Review Summary: An indispensable slab of Rotting Christ's signature triumphant black metal
It’s a testament to the vision of the Tolis brothers and the quality of the musicians who have rotated through Rotting Christ’s lineup that across arguably five musical eras spanning nearly four decades the band has yet to release a truly bad album. If you ask enough people, each one of their albums will come up heads as someone’s favorite. Considering there are 14 albums to choose from, that’s quite a feat.
That’s not to say that all Rotting Christ albums are created equal though. The early 2000s saw the band in a creative slump. After pivoting to gothic metal in the mid 1990s, it felt like the band had depleted that vein by 2000’s Khronos. While serviceable, Khronos, Genesis and Sanctus Diavolos all felt under-realized while still showcasing enough charm to warrant a handful of listens.
Of course, this is all old hat for most people familiar with Rotting Christ. In 2007 the band released the stellar Theogonia, marking both a return to their melodic black metal roots that helped spawn the Greek black metal scene early in their career as well as a natural evolution informed by the previous decade of records. Aealo was released in 2010 and is sandwiched between Theogonia and the latter-era defining record Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy.
As such it’s an easy album to overlook. Some 15 years after it came out this is the first review on Sputnik anyone has bothered to write. That’s understandable considering its position between two pinnacle Rotting Christ records, but ignoring this album would be a mistake.
Choosing a non-linear path from the melodic Greek riffage on Theogonia and the more focused blackened metal found on Kata, Aealo saw the band reaching backwards to the peak of their gothic phase. They combined the plodding tempos, catchy melodies and an emphasis on atmosphere with driving riffs (and even a breakdown), an outstanding female lamentation choir and traditional folk instrumentation. A fun exercise is listening to A Dead Poem back to back with Aealo. You’ll hear what I mean, especially on tracks like Thou Art Lord.
Viewed in this light, perhaps Aealo is a sendoff to their gothic phase, but it also shows the seeds of where the band would go post-Kata. That’s because this album aims for epic and largely succeeds. From the cover featuring an undead Spartan to the marching, victorious songs, it’s hard to not find at least a few passages that’ll get your head bopping or your fist pumping. Aealo stands firmly on its own, providing a blast of color and emotion. And it’s a foundation that Rotting Christ would build on in The Heretics and Pro Xristou to mixed effect.
With all that said, you’d be forgiven for thinking that this is a transitional album, but I would firmly argue that it isn’t. In fact, this record is in the top half of my personal Rotting Christ rankings because it’s so damn fun. I don’t know how anyone could listen to the title track’s victorious assault without grooving a little, or headbanging along with the riffs on Fire Death and Fear. Sure the songs can bleed together a little bit, but with such a consistent and infectious sound, that’s not a problem for me.
It would also be impossible to talk about Aealo without discussing the closing track. At almost nine minutes it was a bold choice for the band to feature a spoken word track featuring the legendary Diamanda Galás. I think it works extremely well with the album’s themes as Galás channels the voices of the dead, invoking the living not to forget them.
Listening to Aealo finds Rotting Christ in the middle of one of their creative peaks and is well worth a spin. I find it to be one of their stronger and more memorable albums. A re-recorded version is also slated to be released in January and based on the track that’s available now, it’ll bring the production firmly into line with their more recent work. If the winter doldrums have you down, check out Aealo for an excellent dose of Greek black metal.
