Greek black metallers Rotting Christ have used the
Aleister Crowley credo "Do what thou wilt" as the theme for their
latest album. It’s an interesting mix, with songs featuring Voodoo, a Romanian
curse and Satan.
Rotting Christ retains their characteristic use of
folk instruments on this album. Bagpipes, pan pipes and flutes make an
appearance, to great effect. On the title track, a flute acts as a rallying cry
to ‘Do What Thou Wilt (the English meaning of Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy)’. A lone
pipe closes the song effectively. The stirring track Iwa Voodoo is also closed by a folk instrument; this time
traditional drums are used.
Clean singing is used well throughout; the choirs add
atmosphere to songs, and transform them into aural rituals. Sakis Tholis is a
high-calibre vocalist, and performs rasps as well as he performs operatic
vocals. Cine Iubeste Si Lasa features
guest vocalist Suzana Vougioukli, an alto, who matches Sakis in the quality of
his clean singing. Cine Iubeste Si Lasa
is a Romanian folk song meaning ‘The One Who Loves and Then Leaves’, and is a curse on
unfaithful lovers. Metal which prompts me to learn something new is always
interesting to me. Iwa Voodoo led me
to researching Voodoo religion (which is nothing like the stereotypes, of
course).
The guitar work is varied, with thick, low riffs,
harmonised passages and clean-sounding solos. Iwa Voodoo has one of the best uses of the sometimes-maligned breakdown,
with a cascade of higher notes preceding the breakdown and then playing over
it. The solo on Gilgames is similar
to the rhythm guitar part, thus the two parts balance well. Screaming notes and
some vibrato feature in the solo on Rusalka;
solos both similar and dissimilar to the rhythm parts work well throughout the
album.
This album isn’t as raw as other Rotting Christ works,
and is thus more accessible. It’s a good starting point for people new to
Rotting Christ and black metal in general. I found the album enjoyable, because
when it comes to black metal, I like to alternate between nasty, lo-fi material
and more melodic material.
Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy is an album with an
interesting mix of themes, and songs with an anthem like quality. While not as
raw as earlier works such as Khronos, this album provides an aural break for
those who want a breather from the nastier side of black metal.
Personnel:
Sakis Tholis – guitars and vocals
Themis Tholis- drums
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