Rotting Christ is a Greek

black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an em ...

band formed in 1987. They are noted for being one of the first

bands within this region, as well as a premier act within the European underground

metal A metal (from ancient Greek, Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, e ...

scene. They are also responsible for creating the signature Greek black metal sound prevalent in the early 1990s.

History

Rotting Christ was founded in 1987 as a

grindcore Grindcore is an extreme fusion genre of heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, extreme metal, and industrial. ...

act. They released a series of demos and splits with local bands during their rehearsal era. During this period, the group gradually altered their sound with influence from proto-

bands like

Celtic Frost Celtic Frost () was a Swiss extreme metal band from Zürich. They are known for their strong influence on the development of extreme metalBukszpan, Daniel. ''The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal''. Barnes & Noble Publishing, 2003. p.43 and avant-garde ...

and

Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a st ...

, and in the process became one of the inaugurators of black metal. Their 1989 demo, ''Satanas Tedeum'', presented a crossover between black metal and grindcore. In 1991, the band released ''

Passage to Arcturo ''Passage to Arcturo'' is the first EP by Greek extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster ...

'', their career-breaking EP. One of band's major debuts was on the 1993 "Fuck Christ Tour", which also featured

Immortal Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film ''The Wisdom of ...

and

Blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religio ...

. During this concert, some audience members had engaged in cutting and self-mutilation that resulted in hospitalization. Before signing to Unisound Records (a now-defunct Athens-based

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

founded in 1992),

Mayhem Mayhem most commonly refers to: * Mayhem (crime), a type of crime Mayhem may also refer to: People * Monica Mayhem (born 1978), Australian pornographic actress * Jason "Mayhem" Miller, American mixed martial arts fighter * Mayhem Miller (dr ...

Øystein Aarseth Øystein Aarseth (; 22 March 1968 – 10 August 1993), better known by his stage name Euronymous, was a Norwegian musician and a founder of and central figure in the early Norwegian black metal scene. He was a co-founder and guitarist of the No ...

had expressed interest in distributing the band through his

Deathlike Silence Productions Deathlike Silence Productions (DSP) was a Norwegian independent record label founded in Oslo in 1987 (initially as Posercorpse Music) that focused on black metal. DSP supported the black metal revival in the early 1990s. Helvete was the head ...

label, but due to Aarseth's murder the same year, nothing materialized. The band signed to

Century Media A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

in 1996 and remained on their roster for 10 years before joining

Season of Mist Season of Mist is an independent record label and record distributor with subsidiaries in France and the United States. The record label was founded in 1996 by Michael S. Berberian in Marseille, France. From the start releasing black metal, pa ...

. Rotting Christ has played in many regions outside their native

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

, including the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...

, Greater

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. Several heavy metal festivals around the world have hosted the band, including the 2003

Wacken Open Air Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a rock music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all styles and subgenres of hard rock and metal are ...

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. Past tour mates include

My Dying Bride My Dying Bride are an English doom metal band formed in Bradford. Since their inception in 1990, they have released 13 studio albums, three EPs, one demo, one box set, four compilation albums, one live album, and one live CD/DVD release. Alo ...

, Tristania,

Tiamat In Mesopotamian religion, Tiamat ( akk, or , grc, Θαλάττη, Thaláttē) is a primordial goddess of the sea, mating with Abzû, the god of the groundwater, to produce younger gods. She is the symbol of the chaos of primordial crea ...

Vintersorg Vintersorg (; "Winter Sorrow" in English) is a Swedish band from Skellefteå, formed in 1994 under the name Vargatron (Wolfthrone in English). Musically, Vintersorg has covered a wide number of heavy metal genres; while the band is mostly ro ...

Finntroll Finntroll is a Finnish metal band from Helsinki that combines elements of black metal and folk metal. Finntroll's lyrics are mostly in Swedish, the only exception being the song "Madon Laulu" on ''Visor om slutet''. Finntroll's original singer, ...

, Agathodaimon,

Old Man's Child Old Man's Child is a Norwegian black metal band from the city of Oslo. The band is the brainchild of Galder (formerly known as Grusom; birth name: Thomas Rune Andersen) who is the only permanent member of the band. History Old Man's Child was ...

, Malevolent Creation,

Anorexia Nervosa Anorexia nervosa, often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by low weight, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. ''Anorexia'' is a term of Gre ...

