately we find ourselves in the position of having to cancel our appearance at two major festivals because of our name. A name that expresses our opposition to every kind of religion, a name that stands against certain false visions of eternal peace, a name that is a punch aimed at the foundations of our hypocritical and conservative society. Unfortunately the Middle Ages are still very much alive even in the new millennium, but metal must support freedom of thought, as it always has since its very birth

A new epic phase and Greek mythology

Sakis and Tolis change direction once again, turning their gaze to pagan Greek mythology, seen as the true root of Western culture, naturally still in an anti-Christian key. Having signed with the French label Season Of Mist, they release Theogonia (2007), an album obviously dedicated to Hesiod's book, a sort of pagan Bible explaining the birth of the world and of the gods.

Theogonia marks an epic turning point that still persists years later, particularly noticeable in certain tracks, such as the riff of "Threnody", which recalls more recent albums. It all begins with the primordial chaos of "Xaoeteneto (The Sign Of Prime Creation)", before moving into a series of compositions that are faster, more violent and more epic than ever before.

From the dark "Enuma Elish" to the dazzling solo of "He, The Aethyr", everything points to an exciting new run of shows: standing out in particular will be the "Lucifer Over America Tour 2008" alongside Immolation and Belphegor.

The final turning point, esotericism and repetition, hypnotic black metal

In 2010 it's the turn of AEALO, which continues along the same path as Theogonia, further emphasising the epic, mythological side of the band to the point of near-cinematic grandeur. The cover image of a Spartan warrior makes clear from the outset what awaits the listener, and indeed the links to the soundtrack of Zack Snyder's film "300" are very often evident.

AEALO opens what we can now consider Rotting Christ's last major stylistic shift, one that would lead them down a path of further changes to come. The rhythms become more hammering yet simpler, the drumming fast and obsessive, choral use is nearly constant, Sakis often employs spoken word, and the guitar riffs show off a drier sound, blending epic and industrial.

These changes made AEALO fairly divisive among fans, but it's actually an excellent album, one that allowed Sakis's band to kick off a new creative period. Proof of the wider appreciation for the band comes from their collaboration with fellow Greek artist Diamanda Galas, who lends her extraordinary voice to the closing track "Orders From The Dead," a perfect symbiosis between avant-garde vocals and the epic scope of the guitars. Female choirs open the title track, an exemplary piece for the new direction. Drumming that fills every space, solid and repetitive guitar, and Salis's vocals almost acting in support of the choir.

"Eon Aenaos" shares the same traits and takes the shape of an epic anthem, with drumming and martial rhythms, while "Demonon Vrosis" would go on to become one of their live staples.

The battle cries of "Noctis Era," the acidic female voice of "Fire Death & Fear," later echoed in the instrumental "Nekron Iahes," elevate an epic metal that gets contaminated with much older folk traditions. Obsessive rhythms like those of "Pir Threontai" still betray the influence of listening to Tool, while "Thou Art Lord" (sharing its name with Sakis's second band) returns to goth atmospheres. AEALO, which for strange reasons has divided the band's fans so much, is actually a very varied record, and one that absolutely deserves to be reassessed.

Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy (2013) marks a further evolution, bringing the earlier insights into even sharper focus, with a sound that becomes truly monolithic. The title draws on Aleister Crowley's esoteric philosophy, translatable as "Do what thou wilt," a phrase already quoted by Death SS in the title of their fourth studio album. "In Yumen – Xibalba" perfectly represents this new direction. A single guitar chord rings out with solemnity, almost like a track by Swans, as Salis's voice whisper-recites black masses invoking pagan deities until Lucifer himself makes his entrance. After this long intro, everything transforms with a lightning-fast riff that will send venues the world over into a pit. Sakis manages to write songs that are all potential hits, like the stadium-sized anthem to Satan "Grandis Spiritus Diavolos," and above all the title track and the magnificent "ΧΞΣ (666)," one of the most exhilarating tracks of this new era.

Once again with very few repeated chords, spoken vocals and a choir, the Greek band manages to conjure sulfurous yet granite-solid atmospheres like few others can afford to. The hypnotic repetitiveness and the thrilling power of the sound give rise to a truly original mix of sensations.

Rotting Christ had found the perfect alchemy to tackle the years of their career still to come, and they would pursue it with sheer stubbornness.

In the meantime, they release the live album Lucifer Over Athens (2015), which collects the best of two 2013 Athens shows and features the celebrated speed-metal track "Societas Satanas," an iconic piece from Salis's second band, Thou Art Lord.

