The Perfect Dream of Rotting Christ gets a polish and a rejuvenation with the new limited edition of Der Perfekte Traum.

The Greek metal band Rotting Christ is Sakis and Themis Tolis who, along with Jim Mutilator, saw the origins of the band in the 1980s. I think most people, including me, think of the band’s music as Black Metal, but it has varied considerably over the years. With a discography that includes more than a dozen full-length albums and a plethora of EPs, compilations, splits, and live albums, They have covered a lot of ground.

Der Perfekte Traum, “The Perfect Dream,” was originally released in 1999. The new edition is remastered and includes the two studio tracks and five live cuts. The studio tracks are “Der Perfekte Traum” and “Moonlight.”

“Der Perfekte Traum” is a medium-tempo melodically executed song with extended spoken word elements and shifting moods. Sonically, it is quite beautiful, with subdued but clearly recognizable Black Metal influences and unexpected flairs. “Moonlight” has excellent hooks and a trendy construction that almost puts in a radio-ready category. It is a great song, again on the melodic side but also charged with energy and action.

The live tracks are all songs from the Triarchy of the Lost Lovers (1996) album. I really liked that album, incidentally, and the live performances have a nice doomy quality to them. I particularly appreciate the lead work in “A Dynasty from the Ice” and the dire emotion of “Diastric Alchemy” has a high linger factor. I enjoyed revisiting this album – I had forgotten how much I liked it when I first heard it. Recommended.

The new edition of Der Perfekte Traum is a limited vinyl release with a street date of Friday, September 3^rd and it is available through VinylStore.Gr. Snap the link below and scroll down a bit for the three variants.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://rottingchrist.bandcamp.com/

Rotting Christ website, https://www.rotting-christ.com/en

VinylStore.Gr, https://www.vinylstore.gr/en/our-releases-w-28079.html