, Vader, Krisiun, Deicide,

Behemoth Behemoth (; he, בְּהֵמוֹת, ''bəhēmōṯ'') is a beast from the biblical Book of Job, and is a form of the primeval chaos-monster created by God at the beginning of creation; he is paired with the other chaos-monster, Leviathan, and ...

Melechesh Melechesh is an ethnically Assyrian black metal band that originated in Jerusalem and is currently based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Ashmedi started the band as a solo project in 1993. In the following year, guitarist Moloch and drummer Lord Cu ...

and

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest riv ...

, among many others. Rotting Christ was one of the first bands announced to perform the Barge to Hell festival, which is a metal-themed cruise organized by Ultimate Metal Cruises and took place aboard Royal Caribbean's '' Majesty of the Seas''. Barge to Hell set sail from Port of Miami on December 3, 2012. , Rotting Christ has been around for 25 years and is one of the longest running bands within the black metal genre. In celebration of the band's longevity, the 2-DVD + 2-CD compilation ''Non Serviam: A 20 Year Apocryphal Story'', shot in Athens on December 8, 2007, was released worldwide February 23, 2009. '' Aealo'', the band's tenth studio album, was released on February 15, 2010, in Europe and February 23, 2010, in the United States. Their eleventh album, '' Katá ton Daímona Eautoú'', was released in March 2013. They made their first appearance in South Asia on September 13, 2014, in India (Bangalore Open Air 2014 Edition) and September 14, 2014, in Sri Lanka. Their twelfth studio album, ''

Rituals A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...

'', was released on February 12, 2016. To coincide with their 30th anniversary, the band released a new 7-inch single "The Call" on February 9, 2018; the single's b-side is a live version of "The Sign of Evil Existence", which includes guest vocals by

Nergal Nergal ( Sumerian: d''KIŠ.UNU'' or ; ; Aramaic: ܢܸܪܓܲܠ; la, Nirgal) was a Mesopotamian god worshiped through all periods of Mesopotamian history, from Early Dynastic to Neo-Babylonian times, with a few attestations under indicating hi ...

and Varathron's Stefan Necroabyssious. The band also released an official biography entitled "Non Serviam: The Official Story Of Rotting Christ" in late November 2018, written by Sakis Tolis and British author Dayal Patterson (author of 'Black Metal: Evolution Of The Cult', 'The Cult Never Dies Vol. One' and 'Into The Abyss') and published by British publishing house Cult Never Dies. The book features extensive interviews with Sakis Tolis, Themis Tolis, Jim Mutilator, Morbid, George Emmanuel and members of the bands Watain, Mayhem, Enslaved, Moonspell, Blasphemy, Mystifier, Septicflesh, Behemoth, Macabre Omen, Cradle Of Filth and Immolation The book has since been released in Greek, Russian and Czech languages. Rotting Christ's thirteenth studio album, ''

The Heretics ''The Heretics'' is a feature-length, documentary film written and directed by Joan Braderman and distributed by Women Make Movies. It focuses on a group of New York-based feminist artists called the Heresies Collective, and their influential ar ...

'', was released on February 15, 2019. In 2020, Rotting Christ announced a collaboration with the video game developer Cold Symmetry on their

action role-playing video game An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a subgenre of video games that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing genre. Definition The games emphasize real-time combat where the player h ...

, Mortal Shell. The game's launch trailer, released in August 2020, featured the song "χξς (666)" as its soundtrack. In addition, a downloadable content pack, titled ''"Rotten Autumn"'', was released for the game in October 2020 and includes, among other content, an alternative soundtrack composed by Rotting Christ.

Line-up

The permanent line-up consists of brothers

Sakis Tolis Athanasios "Sakis" Tolis ( el, Αθανάσιος "Σάκης" Τόλης; born 29 June 1972) is a Greek musician best known as the vocalist and rhythm guitarist of Rotting Christ. He is also known as Necromayhem. He has recently produced so ...

(vocals and guitar) and Themis Tolis (drums). Third founding member Jim Patsouris played bass until 1996.

