Few issues offers you a extra bleak outlook on humanity than its personal sordid, blood-soaked historical past. Mankind is a savage entity with the capability to be as nice as it’s horrible; how acceptable, then, that probably the most efficient methods to commemorate and immortalize a few of our lowest moments, defining although they could be, is thru artwork.
A kind of defining moments, probably the most profound, even, is the rise of Christianity, which noticed total civilizations rise and fall round it, usually immediately due to it. Railing in opposition to the followers of Christ is one thing that has been baked into the fibers of metallic for so long as metallic has been a factor, however there’s, in fact, a cause for this. The corpses left within the wake of numerous holy wars all through the millennia, each earlier than and after the Crusades, laid the foundations for the world we dwell in right now, and though it would really feel like a cliche now, it’s nonetheless vital to recollect our historical past, regardless of how violent it might be.
How very poetic, then, {that a} group of Athenians have taken it upon themselves to craft an homage to the final of the nice pagan kings internationally who stood tall within the face of their very own annihilation and dared to say “no”. I don’t care who you might be, that’s metallic as fuck.
Professional Xristou, the most recent album from Greek gothic black metallic veterans Rotting Christ, feels much less like a compilation of songs and extra like a soundtrack to some badass, high-budget historic drama depicting a few of historical historical past’s most brutal and pivotal moments. It’s not simply an album, it’s a presentation. My final evaluate was a reasonably complete track-by-track breakdown, however I can’t in good religion try this with this one, as a result of the vibes are utterly completely different this time round. This album continues to be very enjoyable to take heed to, however for a very completely different cause. It’s not about technicality or velocity, however as an alternative the main target is on creating a way of environment which supplies the backdrop for his or her romanticized renditions of historic occasions and figures.
That’s to not say there aren’t beefy, well-written riffs that make you wish to bang your head, although. The opening title observe has a really bluesy Southern vibe that feels like one thing Down would have written, besides that as an alternative of speaking about heroin and their interpretation of the which means of life, they’re chanting about historical mythological deities. Can’t complain about that. It’s a really brief music, solely about 90 seconds in complete, nevertheless it will get the message throughout and begins issues off on a robust be aware. The follow-up observe “The Apostate” is sort of fully primarily based round one easy chugging energy chord riff whereas the narrator waxes poetic in a deep sonorous voice about Flavius Claudius Julianus, the final pagan emperor of Rome. A historical past lesson you could mosh to? Can’t complain about that, both.
For essentially the most half the music on this album could be very simple, with little to no frills, bells, or whistles, however that doesn’t make it boring by any stretch of the creativeness. Fairly the other, in actual fact; if something it feels triumphant, prefer it embodies the preventing spirit of these courageous, cussed heathens who so boldly defied their final destiny. There are many tasteful transitions between riffs to maintain issues from getting too monotonous, and there’s a lot of extra aptitude thrown in to raise that all-important sense of spectacle. For instance, “The Farewell” makes use of Gregorian chanting to nice impact, and the choir at first of “Pix Lax Dax” evokes photos of a Greek trireme cresting the waves in opposition to the sundown because it makes its approach to unknown distant shores.
There’s, nevertheless, one music which stands head and shoulders above the remainder, and that’s the penultimate observe “Yggdrasil”. The opening riff of that music makes me wish to seize the closest set of dumbbells I can discover and begin doing bicep curls like a maniac; one thing about these galloping chugs faucets into the primal nook of your mind and shouts “Go! Go! Go!” It’s virtually obligatory. Plus, as an added bonus, the Gregorian chants make a comeback, and that’s by no means a nasty factor. When the ultimate music “Saoirse” concludes with its large refrain of “Hail freedom, hail freedom, our freedom, our knowledge”, it’ll make you wish to stand on prime of a cliff overlooking the ocean with a clenched fist held aloft. It makes you are feeling patriotic for a land you’ve by no means identified and by no means will.
In case you haven’t gotten the image by now, Professional Xristou is all about environment, and it’s wielded expertly. It won’t blow you away with virtuosic performances or time signatures that require a chalkboard to calculate them, however rattling if it doesn’t get you fired up all the identical. I occurred to be listening to this album whereas a thunderstorm was brewing exterior by pure coincidence, and I gotta inform ya, the vibes had been completely immaculate. The distant rumble and scent of petrichor lent themselves completely to the aesthetic of this album, and I can solely marvel if Julian the Apostate ever shared that have whereas he and his males had been dealing with down the Persian hordes. Critically, if nothing else, this album will make you wish to turn out to be a historical past buff, which is one thing this world desperately wants extra of. How delightfully ironic that now we have a band referred to as Rotting Christ to thank for that.
Professional Xristou is out there now by way of Season of Mist Data, order your copy right here
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