Thy Mighty Contract

Everyone, in almost every part of the world, is familiar with the north European set of styles in which is declined black metal: but there was, since the very beginning, another way of thinking about black metal, and it was the one born in Greece. The concept remained simple: take the common background from the '80s, namely Celtic Frost, Bathory, and even some Brazilian hints, like early Sepultura or Sarcofago, and then mix those influences with your own personality and sensibility. Black metal is more about this than a obsession for occult or blasphemous imagery, as many death metal bands, for instance, and even traditional thrash or heavy metal, are dealing with the same themes. But there's no one and only way to mix things up: the Hellenic way stands on its own and is immediately recognizable starting from this album or the previous EP "Passage to Arcturo" dated 1991. Yes, it's easy to figure out: this style developed in parallel with the Norwegian and Swedish interpretation, and it is not an inferior one, it's just more obscure and overshadowed.

With the exception of Necromantia, slightly different in style, in the same way Mayhem and Darkthrone are obviously different, and still are part of the same black metal's geographic scene, the Hellenic formula consists in palm-muted alternate-picking riffs, quite a variation on the free-string tremolo-picking technique of the northern counterparts, on top of hammer-blast-beats, another rhythmic figure different from the traditional-blast-beats inherited from grindcore and formally rendered and adjusted by Pete Sandoval from Morbid Angel. The hammer-blast is what you hear in some songs from 1987's Bathory "Under the Sign of The Black Mark" or in "I.N.R.I." from Sarcofago of the same year: a chunkier version of blast-beat template, simpler in the execution than the fluid constant down-beat / upper-beat alternation in 16th fractions! You might have D-beats and peculiar palm-muted riffs from early Celtic Frost, along with doom metal slow down riffs and even something taken from classic and epic heavy metal. It is not uncommon to hear the use of keyboards, but not in the way of northern symphonic black metal, and drums are often, but not always, electronic and programmed.

"Thy Mighty Contract", along with "Non Serviam" and "Triarchy of the Lost Lovers" is one of the main basic records for the genre, along with Varathron's "His Majesty at the Swamp" and "Walpurgisnacht": everything belongs to this interpretation of black metal, is defined in here! The album is full packaged with legendary songs, even if I really don't like the opener, "The Sign of Evil Existence", that is too much underdeveloped, only 2 minutes ling track, very out of context in the middle, or better (worse!), on top of very structured songs quite epic in nature. In my opinion, this track should be considered as a bonus track, or even a B-side, something that could be excluded from the official track list. It's just a preference of mine, a debatable opinion, and I respect for sure the choice of the band to include such a brief and simple song in the album! Production is warm, with thick low-end frequencies and, let's say, not freezing cold like the trebly equalization of northern black metal. A legendary release, along with the following two efforts from Rotting Christ, before the departure from black metal and the adoption of a more melodic death metal kind of gothic metal approach. Rotting Christ are equivalent to Mayhem or Dissection, and by any means not an inferior act or a less important music proposal.

Greece has long had a flourishing and distinct black metal scene. More known for melody and a sense of theatricality than the coldness and overt harshness of their Nordic peers, Greek black metal was going strong from pretty much the time many of the canonical Norwegian second wave bands were dropping their first albums. Necromantia and Varathron also laid down some Greek black metal classics in 1993, but more than anyone, Rotting Christ put the scene on the map with their legendary debut Thy Mighty Contract.

Despite some of the major characters they were in contact with in the core second wave scene calling Thy Mighty Contract “true black metal”, stylistically it is anything but. With bands like Darkthrone attempting to distill black metal to its core essence at the time, Rotting Christ bolt in the opposite direction. While undeniably a black metal album, the influence they incorporate really run the gamut. Thrash and death still form a strong undercurrent, with doomier passages also being frequent. While Passages to Arcturo planted the seeds, Thy Mighty Contract is really where Rotting Christ began to run wild with melody. Infectious smoky melodies regularly drift across the soundscape, giving the album a melancholy autumnal vibe. Sakis’ mid-range declarative bellows mesh perfectly with this vibe.

Although both a great listen and an album of monumental historical importance, Thy Mighty Contract is not without its flaws. The album is a bit rough around the edges, and a lot of that comes down to production. The mix is a bit dry and thin, which could work fine with the type of black metal trying to evoke a wintry trapped in a blizzard style atmosphere, but it doesn’t work great with Rotting Christ’s diverse melodic style. The sorest point in the production is by far the drum sound. Contrary to popular belief, Rotting Christ do not employ a drum machine here; rather the drumming is performed on an e-kit. The tone is weak and mechanical. The mixing on the drums is kind of off, too – in faster section the snare overpowers the rest of the mix.

