This wasn't simply a Rotting Christ concert with some supporting bands, but a mini Greek Black Metal Festival. "Into the Pandemonium: A Die Hard Black Metal Onslaught", as it was proclaimed. Rotting Christ would perform a single live show with a very special setlist for the first time in their history which would include tracks from their first three albums "Passage To Arcturo", "Thy Mighty Contract" and "Non Serviam" exclusively. Most of them will be presented on stage for the first time ever!

Although I strongly believe that in a Festival one must attend all bands, even the most unimportant ones, yet due to personal problems (at this point I apologize to our readers) I entered the Club late and saw only the last songs of the Black Metal veterans "Varathron". From this small sample I -dangerously- infer that although they played vigorously enough, the final result wasn't satisfactory. Something was missing, maybe the quality of the sound, I don’t know. In any case they excited many and they were cheerfully applauded by everyone in the Club.

The concert was sold out; the small "An Club" was already packed before my arrival and due to that, the atmosphere inside was very hot. Needless to say that I did strong efforts to reach gradually closer to the stage when the exhausted fans left the "privileged" front seats.

After a short break Rotting Christ appeared on stage and they were deified. They begun with "The Mystical Meeting" and followed 2 songs from "Non Serviam" album: "Wolfera The Jackal" and "The Fifth Illusion". Although the mood had already started to risen, the band created the absolute panic in the club when they played the first notes of "Exiled Archangels". A detailed description of the concert is rather useless, since Rotting Christ simply demolished our heads! This was more obvious at some faster songs and more beloved to the audience, while at some others, a bit slower, the audience wasn't so exciting and took some breaths from the endless headbanging and the suffocating atmosphere of this congestion. However all songs were performed amazingly. Sakis after the first songs "glowed" and took of his T-shirt to play more convenient. He introduced the new guitarist "George". "Morallity Of A Dark Age" and "Old Coffin Spirit" kept high the audience spirit, which literally launched to the top when we listened the introduction of the "The Sign Of Evil Existence".

A nice surprise followed when they played the almost forgotten "Feast of the Grand Whore" of the distant '89. The "happy Metal party" atmosphere continued with a mini set from "Thy Mighty Contract" album which included the absolutely dynamic masterpieces "The Coronation Of The Serpent" and the "The Fourth Knight Of Revelation".

As one can image it was almost impossible to be at the front seats and keep notes on the same time, so I apologize from our readers if I am not 100% sure if they played "Transform All Sufferings Into Plagues"; let alone the older remarkable "Visions Of The Dead Lovers".

At this point Sakis invited the old guitarist Kostas to come on stage, join the band and play "Non Serviam". At once the small stage was "flooded" by "hungry" fans, who rushed and became part of the band. One couldn't distinguish the fans from the band and I wonder how they managed to play under these circumstances.

Sakis thanked many times the audience and the band left the stage and returned after a while in order to finish off their "destructive" work and send the fans to the madhouse by playing "Fgmenth, Thy Gift" and "Forest of N'Gai".

The concert was over. Rotting Christ played for about 90 minutes, which was enough to satisfy even the most demanding supporters. I don’t know why they made a special concert playing exclusively songs from the first 3 albums despite the high quality of their latest albums (with the exception may be of "Genesis").

However one thing is certain: the Greek audience seemed not only to enjoy it, but also embraced it. Usually bands claim that their new works open new directions and prospects, they evolve their music continuously and so on. Progress is welcome of course, because if one remains stuck to the past then becomes boring. Although Rotting Christ have glorious present, yet they had the "guts" to make a deep dive in their glorious past and play live as they did 12-15 years ago. "An" Club is friendly but too small for such an event. The band should have played in bigger halls. One positive thing was also the low-ticket price (15 Euro), giving an extra reason to indicate that Rotting Christ despite their local publicity (and not only) are not Rock divas.

According to Greek Metal magazines top lists Rotting Christ are, as far as I remember, almost every year the best Greek band since mid-90ties. Without ignoring the contribution of other remarkable bands like Septic Flesh, Nightfall, Inner Wish and others, the above conclusion is close to reality (subjectively speaking of course). Personally I think they deserve it not only due to their musical skills but also because they chased the success during the "Stone Age" of Greek Metal scene, where technical support was almost non-existent. For example there was no Internet and the communication with fans, magazines, companies etc was done slowly by mail, let alone studios, recordings, concert organization etc. We are eager to listen to their new release and watch them once more play live.

Approximate Setlist
The Mystical Meeting
Wolfera The Jackal
The Fifth Illusions
Morality Of A Dark Age
Old Coffin Spirit
The Sign Of Evil Existence
Feast of the Grand Whore
Transform All Sufferings Into Plagues ???
The Coronation Of The Serpent
The Fourth Knight Of Revelation
Visions Of The Dead Lovers ???
Non Serviam

Encore
Fgmenth, Thy Gift
Forest of N'Gai