Things seem to be going full steam ahead, and Rituals (2016) is the peak of this phase, as well as yet another confirmation for a band that never puts a foot wrong. Rituals, indeed: the whole record is made up entirely of esoteric ritual invocations inspired by rites and myths from all over the world. "In Nomine Dei Nostri" evokes the pagan gods (and ultimately Lucifer), as Salis has done and will do again several more times.

Slowness and hypnosis, in keeping with this new phase, are the key elements of the excellent "Ze Nigmar" (which sounds almost like a black metal version of Swans' "The Seer") and of "Les Litanies De Satan (Fleurs du mal)", which pays tribute to fellow Greek and friend Diamanda Galas.

Among such an evocative set of tracks, the ritual of "Apage Satana" stands out, an authentic black mass in which voices and percussion dominate throughout the first part, before slow guitar notes usher in a solemn, esoteric final section. Also highly successful is the hammering "Elthe Kyrie," featuring the frenzied voice of Greek National Theatre actress Danai Katsameni, further proof of the cross-disciplinary range the band can now boast.

The song format that starts off spoken like a shaman's incantation before closing with final bursts of speed has by now become a trademark for the band, and tracks like "For A Voice Like Thunder," "Komx Om Pax" and "Devadevam" fully bear this out. Closing things out, "The Four Horsemen" might seem to reference Metallica, but here we're dealing with the real biblical four horsemen.

A nearly perfect album, at once violent and monolithic, atmospheric and imposing, capable of ranging from fast riffs to moments of unsettling stasis, Rituals is a (satanic) mass that places the Greek quartet at the very top of extreme metal.

By this point the direction is set, and The Heretics (2019) is essentially a clone of Rituals, albeit a less successful one. The album's artwork is also a work of art in itself: a fantastic cover by Greek artist Maximos Manolis, depicting an innocent heretic burned alive by pitiless religious figures, with a mummified Christ and a kneeling demon stoking the flames also visible. It's no coincidence that the heretic in the cover art has the features of a Greek philosopher, symbolizing the world erased by the rise of Christianity. On "In The Name Of God", Sakis once again plays the shaman reciting demonic invocations, with a hammering rhythm accompanied by ritual dialogues and macabre electronic winds.

"Vetry Zlye" is decidedly more melodic, pairing Sakis's vocals with those of Russian singer Irina Zybina. "Heaven And Hell And Fire" returns to monolithic riffs and black-mass atmospheres. "Hallowed Be Thy Name" pays tribute in its title to the Iron Maiden classic, but is structurally completely different: slow and proud in its stride, it's a new anthem for Rotting Christ's renewed course. Their ambition doesn't stop there, going as far as drawing on Mozart's "Requiem" for "Dies Irae", a metal version of the Austrian composer's masterpiece.

"I Believe" once again confirms the refinement and maturity of the compositions; over a massive wall of sound built on very few repeated chords, Sakis steps in reading, in Greek, "The Last Temptation of Christ" by Cretan writer Nikos Kazantzakis. "Voices Of The Universe" takes as its theme one of the oldest religions, Zoroastrianism, and is a metal liturgy that references the German philosopher Nietzsche, sung in three languages (Arabic, Latin and English). On "The Raven" Sakis reads Edgar Allan Poe, while on "The New Messiah" he screams out the anguish that grips believers of every religion, the anguish of an imminent apocalypse and the arrival of a saving messiah, an anguish from which only atheists are free. Despite the erudite references, The Heretics still marks a step back from the excellent Rituals.

Pro Xristou (2024) repeats the now well-established formula, and this time the sense of excessive repetition is palpable, even if the tracks are overall convincing. The positive qualities remain unchanged, though: Sakis's guitar style is as recognizable as ever, with its dry, cutting riffs, hammering drums and melody poised between black metal and epic. All the tracks give the overall impression that they'll work well live, which has always been one of the Greeks' fundamental strengths.

The title track opens with a new invocation of pagan deities, setting the initial coordinates for the whole album. "The Apostate", a tribute to Julian the Apostate, the last pagan Roman emperor, is almost an instruction manual that lays out Sakis's whole philosophy in simple terms: a typical episode of this new era, with choruses, guitar and drums marking time in unison, almost like a battle hymn.

Epic melodies are of course present, as in "Like Father, Like Son" and "Pretty World, Pretty Dies". Worth noting is "La lettera del diavolo", sung in Italian by Amdroniki Skoula, one of the most aggressive and convincing tracks, with drums and guitar filling every available space.

The cover artwork is taken from "The Course of Empire" by American painter Thomas Cole, the fourth in a series of five paintings tracing the path shared by all empires and all human endeavors, from birth to the peak of splendor, through a period of chaos (the painting chosen by Rotting Christ) to eventual disappearance.

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