Despite my incessant griping about minor issues, Thy Mighty Contract is very much a classic for a reason. The biggest reason I don’t listen to it as much as I otherwise would is just how hard they outdid themselves on the next two albums. Non Serviam is an impressive leap forward, and Triarchy of the Lost Lovers is hands down one of the best albums metal has to offer. More than being the first major stop on the journey of a fantastic band, Thy Mighty Contract is a formative moment in Greek’s black metal scene – which is one that continues to be one of the most colourful and consistent regional scenes in the world.

Rotting Christ is a unique band, as they have a special dark and at the same time powerful approach to metal music. Once checking out their history, one will realise they changed their style and sound several times in the past. However, the key point of their discography, the album that crowned them as kings of the so called Hellenic black metal scene is no other but their debut, "Thy Mighty Contract". An album that marked the 90s and the whole second wave of black metal, receiving mostly glorifying reviews.

My humble opinion is this album is in no way the masterpiece some people claim it is. The recording quality is in fact rather poor. Same goes for mixing. Sure, the studios Sakis and Themis had access to in '92 would not be that advanced, but this doesn't make the quality any better. Despite that, the major downside of this record is the lack of professionalism and musicianship, which is obvious in Sakis' bad harsh vocals and his try to sound evil. This unfortunately has the opposite effect, making his voice sound rather awkward. Ιt is the same story concerning the musical instruments. Playing good electric guitar, bass or drums must have been really difficult to achieve in Athens in the early nineties. To hide their inability, the band members tried to compose tracks with simple and repetitive but also melodic rifts. Those proved to be catchy to some extent, but in the end there is a lack of variety in musical structure.

So, recording quality is bad and the musicians were amateur at the time. And some good rifts don't make a good album, right? The answer to what saves this album from being mediocre is the atmosphere and the cult feel it invokes. There is a retro aura throughout "Thy Mighty Contract", which is due to the very same downsides I mentioned before. One could say that they are even enjoyable and entertaining after several listens, especially in songs like "The Fourth Knight of Revelation" which, alongside "Exiled Archangels", is the big highlight of the album. Plus it takes a lot of courage to release such an album in one of the most conservative parts of Europe in 1993.

In conclusion, the first album of Rotting Christ is not the album every metal fan should own (and definitely not their best), since there are aspects when it comes to quality and structure. On the other hand, there are more than a few parts where you will catch yourself headbanging in harmony with the slow (at least for a black metal record) yet powerful melodies. Many feelings and thoughts will come to mind as well. One such thought might be that the crucial role this debut played in the evolution of black metal and metal in general is undeniable. A role that has not and will not be forgotten.

Somebody traded Rotting Christ’s entire full-length discography into a used CD store near me (born again Christian? Who knows). As I had heard good things but never fully gotten around to checking them out, I figured this was as good a time as any to see what was up. I had heard a handful of scattered tracks here and there, but it never gave me the impetus to go any further. I even own Non Serviam but it never really grabbed me despite a couple of tries. Perhaps a full-scale discography binge was what I needed to “get” this band; either that, or I just wasted fifty bucks on a bunch of albums. Might as well justify my purchase by writing about it.

Admittedly, it takes a bit of adjustment to appreciate what Rotting Christ (and Greek black metal as a whole, generally) is going for if you listen to a lot of black metal already. The style is one that’s much more immediately melodic and less aggressive than one might be used to. Even as somebody who prefers more melodic offshoots of the genre myself, the frequent theatrical wandering and lack of overt speed was tough for me to stomach at first. I’ve gotten over it a bit more now and have grown to appreciate the approach for what it is, but there are still a few kinks I haven’t ironed out yet that show up on Thy Mighty Contract. Rotting Christ does have sections where they pick up the pace and sound more like your standard black metal band, but the speedier sections are probably my least favorite parts of the album because I’ve never been a fan of Rotting Christ's blastbeat style. The snare and kick drum drown out the cymbals in the mix, and the lack of variance in the alternating snare-kick-snare-kick patterns can make them really irritating and kill the vibe of the melodies (the beginnings of “Dive the Deepest Abyss” and “Exiled Archangels” are kind of grating). There is a more straightforward approach to drums in general, and it can work really well at times (such as in “Visions of the Dead Lover”), but on the whole the moments more directly inspired by black metal rarely inspire much other than boredom in me. The double-kick patterns are alright because they're nice and steady (a benefit of programmed drums, I guess), but otherwise the more intense Rotting Christ gets, the less engaged I am.

