Rotting Christ - Non Serviam : Album Review

Better known for the far more melodic Gothic-based albums, Rotting Christ started out as a Grindcore band, but abandoned that sound early on, embracing a riff-based, melodic sound, and establishing themselves among First Wave Hellenic Black Metal bands, alongside bands like Varathron and Necromantia. Although a lot of fans like their later sound, Rotting Christ on Non Serviam brought us a flurry of addictive riffs and melodies.

The album begins with The Fifth Illusion, a song with a catchy main riff and chorus. Like a lot of early Greek Black Metal, they don't blast away, nor do they try to create a grim or dark atmosphere. The atmosphere and sound here, are very ancient/medieval, which goes well with the imagery of the band. The riffs throughout the whole album are extremely catchy. The band chooses not to indulge in hard-to-make-out, distorted tremolo picking, and settles for slow to mid-paced riffs, with adequate use of melodies, which immediately brings Traditional Doom Metal bands in mind. The guitar sound is thinned down due to the production, but it shouldn't be a big problem, since the riffs are not overpowered by anything else in the mix. The scales used here are clearly distinct and different. I'm no music pundit, but there's something distinct about the pattern and combination of notes played by the band that sets Rotting Christ - and most Greek Black Metal - apart from the usual idea of the genre. 

The riffage is particularly memorable in slower songs like Morality of a Dark Age, which reflects the band's mastery in the craft of songwriting. The vocals are quite basic black/death metal growls, and there are no attempts by the vocalist to set himself apart. He's a no-frills, to-the-point vocalist, which proves to be a good thing, since they blend in smoothly with the rest of the music, never once grabbing the listeners exclusive attention. The bass guitar is played in a simplistic manner - almost exactly along the lines of the rhythm guitar - but it adds sufficiently to the heaviness of the otherwise thin sound. The drums lines are well written, although simple. There are no blast-beats, but a regular thrashy pattern, when swaying away from addictive grooves. That said, each instrument plays an important role, even though the guitar riffs are the main point of interest.

Thin production is the only problem I can point out, right now. Disregarding that, the album is an essential Black Metal release. The "melodic" part is done well and devoid of any cheesiness, so it shouldn't put potential listeners off. Very highly recommended for seekers of the riff, and for fans of Master's Hammer, Argentum and the likes.