Reviews list for Rotting Christ - Non Serviam (1994)

A decent if not incredible melodic black metal album that loses momentum about half way through.

As hard as I try, I can't seem to find much to rave about when it comes to early Rotting Christ albums. Considering the high ratings that these releases consistently get, along with my love of all things black metal, it would appear a given that I'd really get into an album like Non Serviam. But I'm afraid it's all a bit underwhelming to me, being mildly enjoyable, chugging mid paced black metal. Sure, there are quite a few nice little melodies that pop up every now and then, but the vocals, drumming and riffs (while decent enough) are just not exceptional in any way. Considering how many amazing black metal albums came out around the same time (including Ulver, Emperor, Mayhem, Burzum, Enslaved etc.), I'm afraid this just doesn't do enough to be considered essential.

While I clearly am not hugely impressed by Non Serviam, I should point out that it's by no means terrible. The Fifth Illusion, Wolfera the Jackal, Non Serviam and Morality of a Dark Age all start the album off nicely, but by the time Where Mortals Have No Pride is chugging along, I'm starting to get just a little bit bored. I gave the debut Thy Mighty Contract a very generous 3.5 stars and I'm going to do the same thing here. It's obviously an album that many fans enjoy, and I can certainly appreciate that there are some above average things going on throughout the album and some cool little melodies. In the end though, I don't imagine this to be an album I'll be reaching for all that much in the future.

Rotting Christ's second album is a massive improvement on "Thy Mighty Contract". The musicianship & song-writing has come forwards in leaps & bounds & everything is much more memorable. Their debut hinted at a more melodic side of black metal & this album sees that developed on further but it's important to note that they never descend into over-the-top cheese like many of the more melodic black/death metal bands do. This is quite a mature sound. The production is quite thin but it doesn't take away from the experience much as it's certainly not muddy & you can clearly make out all of the individual instruments. The guitar solos are still pretty poor & I've always thought Rotting Christ would be better off giving them away altogether. There has been a great improvement on the use of keyboards which sounded very amateurish on "Thy Mighty Contract". 

Rotting Christ have always been about atmosphere over brutality & it's no different here. They hold enough back to allow the songs to breath & the tempos don't generally get above mid-pace which can lead to a samey feeling with many of the tracks but the memorability of the melodies saves them from becoming boring. There's really not a poor song here.