It’s fair to say that Rotting Christ was still finding their sound on Thy Mighty Contract, and that mostly shows in the playfulness of the songwriting and abundance of melodies. The songs are fairly cohesive and all, but it’s also evident that the band is combining ideas and influences from a few different styles and sorting out where they fit. The vocals sound like a holdover from their early death/grind days, not really adding a lot but not detracting much either. The keyboards, which show hints of the gothic vibe the band would explore later in their career, mostly feel like an afterthought on this album. Although Rotting Christ are most certainly black metal here, it doesn’t actually sound like the riffs take a whole lot of influence from it directly. There’s moments I can say sound inspired by early ‘90s death metal, maybe even Iron Maiden with some of the leads and solos, but the black metal tag is mostly attributed to Rotting Christ for the atmosphere they create around the riffs. Greek black metal is kind of interesting for that reason. It sounds like bands from this region have much different influences than the Norwegian bands of the early 90s, yet they still evoke similar enough atmospheres to have the same genre tag - it’s kinda like parallel evolution or something. Sure, there’s maybe a hint of Blaze in the Northern Sky influence on Thy Mighty Contract, but it’s dressed up in syrupy melody. This is much more whimsical and flamboyant than the cold, stark seriousness that often gets associated with black metal.

That being said, I don’t think I’m totally sold on Rotting Christ yet. Sakis Tolis has a great sense of melody and that shines through on a handful of moments, but even the tracks with the best riffs never seem to capture my interest all the way through. There’s a lot of potential on Thy Mighty Contract, no doubt, but at this point it’s still unrealized potential. The production is a bit too thin at this point (I know it’s black metal, but these guys don’t exactly have a cold and minimalist approach), and the band is still trying to figure out what they really want to be. This is sorta an “essential” album because it’s a key landmark in black metal’s development, but I wouldn’t really recommend it as a pleasure listen.

Rotting Christ's first album, to me, is also their least impressive. It's the kickoff for all Rotting Christ fans since it begins the band's full-length venture, but for some fans it may also be the cut-off point (this or Non Serviam). That's because Thy Mighty Contract is unrefined, riff-curling black metal from start to finish. Say second wave black metal, and this album is up there in terms of composition with its Norwegian counterparts. In fact, Thy Mighty Contract is a tad more classy in its use of atmosphere and less on its image. Yes, it's balls deep in dark themes, blast beats, and rough production, but these riffs and the way they intertwine with the rest of the music show to the listener an attempt at something more magical.

Go in expecting mostly mid-paced songs and this bizarre aura of atmosphere behind it all. It's a strange feeling that won't be picked up immediately, but you'll notice it once you figure out that the music isn't aggressive, out-the-gates black metal assaulting your ears. Nothing of the likes of early Gorgoroth or mid-era Marduk, for sure. The keyboards are used to bring about this ethereal background (in a synthy manner), but the guitars were written with a melodic slant much of the same way they are in latter Rotting Christ albums. However, the powerful, rich guitar sound isn't as strong here as they are during the gothic or epic eras of the band. Instead, they're somewhat wirey, but still with some variable of a punchy blare. Above them are Sakis' tormented screams and hoarse growl/speak (sort of the wrong frosting on the right cake - no matter how tasty).

Themis on the drums has always been consistent with his own style, and that extends to this first album. That is, if he actually drummed on this album. To my knowledge, he didn't, but the drum machine employed does contain a style that isn't far off from the way he'd drum when he actually started to do so in recordings. This machine will dish out blast beats a lot of the time, but it'll also have mutual drum patterns to accompany the guitars that make up the finer points of the album. The snare sound in particular is a thin "tish" noise that's not so bad during workaround drum patterns, but during blast beats when I'm hearing it back-to-back for a few seconds makes it grating. Bass backup I wouldn't say is stellar, and for an album of this caliber I wouldn't knock it down too hard. This definitely isn't a cold or fast album, but it could use more than background bass blurbs in order to foster a more complete recording.