Andreas Lagios Nightstalker is a Greek stoner metal band from Athens. History Nightstalker are Argy (vocals), Andreas Lagios (bass), Tolis Motsios (guitar) and Dinos Roulos (drums). Formed in 1989 by the lead singer and drummer at the same time, Argy, Night ...

was the bassist since 1997, taking the stead of Patsouris until the end of 2011. Nightfall's Giorgos Bokos joined as a guitarist in 2005, replacing Costas Vasilakopoulos. In February 2012, Bokos announced his departure from the band for personal reasons. In December 2012, the new members of the band were announced: guitarist George Emmanuel and bassist Vagelis Karzis. George Emmanuel and Vagelis Karzis amicably left the band in February and May 2019 respectively to pursue other projects. Three

keyboardists A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...

had previously been a part of the band; George Tolias, George Zaharopoulos (Magus Wampyr Daoloth of

Necromantia Necromantia was a Greek black metal band that was founded in 1989 in Athens. Alongside Rotting Christ and Varathron, they are considered to be pioneers in establishing the Greek black metal scene in the early 1990s. The band is notable for the ...

) and a session musician known only as Panayiotis (on '' A Dead Poem''). The band members from the beginning, up to '' Triarchy of the Lost Lovers'' album, were using the pseudonyms Necromayhem for Sakis, Necrosauron for Themis and Mutilator for Jim (Dimitris). George Zaharopoulos used the pseudonym Morbid for early EP and split-LP releases up to ''Passage to Arcturo'', and the pseudonym Magus Wampyr Daoloth for '' Thy Mighty Contract'' and ''

Non Serviam ''Non serviam'' is Latin for "I will not serve". The phrase is traditionally attributed to Satan, who is thought to have spoken these words as a refusal to serve God in heaven. Today "non serviam" is also used or referred to as motto by a num ...

''.

Publicity

Over the years, the group has faced controversy due to their name and gained international media attention in November 1999 during the 2000 United States Presidential Primaries for Republican Nomination, when

candidate A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * ...

/ Christian conservative

Gary Bauer Gary Lee Bauer (born May 4, 1946) is an American civil servant, activist, and former political candidate. He served in President Ronald Reagan's administration as Under Secretary of Education and Chief Domestic Policy Advisor, and later became p ...

accused the band of being "anti-Catholic", among other things. In response to Bauer's criticism,

wrote: They also have had to cancel some shows, most recently in May 2005, when

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wit ...

frontman

Dave Mustaine David Scott Mustaine (born September 13, 1961) is an American musician. He is the co-founder, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter of the thrash metal band Megadeth, as well as their sole consistent member. Mustaine has rele ...

threatened to refuse to play at a Greek concert if Rotting Christ were on the bill. In response to their forced cancellation, Tolis noted:

Nuclear Assault Nuclear Assault was an American thrash metal band formed in New York City in 1984. Part of the mid-to-late 1980s thrash metal movement, they were one of the main bands of the genre to emerge from the East Coast along with Overkill, Whiplash, ...

and former

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The s ...

bassist

Dan Lilker Daniel A. Lilker (born October 18, 1964) is an American semi-retired musician best known as a bass player, but also guitarist, pianist, drummer and vocalist. He was the bassist for the thrash metal band Nuclear Assault and was a founding member ...

defended Rotting Christ and criticized Dave Mustaine's actions, as did

Nevermore Nevermore was an American heavy metal band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1991. The band has been inactive since 2011, due to personal issues between the band members. In April 2015, lead singer Warrel Dane confirmed that Nevermore had n ...

Warrel Dane Warrel Dane (born Warrel George Baker; March 7, 1961 – December 13, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead singer for the heavy metal bands Sanctuary and Nevermore. He was a natural baritone; though he was known for his high-pitched ...

, whose bands appeared on Mustaine's

Gigantour Gigantour was a sporadically organised traveling heavy metal music festival organized by Dave Mustaine of Megadeth. The tour was founded in 2005 with dates across North America (see also Gigantour 2005), and the 2006 and 2007 line-ups also t ...

in 2005. Dane added: When playing in

, a country which in its constitution declares itself as Roman Catholic, trouble from the Church and other Catholic groups ensued when an unknown person stuck a Rotting Christ flyer to a church door. The band was allowed to play eventually even though they had to change venue. In April 2018, Rotting Christ were scheduled to play in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. Upon arriving in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...

