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Rotting Christ > Ade's Winds > Reviews
Rotting Christ - Ade's Winds

Perhaps the best demo ever recorded - 95%

CannibalCorpse, April 8th, 2008

If I had been a label CEO back when this was released, I'd not only have signed the band, I'd have given my entire belongings, wife & kids to them. Yes, it's that good. This was the demo preceding the best black metal album in existence, so it's not entirely surprising that I hold this demo in such high regard.

"Ade's Winds" contains two tracks which would later resurface on "Thy Mighty Contract", those being "Fgmenth, Thy Gift" and "The Fourth Knight of Revelation (I & II)".

Both tracks don't seem very different on the surface when compared to the album versions, but the garage-like production and raw drumming by Themis really add an amazingly vital and occult feel to this album. It makes you feel as if you are there, standing right in the middle of a ritual; summoning the black soul of thy darkest eminence. Sakis' vocals are also a tad deeper here and lean towards a more spoken word approach at times (hence the "ritualistic" feeling).

The bass presence is very strong on the demo and we finally get to hear a great performance by Mutilator Jim. His lines are excellent, especially the few solo parts he has in the middle of both songs. Remarkable, as they aren't nearly as audible on the full-length album.

There isn't much else to say about this except that if you like any kind of extreme metal, this is a MUST HAVE! To me, as an avid Rotting Christ fan, this was pure delight to my ears when I first heard it. These two tracks are a perfect example for the definition of Hellenic Black Metal - traditional heavy metal riffs mixed with speedy single-note tremolo-picked passages, deep, death metal-esque vocals, atmospheric keyboards which are only used to highlight certain riffs and the most occult & mysterious atmosphere one can imagine.

You'll have to listen to this yourself to fully grasp the effect of this kind of music, but trust me - this demo is about as good as it gets and is therefore highly recommended.