The Catto’s mailbox is an absolute mess. Three underpaid interns have come and gone trying to put order in there. Hence, I’ll blame them! (not their poor working conditions) for being late at checking Rotting Christ – Pro Xristou; the 14th installment in this band’s illustrious career. Needless to say, Rotting Christ is an institution in our community that clearly could care less about my opinion. However, you should care, so time to read!
I approached Pro with a great deal of skepticism. It’s been a while since Rotting Christ made something I loved. It’s not that its latest work has sucked, but it certainly shows a band that has become comfortable and wants to do what works, which is shaman music that calls for the destruction of organized religion! As someone who lived oppressed by religious institutions, I couldn’t sympathize more. Pro continues that train of thought, even implementing Cole’s astonishing Destruction painting as cover art; it’s a slow and mystical portrayal of how civilization is consumed by its own false idols. The album does that proficiently, whether you like it or not, it’s still more professional than 99% of projects within this style.
I want to highlight two things. First, the bass and the melodic lines in this album are what you want; they call for Pagan forces to triumph over monotheism. Second, the album has extreme highs and lows. Let me explain, tracks like “Like Father, Like Song” and “The Sixth Day” are captivating from the start to finish, but the rest…I don’t recall that much actually, which is why I’m going to jump right away into the things that make me think “but maybe Christianity didn’t do so bad after all”. Blasphemy! I know.
Pro is too happy with what it is; every track has more structure than MER’s reviews. Someone says something cool, we get a few cool riffs, more choruses, a cool riff, and then fade out slowly. It’s a formula that can work two or even three times, but maybe not 10-12 times. I’d love to see Rotting Christ speed things up a bit. I’ve been a fan since I listened to Theogonia, in the name of Zeus! I read the freaking Theogonia thanks to that album. That’s how much it inspired me. I wanted to learn more about ancient Greek culture, its history, its victories and vices. However, Pro doesn’t make me feel that again (nostalgia is about to tear me a new one).
If you’ve liked the latest Rotting Christ albums, then this one is another competent effort for you to dive into. It won’t offend you, but if you were expecting the band to change directions again, that’s not happening yet, so in the meantime, can we just appreciate all this gorgeous work? Hey! at least Pro made me dig around and look at The Course of Empire series, wait, so does that mean I learned something from this release and that I’m actually wrong? No way!
Label: Season of Mist
Release Date: 24 May, 2024
Website: https://www.facebook.com/rottingchristofficial
Country: Greece
Score: It’s OK, but the Church is still standing! so 2.5/5.0. Art should have no number!
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