Metal Underground.com

Rotting Christ doesn’t receive the love that they are entitled to. Sure, they have a large contingent of extremely loyal fans, make appearances at some of the largest and most popular metal festivals in the world. In addition, they have released twelve full-length albums to include their latest entitled, “The Heretics.” Even with all these accolades, there’s something still amiss. Is it because of their controversial name? Is it because they’re from Greece? Is it because Dave Mustaine said so? Whatever the reason is, it doesn’t really matter anymore at this point in their career. “The Heretic” is the proverbial middle finger to all their doubters and is in contention for best metal album of the year for this writer.

I’ve been a Rotting Christ fan for some time but I consider myself non-biased in regards to reviewing albums, so there’s no favoritism happening here. I will call out any of my favorite bands if they “phone it in” on a release. This is absolutely not the case with “The Heretics.” This might be Rotting Christ’s most complete album to date. All the Rotting Christ trademarks are there and then some. There are war marches, there are Grecian hymns, and even Sakis’ spoken word makes a cameo appearance for a phrase or two. “The Heretics” is probably the most hook-laden Rotting Christ album since “Aealo.” Tracks such as “The Time Has Come” and “Vetry Zlye” put this album over the top of their Mount Zeus altitude of releases.

One can only hope that with the release of “The Heretics,” Rotting Christ will reach a new level within the heavy metal cosmos. They deserve it. “The Heretics” is a testament to a band that has never listened to their critics and has created their own version of black metal much to the adoration of their most die-hard fans. S???a??t???a to Rotting Christ for creating their best album to date.