Where the modern incarnation of Rotting Christ begins I'm sure we'll be up for debate all over every forum you've ever read about black metal.
For me though it begins with their tenth album Aealo (catastrophe or destruction), this is the record where they came out of the Greek black metal underground and established themselves as the world conquering act they are today. Aealo is the record where they fully leaned toward the more groove driven sound they continue with in their most recent efforts. The band have managed to gain more of a significant following than perhaps they would have had they stuck to the raw black metal sound they began with.
That being said they have never shied away from their links to the underground and are probably the most successful extreme metal band from Greece however they have achieved this partly by adopting the style that is featured prominently on their 2010 concept record. By increasing the orchestral/symphonic elements, traditional instrumentation and taking their music into a more melodic route by slowing down into heavy chugs with anthemic choruses, they reinvented themselves with album ten, charting a course to where they rightfully stand today.
So in-keeping with Sakis Tolis’ drive to make sure everything he release is of the best audio quality and a true example of what they wanted to achieve, Aealo now returns re-recorded with the vocals and musical parts fully re-done by the current iteration of the band; Sakis Tolis (vocals/guitar), Themis Tolis (drums), Kostas "Spades" Heliotis (bass) and Kostis Fouk (guitar).
Musically it doesn’t vary too much from the original, perhaps given a bit more of bite and wider scale, however it’s in the production/mixing that adds that potency, that was maybe missing from the original. Whereas in 2010 this was an underground band, taking a shot towards the mainstream, here it's a rediscovery of an album, which is very influential in the way the band would continue from there, but still had the production techniques/flaws of a band from the underground.
With all of the skill and the experience they, I mean Sakis, has now, Aealo now is a production sound and final mix more akin to the way they produce albums in 2026. It makes Aealo, which was already a theatrical, cinematic record, more cinematic, more imposing and allows you to not only hear the power and complexity of these compositions. Also the talents of the featured artists such as Diamanda Galás, who performs on the cover of her song Orders From The Dead, the traditional Greek/Balkan instruments, guest vocalists like Alan A. Nemtheanga (Primordial), and the Pleiades choir are all heightened.
Did Aealo need to be re-recorded? Well clearly the band think so and what they have done is make a brilliant record, sound as it should have the first time around. Leaving you in no doubt that this is the turning point where Rotting Christ became 'the' Hellenic extreme metal band. 10/10
Full House Brew Crew - Glasgow Grin (ROAR)
Vangelis Karzis (Wolfheart/ex-Rotting Christ) once again revs up the engine of his groove metal machine Full House Brew Crew. This hard drinking, heavy riffing mob, have turned their sights towards the rough and rowdy streets of Glasgow with the title for their fifth record. Full House Brew Crew are band who have always played tough bloody knuckled heavy metal that swaggers in with attitude and its fists clenched in anger. Along with Karzis (vocals/guitar), FHBC comprises Spiros Dafalias (bass), Giorgios Tzatzakis (guitar) and Chris Borméy (drums), teaming with Saku Moilanen to give Glasgow Grin its meaty mix and master.
With all of the skill and the experience they, I mean Sakis, has now, Aealo now is a production sound and final mix more akin to the way they produce albums in 2026. It makes Aealo, which was already a theatrical, cinematic record, more cinematic, more imposing and allows you to not only hear the power and complexity of these compositions. Also the talents of the featured artists such as Diamanda Galás, who performs on the cover of her song Orders From The Dead, the traditional Greek/Balkan instruments, guest vocalists like Alan A. Nemtheanga (Primordial), and the Pleiades choir are all heightened.
Did Aealo need to be re-recorded? Well clearly the band think so and what they have done is make a brilliant record, sound as it should have the first time around. Leaving you in no doubt that this is the turning point where Rotting Christ became 'the' Hellenic extreme metal band. 10/10
Full House Brew Crew - Glasgow Grin (ROAR)
Vangelis Karzis (Wolfheart/ex-Rotting Christ) once again revs up the engine of his groove metal machine Full House Brew Crew. This hard drinking, heavy riffing mob, have turned their sights towards the rough and rowdy streets of Glasgow with the title for their fifth record. Full House Brew Crew are band who have always played tough bloody knuckled heavy metal that swaggers in with attitude and its fists clenched in anger. Along with Karzis (vocals/guitar), FHBC comprises Spiros Dafalias (bass), Giorgios Tzatzakis (guitar) and Chris Borméy (drums), teaming with Saku Moilanen to give Glasgow Grin its meaty mix and master.
This rawness is deliberate as Glasgow Grin comes from a place of anger. Inspired by injustice and the struggles of life, they're quick to make a statement with the punishing title track which beats you down with a heavy crush that plays with the stereo sound moving the guitars between left and right fidelity. The likes Lamb Of God and Pantera are the clear influences to the band but there’s also the ruthless aggression of Soulfly (No Gods, No Chains) some of the gigantic grooves of Gojira in there (Crawling) and plenty of the NWOAHM on the technical The Tear and The Other Side.
