Rotting Christ Passage to Arcturo is the first release from this mighty Greek band. This is kind of their first EP before releasing an album proper and is far different from the band we see treading the stages of the world today. Like many of their peers at the time this is a band that is still finding their feet, playing a style of doomy death metal that I have to say doesn’t particularly stand out as different, but you can see that the seeds of something great are being sown here. A lot of the riffage styles they use today are present on this tape from way back in 1991 and after the first song the demo goes into the “Forest of N’gai” which is where things get interesting. This song sees the usage of an etherial sounding keyboard track and really sets the song apart (and above) from the previous track. It also in many ways starts to set them apart from the hordes of death metal bands playing the same stuff at this point in time. It’s easy to sit back here with the benefit of time and say this but this should have been the opening track as it really captures the listeners attention right away.
The Next song keeps it interesting with some cool background vocals and it becomes clear at this point that Rotting Christ are not just a stock standard death metal band but have something special. The Fourth song opens up with a killer riff and some great bass playing. From this early point in their career it’s obvious the band have control over songwriting and melodies and a great sense of dynamics. Overall this is a great demo, a very enjoyable listen and more importantly a window into things that layed ahead for this band.
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