When the riffs, bass, and drums are in harmony at these points, that's where this album shines. These moments are very subtle in the way I'm describing them - there aren't any flash solos, glaring leads, or breaks during these moments. No, it's a subtle thing for an album such as this, and for this album in Rotting Christ's discography it works. However, it's what also kills this album in the face of Rotting Christ's later material since the inclusive, epic sound wasn't fully grasped. To still get a quick fix of what was done right as whole songs, listen to "Fgmenth, Thy Gift", "Dive The Deepest Abyss", and "His Sleeping Majesty". This album, though, works better as a whole listening experience, even when cherry picking songs it's able to adapt.

Passage to Arcturo might have briefly wedged open the doors of possibility for the mighty Rotting Christ, but it was Thy Mighty Contract that would kick those doors off their hinges and catapult the band into the collective consciousness of the European metal underground. 'There's metal from Greece now?' Bugger me. For its day, this was one of the best black metal albums released outside of the Scandinavian territories, and yet it was wholly distinct from the forerunners Bathory, Burzum, Darkthrone and so forth. A class of its own, retaining the decidedly thrash and death foundation of the band's roots, but refining those influences in a shadowy concourse of compelling composition that to this day still sounds wonderful.

In fact, this is really where Rotting Christ 'got their sound'. The very first track, "The Sign of Evil Existence", provided the foundation for several of their best albums to come (in particular Triarchy of the Lost Lovers): a glorious and desperate charge through a mid-paced melodic muted sequence over a steady but dry, moderate blast beat. Always a band to experiment with their riffing, there was really no other black metal artist quite like it. Most were falling over themselves to propel their music as quickly as possible, to compete with the extremity of the death metal genre; others were wrought from a rawer, Hellhammer aesthetic. But these Greeks had a peripheral perspective, like what might have happened if Metallica or some other thrash metal band had decided to lean their songwriting into a copious chasm of hellfire and underworld inspiration, bringing the dynamic strength of the parent genre along for the ride.

Though the riffs are far more memorable than Passage to Arcturo, they do manage to retain a loyalty to its atmospheric visage through the incorporation of keyboards and melodic driven lamentations, like "Transform All Suffering Into Plagues" or "Dive the Deepest Abyss". But where it strikes hardest is in its glorious crescendos, like the majestic guitar line crowning "His Sleeping Majesty" or the forward smashing "Exiled Archangel" and "Coronation of the Serpent". Themis (aka Necrosauron) had improved dramatically as a drummer from the EP, and his performance here is more indicative of what he was playing in Varathron; while Sakis Tolis (Necromayhem) has enough character in his harsh vocalization that there is never any sense of the monotony that often haunts the genre. To top it all off, they've even got Magus Wampyr Daoloth of the brilliant Necromantia here on the keys and backing vocals.

There are a few minor caveats here, in particular the rather dry production. It's not as cluttered or annoying as Nightfall's Macabre Sunset, but music this good undoubtedly deserved something better. The tones are simply too far on the thin side. This is also one of the cases where the re-issue actually trumps the original: the 1997 Century Media version includes the two tracks from the Apokatheolis single (1993), and both the lurching, doomy "Mystical Meeting" and familiar momentum of "Visions of the Dead Lover" fit flush with the newer crop of tunes. Also, I'd be remiss to not mention just how much better the newer cover art was than the original...fuck, the face of Thy Mighty Contract's reissue is one of my favorites in the entire genre! Moody, dire, and important, with searing agonies beneath its surface and popping guitar melodies that stick most of its tracks to the listener's memory, this is perhaps the finest Greek black metal debut of them all, and while its not exactly their peak of creation (I marginally favor the 1996-7 material, which refines the ideas laid out here), its nonetheless an essential.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

In their desire to get a good contract and international distribution, the Rotting Christ boys decided in the early nineties, to drive an old car all the way from the sunny Aegean shores into deep Europe, in order to hand copies of their demos and EPs to every record label imaginable. A trip without any warranties of success, yet at the same time, a trip representing a leap of faith. Because it worked. Legendary Osmose Records became interested in the art of these Greeks, and offered them the long awaited contract as well as the chance of debuting with a full length at international level. The first spawn was named Thy Mighty Contract.

This album marks a giant leap compared to their previous opus, the now cult classic Passage to Arcturo EP, because the compositions were improved, achieving glimpses of the sophistication that would come in the future, either like in Coronation of the Serpent or the slow and melodic section of Transform All Sufferings Into Plagues; and that’s without saying a word about the production and mastering, which were also superior.

