Rotting Christ - 35 Years of Evil Existence: Live in Lycabettus

We screen an awesome film from the long-running Greek extreme metal band Rotting Christ.

Rotting Christ - 35 Years of Evil Existence: Live in Lycabettus- (Blu-ray)

As the title of this film indicates, the show is a celebration of three and a half decades of metal mayhem from this Greek foursome consisting of singer and guitarist Sakis Tolis, his brother Themis Tolis on drums, bass man Kostas Heliotis and guitarist Kostis Foukarakis. Filmed in the historic amphitheater atop Lycabettus Hill in Athens, Greece in June of 2024, the film opens with stunning panoramic footage of the (packed!) venue and surrounding area as night falls. It is fitting that the band play this show at Lycabettus which legend has it was created by Greek goddess Athena; indeed Rotting Christ are sort of gods themselves, of the heavy metal kind.

The band kicks off the show with fan favorite "666," a cut from the 2013 album Kata Ton Daimona Eautou which many know from its association with the video game "Mortal Shell." Somewhat of a signature tune for Rotting Christ, "666" set the tone for the rest of the show where delighted fans were constantly throwing devil horns in salute. Other songs from that 2013 release were played early in the show, including the searing guitar and pummeling drums-filled "P'Unchan Kachun-Tuta Kachun" and the album's title cut. The guys dipped into the 2019 album The Heretics for another fan favorite, "Fire, God and Fear" and also for "Dies Irae," based on the Latin hymn for the dead which Rotting Christ played in such a manner as to wake the dead. "Aealo" from 2010 was a real head banger with a particularly ominous overtone. When Sakis introduced "King of a Stellar War" by shouting "king of a stellar..." the audience knew to fill in the blank and chant "war!" back at him.

With more than a dozen albums of material to choose from, Rotting Christ play here a 26-song set drawing from throughout their career including the anthemic "Societas Satanas," the stinging guitar-filled "The Raven," a couple of very melodic cuts in "Among Two Storms" and "Sorrowful Farewell" and the sludge-meets-thrash of "In Yumen Xibalba." Searing guitar, heavy basslines and fierce drumming pushed Sakis to sing at his best throughout. The camera work is excellent too, zooming in for close-ups on every member and many shots of the jubilant crowd where a mosh circle formed during most songs. Notably the mosh action was not at all violent as fans just burned off some energy as Rotting Christ burned through a crowd-pleasing set. The guys went way back to their second album to play "Non Serviam" to close the show, and in a rarity these days they let fans come on stage to join them while they did so. About 100 members of the audience crowded the stage and they were very well behaved and did not interfere with the band as the memorable evening wrapped up. And the respect shown for these metal heroes was well deserved. This film is a keeper that will thrill fans for years and years to come. From the folks at Season of Mist.

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