Review: "Sleep of the Angels" by Greek Black Metal Band Rotting Christ

Greek black metal band Rotting Christ returned to the studio after their album A Dead Poem to record yet another solid album. This next album released in 1999 is called Sleep of the Angels. However, there is a difference in the track listing between the US version and the standard version. The US version which I used to have has the song "Moonlight." However, for the purposes of this review and commentary, I will include the track listing for the standard version. There is a member George that plays the keyboards on this album. Once again, we have the Tolis brothers Sakis and Themis contributing.

1. "Cold Colours"
2. "After Dark I Feel"
3. "Victoriatus"
4. "Der Perfekte Traum" (The Perfect Dream)
5. "You My Flesh"
6. "The World Made End"
7. "Sleep the Sleep of Angels"
8. "Delusions"
9. "Imaginary Zone"
10. "Thine is the Kingdom"

Rotting Christ is the first Greek metal band that I ever heard back in 1999 and I was very impressed! In the first song, Sakis uses a pretty good dark, yet clean vocal approach as the song talks about the concept of fear that can settle into some people.

After a long time of choosing to not listen to this album, I changed my perspective and kept on listening to it again. After Dark I Feel is one of the strongest songs in the history of Rotting Christ with its classic slow start and it is a song filled with melody. Sakis switches to a cleaner vocal style to provide some contrast. At the end, the bass guitar is playing while we hear some atmospheric noises in the song as well. As this one ends, we are introduced to Victoriatus. The song is about a warrior who goes into the heat of battle to fight for glory and honor. There are only two options for this warrior. He can either admit defeat or fight until he is victorious. However, in times of war, sometimes the bravest of warriors can fall to their doom. War has been too common in the history of mankind and it has led to much death and destruction. We can only hope and pray for a more peaceful world. It seems like this subject has been done to death because so many different bands have covered it.

The next song has German lyrics in it. It is about a person that had what he considers a perfect dream that is exciting and it is also so sad. He does not know what is real. You My Flesh is another Rotting Christ song that deserves praise for having such catchy riffs including a great interlude in the beginning and a little after that. The World Made End features some fills by Themis in his drumming while the guitar riffing is going on. As the world nears its end (let’s hope this does not happen in real life), the stars fade away and there will also be no beasts or monsters remaining. The next outstanding song in the opinion of this writer is the song called Delusions. The song also has one of the best solos in the band’s history. Is the song a classic? Not really but it is pretty close. The song is about being put into a heavy sleep and taken to a dimension that the person sees before their death. The end of this song has a sort of Gothic feel to it as it seems like someone is chanting, yet this is not real chanting. Overall, "Sleep of the Angels" is another solid work from these Greek black metal legends. Congratulations to one of the most well-known Greek metal bands.

The band Rotting Christ may as well be the first Greek metal band that was significant and still is. Sleep of the Angels for me was a very memorable studio album not just for the reason that was mentioned but the thundering start to the song After Dark I Feel combined with Sakis’ vocals makes this song a masterpiece as the main riff is the catchiest part of the song. Cold Colours and this song make a GREAT start to one of the best metal albums of 1999! Sleep of the Angels is not a standard death metal album per se but it is a mix of death metal and Gothic metal with some fast parts.