Rotting Christ is an Athens, Greece-based black metal band formed in 1987. They are notable as being one of the first bands of the genre within this region, as well as a premier act within the European underground metal scene. [1]
Line-up
The permanent line-up consists of brothers Sakis Tolis (born June 29, 1972, Athens, vocals and guitar) and Themis Tolis (born March 28, 1974, Athens, drums). Andreas Lagios (born November 11, 1972, Athens) has been the bassist since 1997, taking the stead of Jim Patsouris. Nightfall's Giorgos Bokos joined as a guitarist in 2005, replacing Kostas Vassilakopoulos.
Three keyboardists had previously been a part of the band; George Tolias, George Zaharopoulos and a session known only as Panayiotis (on A Dead Poem).
[edit] Biography
In their two decades of existence, the band started as raw black metal, but utilized what has been described as a "dark metal" [2] direction on later releases, almost doing away with the black metal title, but not compromising their extreme sound.
During their rehearsal era in the late 1980s, the band began as grindcore and released various demos and splits with other bands from the Athens area. The group would later alter their sound with influence from proto-black metal bands like Celtic Frost and Venom, and in the process become one of the genre's instigators. Their 5 song demo, Satanas Tedeum, would show a grindcore/black metal crossover, followed by their career-breaking EP, Passage to Arcturo, in 1991.
One of band's first major appearances was on the 1993 "Fuck Christ Tour" consisting of Immortal and Blasphemy. During this concert, some audience members had engaged in cutting and self mutilation that resulted in hospitalization.[3]. Before signing to Unisound, Mayhem's Øystein Aarseth had expressed interest in distributing the band through his "Deathlike Silence Productions" label [4], but due to Aarseth's murder the same year, nothing materialized. The band would sign to Century Media in 1996 and remain on their roster for 10 years before joining Season of Mist.
Rotting Christ have played in many continents outside their native Greece, including both Americas, Greater Europe, Russia, the United Kingdom and the Middle East. Several heavy metal festivals around the world have hosted the band, including the 2003 Wacken Open Air in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Past tourmates have included My Dying Bride, Tristania, Tiamat, Vintersorg, Finntroll, Agathodaimon, Old Man's Child, Malevolent Creation, Anorexia Nervosa, Vader, Krisiun, Deicide, Behemoth and Nile, among many others. [5] [6] [7]