With the use of melodies and atmospheres against these throat ripping groove metal anthems, Full House Brew Crew prove they aren’t a blunt instrument but a sharpened axe ready to decapitate with riffs, the electronics make their way in on Free Fall and Rain, as the mechanical power of Fear Factory creeps in. Coming toward the end of the record they start to bring the djent style that came partly from the groove scene as clean and harsh clash on Distant Star. Vangelis and co play groove metal sure, but they borrow from other similar styles to make sure that Glasgow Grin stays with you after that final chug. 8/10
Abstruse - Meninx: Piercing Through The Mind (Self Released)
Experimental music when done correctly can be a transcendent experience, Abstruse is an experimental metal project from Athens, it's a precursor to a much full length record that is coming later this year called Horror Endemic. Only two of these tracks will feature there, so this is a stopgap but not in a kitchy, money grabbing sort of way they usually are, this is an intermezzo, a way to link albums though a musical bridge.
The first thing you notice about Abstruse is that they are band who dwell in the formless, using jazz timings to propel avant garde musical experiments which has the weirdness of Mr Bungle and Primus though some desert rock and doomy wooziness. Meninx: Piercing Through The Mind is a four tracker of strange but intriguing music, worth checking out if you like music to be a journey. 7/10
XenoVenous – Face Of War (Self Released)
Back to Athens now for some heavy/speed/thrash metal from XenoVenous, a band who have some skilled guitar players, as the leads and solos here are extremely satisfying if you love bands such as Megadeth, Annhilator or Testament, who have shit hot guitar players and love to show that off. The neo-classical intro Nightmare’s Dream is just a guitar solo, a good one obviously and does the job to begin the record, displaying the virtuosity on offer here. First track proper Gods Bleed, gets down into a bass-heavy and blast-beating gallops, rattling through at warp speed, from verse to chorus, delivered with vocals that take from the trad metal scene.
The bass playing is just as skilled as the six string guitars, the flourishes and runs coming all the way through the parts where they get their riff on, but it’s almost like they’re fighting to get to another set of solos with every track, the guitarists wanting to double tap, dive and twin harmony on every song. XenoVenous slow into some anthemic classic metal on Slaughter Is Near and Wolfheart, both going down the route of bands such as Mercyful Fate or Accept. You could definitely see XenoVenous in the same kind of festival as NWOTHM bands such as Enforcer, Haunt and Cauldron, they blend those traditional trappings with the thrash styles on tracks such as Exterminatus, the vocals also showcasing a lot of grit as they embrace both the thrash snarl and soaring classic metal.
Face Of War is an old school metal record from XenoVenous, if your love of music ended when bullet belts were traded for plaid shirts and guitar solos for emotional angst, then this throwback to simpler times will get you breaking out the air guitar. 7/10
Abstruse - Meninx: Piercing Through The Mind (Self Released)
Experimental music when done correctly can be a transcendent experience, Abstruse is an experimental metal project from Athens, it's a precursor to a much full length record that is coming later this year called Horror Endemic. Only two of these tracks will feature there, so this is a stopgap but not in a kitchy, money grabbing sort of way they usually are, this is an intermezzo, a way to link albums though a musical bridge.
The first thing you notice about Abstruse is that they are band who dwell in the formless, using jazz timings to propel avant garde musical experiments which has the weirdness of Mr Bungle and Primus though some desert rock and doomy wooziness. Meninx: Piercing Through The Mind is a four tracker of strange but intriguing music, worth checking out if you like music to be a journey. 7/10
XenoVenous – Face Of War (Self Released)
Back to Athens now for some heavy/speed/thrash metal from XenoVenous, a band who have some skilled guitar players, as the leads and solos here are extremely satisfying if you love bands such as Megadeth, Annhilator or Testament, who have shit hot guitar players and love to show that off. The neo-classical intro Nightmare’s Dream is just a guitar solo, a good one obviously and does the job to begin the record, displaying the virtuosity on offer here. First track proper Gods Bleed, gets down into a bass-heavy and blast-beating gallops, rattling through at warp speed, from verse to chorus, delivered with vocals that take from the trad metal scene.
The bass playing is just as skilled as the six string guitars, the flourishes and runs coming all the way through the parts where they get their riff on, but it’s almost like they’re fighting to get to another set of solos with every track, the guitarists wanting to double tap, dive and twin harmony on every song. XenoVenous slow into some anthemic classic metal on Slaughter Is Near and Wolfheart, both going down the route of bands such as Mercyful Fate or Accept. You could definitely see XenoVenous in the same kind of festival as NWOTHM bands such as Enforcer, Haunt and Cauldron, they blend those traditional trappings with the thrash styles on tracks such as Exterminatus, the vocals also showcasing a lot of grit as they embrace both the thrash snarl and soaring classic metal.
Face Of War is an old school metal record from XenoVenous, if your love of music ended when bullet belts were traded for plaid shirts and guitar solos for emotional angst, then this throwback to simpler times will get you breaking out the air guitar. 7/10
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