Review by Ben for Rotting Christ - Triarchy of the Lost Lovers (1996)
A cleaner, more melodic Rotting Christ and one that I find far more enjoyable. Very nice indeed!
I've found Rotting Christ to be quite challenging for some reason. Their first two releases receive quite a bit of praise and while I wouldn't say that either Thy Mighty Contract or Non Serviam is a bad album, they just didn't do enough for me to get that excited about. I fully expected to feel the same way about third album Triarchy of the Lost Lovers and was prepared to be quite harsh if it had of been more of the same simplistic, mildly melodic yet not particularly moving black metal. A lot of the band’s fans consider this to be their best work, so if I was ever going to get into Rotting Christ, I figured this would have to be the time. I’ve given Triarchy of the Lost Lovers quite a few listens now and while I’m still not ready to sign up to the Rotting Christ Rock My World Fan Club, I find more to my liking here.
The first thing I noticed was that the production is far clearer for this album than on the previous two. They also injected a fair bit more melody which results in quite a different sound for the band, while not venturing very far from their roots. They keep things very simple and at times repetitious, but this time around the melodies are a fair bit more moving. Black metal is rarely about technical skill, so I’m not opposed to the uncomplicated approach Rotting Christ takes. I appreciate the work of early Samael despite the simplicity of their music. It does need to be said though that some of the riffs on Triarchy of the Lost Lovers are just a bit boring, the drums do nothing more than keep time with the odd burst of speed, and the vocals are monotone and harmless throughout. Yet some of the melodies stay with you long after the album has finished and increase in enjoyment with each subsequent listen, which make me come back for more.
In the end, Triarchy of the Lost Lovers is an album that has grown on me considerably over the last couple of weeks. Once the melodies begin to sink in these tracks really creep up on you until you find yourself humming them throughout the day. I still don’t think any single track is particularly outstanding, but the album is very consistently compelling and does exactly what it set out to do, which has left me pleasantly surprised. It’s a little disappointing to see that the next few albums don’t rate very well on Rate Your Music as I finally seem to be warming to the band, but I’m still looking forward to giving them a go as they may just move even further towards my comfort zone. Highlight tracks for me are King of a Stellar War, Archon, Shadows Follow and The First Field of the Battle.