, founding members Sakis and Themis Tolis were arrested by Georgian authorities under suspicion of terrorism due to their band name, as reported by an announcement from the band's label,

. They had their passports and cell phones confiscated and were detained in prison, without being permitted legal representation or contact with the Greek Embassy for 12 hours. Afterwards, they were informed by their lawyers that the two were included in a "list of unwanted people for reasons of national security" that labeled them as "Satanists" and "suspects of terrorism". The two were eventually released, after arrangements made by the band's other members in collaboration with the local promoter, "who involved legal experts, journalists and activists in Georgia". The band was allowed to perform their scheduled concert and left for their next destination, Armenia, without hassle. A species of prehistoric

brittle star Brittle stars, serpent stars, or ophiuroids (; ; referring to the serpent-like arms of the brittle star) are echinoderms in the class Ophiuroidea, closely related to starfish. They crawl across the sea floor using their flexible arms for locomot ...

, ''Brezinacantha tolis'', was named after band members Sakis and Themis Tolis.

Musical style

Early in their career, they were responsible for creating what is known as the "classic" Greek black metal sound which can be heard in other bands such as Varathron and Thou Art Lord. Despite the name, the band's traditional lyrical themes involving

evil Evil, in a general sense, is defined as the opposite or absence of good. It can be an extremely broad concept, although in everyday usage it is often more narrowly used to talk about profound wickedness and against common good. It is general ...

and

occultism The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...

has evolved into a more "mystic" path, and they have modified their musical direction on each album, utilizing elements such as clean melodic

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the ...

vocals,

doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher * ...

gothic metal Gothic metal (or goth metal) is a fusion genre combining the aggression of heavy metal with the dark atmospheres of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy meta ...

and

industrial music Industrial music is a genre of music that draws on harsh, mechanical, transgressive or provocative sounds and themes. AllMusic defines industrial music as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music" that was "initial ...

traits, and male/female

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

chants. Recent albums, beginning with '' Khronos'', have shown the band taking a more modern, faster and more aggressive approach to their blackened-

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

style. Their 2007 album, ''Theogonia'', especially, has been described as more "atmospheric" and "epic" by their label. The group's choice of producers, engineers and mixers has also been varied; Swedish

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

figures

Dan Swanö Dan-Erland Swanö (born 10 March 1973), also known as Dan "The Man" Swanö, is a Swedish musician and record producer who is currently the vocalist, guitarist, ex-bassist and ex-drummer for the band Nightingale, lately vocalist, keyboardist an ...

(Unisound),

Peter Tägtgren Alf Peter Tägtgren (born 3 June 1970) is a Swedish musician, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He is the founder, main songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist of death metal band Hypocrisy as well as the industrial metal band Pai ...

(Abyss Studios) and

Fredrik Nordström Björn Tom Fredrik Nordström (born 5 January 1967) is a Swedish musician and record producer, best known as the guitarist of heavy metal band Dream Evil. Nordström is one of the leading melodic death metal and power metal producers in Swede ...

(

Studio Fredman Studio Fredman is a well-known recording studio in Gothenburg, Sweden, owned and operated by producer Fredrik Nordström. It is popular among Swedish metal bands, with artists such as At the Gates, Deathstars, Nightrage, Norwegian band Dimmu B ...

), German producers

Andy Classen Andy Classen is a German record producer, sound engineer and musician. Holy Moses He began his career in 1980 as a guitarist for the German thrash metal band Holy Moses, fronted by his ex-wife Sabina Classen. In 1989 the band bought a house ...

(

Asphyx Asphyx is a Dutch death metal band that was formed in Overijssel in 1987. History The band was formed in 1987 by Bob Bagchus and Tony Brookhuis. Joost was picked up for vocals and bass, but was replaced by Chuck Colli after the release of th ...

Belphegor In Christian demonology, Belphegor (or Beelphegor, he, בַּעַל-פְּעוֹר ''Báʿal-pəʿór'' - Lord of the Gap) is a demon. In later Kabbalah Belphegor is a demon who helps people make discoveries. He seduces people by suggesting to ...

), Siggi Bemm ( Therion,

Theatre of Tragedy Theatre of Tragedy was a Norwegian band from Stavanger, active between 1993 and 2010. They are best known for their earlier albums, which influenced the gothic metal genre. History Formation (1993) Theatre of Tragedy was founded on 2 October 19 ...

) and

Waldemar Sorychta Waldemar Sorychta (born 1967) is a Polish heavy metal record producer and musician who has lived in Germany since 1982. Career He initially worked with German thrash metal band Despair, founded in 1986. In 1994 he took part in the recording ...

(

Lacuna Coil Lacuna Coil is an Italian gothic metal band from Milan. Since their formation in 1994, the group has had two name changes, being previously known as Sleep of Right and Ethereal, and they have recorded nine studio albums, two extended plays, two ...