The album was well received by the local Greek scene and by the first international fans that came to know the band. The secret for success was in the shape of black metal with a sound way ahead of its time (with this I mean that it was well produced, contrary to the lo-fi school created by Mayhem, Burzum, Darkthorne and many others who were making it at the same time). In addition, there was a key element: musical eclecticism. Not everything was blast beating and blasphemy in the second wave of black metal. Thy Mighty Contract is a great example of how to combine aggression with melodic lines of deep feeling, and making the effort fit in structures full of changes that sound natural, being Fgmenth Thy Gift a great example.

The inclusion of top notch guitar solos was also an aspect which set this band apart from the homogenous black metal surface.

Slow riffing that is sometimes dark and full of cadence is almost visionary, because it evocates something poorly developed or non existent at all at the time: gothic metal. And despite everything, the sound is not primitive if compared with what came later on, since the addition of soft and well positioned keyboards, has granted the band from the very beginning, a dark aura of refinement and classiness.

Archetypal album, which should not be missing from the collection of any fan, and above all, a great display of the quality in the Greek scene.

Originally submitted to (http://www.metalicos.com) on January 13th, 2010.

Thy Mighty Contract - an album that gets praised by many of my fellow blacksters, but is still fairly unknown compared to the so-called "cult" Scandinavian albums.

The Greek Black Metal scene has forged it's own path into the metal territory since their early beginnings. Many bands and solo-artists from Greece have called it quits during the late 90s, but the Greek spirit still stands strong amongst those from the north. There might not be as many musicians who play this kind of black metal anymore, but the audience interest has steadily risen in the last few years, so the scene is far from dead. Still, sometimes one of the primary roots of this unique style has been forgotten - Thy Mighty Contract.

While Rotting Christ's earlier EP "Passage to Arcturo" already showed a few hints of what was to come, this album was the one that set the ball rolling.

Lightning fast, razor-sharp guitar riffs that are often harmonized, supported by slower powerchords, which are played in a sometimes even Doom metallish manner, are used to create a very special atmosphere. Another important point in Rotting Christ's music is the bass. It's not only here to support the guitars, it often plays it's own distinctive lines, which gives the album a very organic feel.

The vocals range from quite low, raspy death metal growls to inhuman sounding high screeching that is able to send chills down your spine. There are also a few very tasteful spoken passages.

A drum machine was used for "Thy Mighty Contract" but it doesn't distract from the listening pleasure at all. It might not be very technical or overly special, but the machine never misses a beat and it sounds fairly real. The drumming has rarely been a major part in the Greek BM scene.

Lyrical expression has always been a major part in Rotting Christ's music. The lyrics on Thy Mighty Contract are very mystical and fit very well into the general sound scheme.

Some of this album's finest moments are, for example, the middle spoken passage in "Exiled Archangel" (one of the best Rotting Christ songs ever written). It might be a simple instrumental break, but I've rarely heard anything so emotionally impressing. It makes you stand up and shout "I name you under our cult!" with Sakis.

...and finally, there is ONE song that summarizes everything that is Rotting Christ:

"Transform All Suffering Into Plagues"

It has it all. Slow, haunting melodic passages with subtle keyboards in the background. These riffs are so moving you won't believe it until you heard it. Then, about one- and a half minutes into the song, it suddenly stops and a very fast tremolo-picked riff comes in. It's the perfect riff for the lyrical content about slaves being tortured and begging for their death. It's fast, melodic, later harmonized and just plain awesome. The song also contains a fantastic solo, which you'll probably air-guitar to immediately when you hear it. The vocals are generally very low and evil sounding in this song. I love them. I can't do anything but praise this excellent work of art, it's probably my all-time favourite Rotting Christ song.

Trust me, I've been trying to find any flaws in this masterpiece, but I only found one minor one, the song "Dive the Deepest Abyss". It's one of the slower songs on the album and tends to plod along for a bit. It doesn't contain enough variation to be truly great. It's still a very good song, but not up to par with the rest of the album.

Other than that, Thy Mighty Contract is simply a flawless display of Black Metal art. It is one of my two absolute favourite albums (Triarchy of the Lost Lovers being the second) and I recommend it to anyone interested in Black Metal, melodic or not.

Highlights:

All, and especially "Transform All Suffering Into Plagues" and "Exiled Archangel"

I love this album, despite the fact that many people might not like its rawness. Having said that, there are still a few of the telltale melodies of new Rotting Christ, but this is so much heavier and more "evil."

"The Sign of Evil Existence" blasts along with a really nice riff, and really raspy vocals. The riffing is what makes Rotting Christ special; they seem to use a lot of palm muted things, that seem kind of beautiful, yet evil at the same time. Other times, they'll use actual riffing, rather than just tremolo picked speed. The only thing that sucks about this song is that it's so short. "Transform All Sufferings Into Plagues" is quite a bit slower. The "chorus" sounds a lot like Candlemass, with the pitter-patter bass drums and slow riffing. "Fgmenth, Thy Gift" has a jerky main riff, and yes, it does sound a bit like Metallica's "Seek and Destroy." "Exiled Archangels" is one of my favorite songs on here, and that opening riff is just monsterous--kind of atmospheric, like Mayhem's "Funeral Fog." It goes into a heavier riff after the verses, which is nice too. "The 4th Knight of Revelation" has another monster opening riff, which works really well. My main problem with this album is that some of the songs on here just sort of go by, especially after "Exiled Archangels." Everything else is great, though.

If you get the reissue (and I reccommend that you do), there's two bonus tracks. "Visions of the Dead Lover" is probably my favorite Rotting Christ song, and it's very emotional. It's fast most of the time, and the lead guitar is awesome. The part after the first verse is really cool; a scale played rather quickly. It goes slower in the middle, but it still sounds very powerful, especially when the solo comes in. Excellent song. I don't like the song "The Mystical Meeting" at all. It has some chugging riff and total death metal vocals, making it sound totally out of place. They do throw some weird keyboards in there too, but they're just weird. Is this really a Rotting Christ song?

Once again, we have a Greek band using a drum machine (just like Nightfall and Septic Flesh...hmm, does "Costas" play on here as well). With the rough production it doesn't sound too much like a drum machine, but it certainly doesn't help the album out too much. The rough production does help, and Rotting Christ sound like a vintage black metal band with an interesting touch on here.

It's totally unbelievable to me that noone has bothered to review the "good" Rotting Christ albums yet. I haven't heard the last two, but I don't imagine they're really that much of a return to the band's roots as they claim. anyway, this album, from 1993, is the undisputable pinnacle of Rotting Christ's achievments. They took the Greek black metal sound, pioneered by Varathron, and let it grow to its full potential on this one. For those unfamiliar with RC's riffing style, it consists of a lot of staccato rhythmic yet melodic riffing, played by two guitars that often harmonize the riff. The result is something that sounds simultaneously rather heavy metal influenced but completely unique. The band uses keyboards to spice up most of these songs, but they're their strictly for accentuation and atmosphere...used perfectly I might add; sparing and not overbearing in the slightest, for this is a metal album first and foremost.

The first track, "The Sign of Evil Existence", I view more as an intro than anything else. It's really an actual song, but its' very short and doesn't really contain any truly great riffs, although it does introduce the listener to Rotting Christ's unique approach to riffing. "Transform All Suffering into Plagues" is next, and it is mostly a slower track, featuring some superb melodic riffing and a superb faster section near the end. "Pnemth, Thy Gift" might be my favourite song on the album; and if these riffs don't force you into manic headbanging and fist pumping there must be something wrong with you. For some reason I was actually reminded of Metallica's "Kill Em All" when I first heard this song...maybe because the main riff has a vague resemblence to "Seek and Destroy"?

All these songs, in fact, are total juggernauts. Most of the music is midpaced, but a few faster tracks make the whole affair slightly more intense..."Coronation of the Serpent" being a definite highlight. The lyrics are bizarre; strange and I guess metaphorical occult ramblings that I can't make any sort of sense of, but it adds to the mysterious aura of the band. I always thought that Greek black metal had a sort of mystical feeling to it that bands from other locales seem to lack. Vocals are good, deep and throaty, slightly strained sounding as though they're pretty painful on the throat, with the occasional high pitched shriek provided, I would guess, by Magus Wampyr Daoloth of Necromantia fame, who is playing the synth on this album. I have to take a few points off here for the use of a drum machine. I really hate drum machines, and the mechanical nature of the percussion here is pretty obvious during the faster sections. I've heard worse though, and it's not bad enough to detract much from the brilliance of the album; I just think it's unfortunate the band couldn't find a real drummer to record this with, as the thought of this being even more destructive and great than it already is boggles the mind.