, The Gathering) as well as Xy (

Samael Samael ( he, סַמָּאֵל, ''Sammāʾēl'', "Venom/Poison of God"; ar, سمسمائيل, ''Samsama'il'' or ar, سمائل, label=none, ''Samail''; alternatively Smal, Smil, Samil, or Samiel) is an archangel in Talmudic and post-Talmudic ...

percussionist/keyboardist) have all contributed to production on the band's albums.

Band members

;Current members *

−

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

, rhythm guitar, keyboards, bass (studio only) (1987–present) * Themis Tolis − drums (1987–present) * Kostas "Spades" Heliotis − bass, backing vocals (2019–present) * Kostis Foukarakis − lead guitar, backing vocals (2019–present) ;Session musicians * Markus "Makka" Freiwald − drums (1996) * Panayiotis − keyboards (1997) ;Former members * Jim "Mutilator" Patsouris − bass, backing vocals (1987–1996) * George "Magus Wampyr Daoloth" Zaharopoulos − keyboards, backing vocals (1991–1995) * Costas Vasilakopoulos − lead guitar, backing vocals (1996–2004) *

− bass, backing vocals (1997–2011) * Georgios Tolias − keyboards, backing vocals (1997–2003) * Giorgos Bokos − lead guitar, backing vocals (2005–2012) * George Emmanuel − lead guitar, backing vocals (2012–2019) * Vagelis "Van Ace" Karzis − bass, backing vocals (2012–2019) * Stamatis "Melanaegis" Petrakos − bass, backing vocals (2019) * Giannis Kalamatas − lead guitar, backing vocals (2019) Rotting Christ Party.San 2016 13.jpg, Sakis Tolis, Party.San 2015 Rotting Christ Party.San 2016 01.jpg, Themis Tolis, Party.San 2015 ;Timeline

Discography

Full-lengths

*'' Thy Mighty Contract'' (1993) *''

'' (1994) *'' Triarchy of the Lost Lovers'' (1996) *'' A Dead Poem'' (1997) *'' Sleep of the Angels'' (1999) *'' Khronos'' (2000) *''

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

'' (2002) *'' Sanctus Diavolos'' (2004) *'' Theogonia'' (2007) *'' Aealo'' (2010) *'' Κατά τον δαίμονα εαυτού'' (2013) *''

'' (2016) *''

'' (2019)

EPs

* ''

'' (1991, Decapitated Records)

Demos, singles, and DVDs

* ''Leprosy of Death'' (1988, unofficial demo) * ''Decline's Return'' (1989, demo) * ''The Other Side of Life'' (1989, split EP with Sound Pollution) * ''Satanas Tedeum'' (1989, demo) * ''Rotting Christ / Monumentum'' (1991, split with

Monumentum Monumentum (often typeset as MonumentuM) are an Italian gothic metal band formed in 1987 by Roberto Mammarella, founder of Obscure Plasma Records (subsequently Avantgarde Music). Biography Monumentum were formed in Milan in mid 1987 by guitari ...

) * ''Dawn of the Iconoclast'' (1991, EP) * ''Ade's Winds'' (1992, demo) * ''Apokathelosis'' (1993, EP) * ''The Mystical Meeting'' (1997, single/live/cover compilation) * ''Der Perfekte Traum'' (1999, single/live) * ''In Domine Sathana'' (2003, live DVD) * ''Non Serviam: A 20 Year Apocryphal Story'' (2009, live DVD/CD) * ''A Soundtrack to Mikael Häll's Doctoral Dissertation'' (2012, Malört förlag, split 7-inch single with Negative Plane) * ''Promo 1995'' (2013, EP) * ''Lucifer over Athens'' (2015, live album)

Compilations

* ''The Mystical Meeting'' (1995) * '' Thanatiphoro Anthologio'' (2007, best-of compilation) * ''Semigods of the Serpent Cult'' (2009) * ''25 Years: The Path of Evil Existence'' (2014) * ''Their Greatest Spells'' (2018)

Books

* ''Non Serviam: The Official Story Of Rotting Christ'' (2018)

Music videos

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rotting Christ Grindcore musical groups Greek black metal musical groups Greek gothic metal musical groups Greek heavy metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1987 Musical quartets Musical groups from Athens Metal Mind Productions artists Century Media Records artists Season of Mist artists 1987 establishments in Greece Sibling musical groups