Single Slam – Heaven & Hell & Fire by Rotting Christ (The Heretics)

We have a new Rotting Christ single to get stuck into in this holiday period.  Heaven & Hell & Fire is the second single released from their upcoming album, The Heretics. Happy Christmas!

The iconic black/death metallers have a 13th studio album due out on February 15th next year via Season of Mist. That album is called The Heretics. Rotting Christ released the first single from that new album earlier this month and it is amazing. That song is called Fire God & Fear and you can read our review of it here. Having formed way back in the 80’s, Rotting Christ have proven to be one of the most consistent bands in their area. As years have passed, they have also shown themselves to be one of the most creative and expansive bands within the genre. They are metal icons in every sense of the word.

Their consistency in part comes from them managing to keep the backbone of the band together since the beginning. On lead vocals, rhythm guitars and keys we have Sakis Tolis and on drums, his brother Themmis Tolis. Both original founding members. They are joined by lead guitarist, George Emmanuel and bassist, Vagelis Karzis who both joined in 2012. Being such a multi layered band, all members add backing vocals as well.

Heaven & Hell & Fire is just under 5 minutes long and is another mesmerizingly dark and layered track. Starting with some sampling and effects which include screaming, we get a little spoken word intro about the mind. It all fades to silence for a second before a crash of instruments come in. We head into a cracking riff with a bouncing bass line. The drums are slow and ominous as the catchy rhythm plays put. It leads into a choir like chanted section which is dark and eerie sounding amazing over the riff.

The choir fades back to allow the lead vocals in. They are delivered as expected. Dark, venomous and with force. The heavy vocals over the riff with the thunder claps of drums is the stuff dreams (or nightmares) are made of. All this and we are a minute in. The song continues to weave glorious interlocking melodies and heaviness. Layer upon layer gets added, then removed, then switched constantly making it more of an experience than a listen. Glorious lead lines add an air of light before a crunching rhythm section squashes it down and forces heads to bang.

Nearing the end of the verse chorus, verse, chorus pattern we go back into spoken word, delivered like a prayer. That leads into a mesmerising solo that had to be heard. It is brilliant. Absolutely amazing and goes past the solo to form the main melody for the rest of the song. The lead line stays there but the crunching heaviness comes back with ferocious drumming and visceral vocals. One more switch comes as the track ends with a little more spoken word until the close where you will find yourself instantly reaching for that replay button.

Heaven & Hell & Fire is another absolute beast of a song from Rotting Christ. A multi layered, exciting and heavily detailed slab of metal. Strong vocals, intense rhythm and mind boggling lead guitars are the spine of it but it is how they all blend in with the choir sections, the spoken word and other special touches that really grab your interest and hold it. This band can do no wrong at the moment and The Heretics is shaping up to be an early contender for album of the year in 2019.

Grab a copy of Heaven & Hell & Fire at all the usual streaming platforms now. Preorder a copy of The Heretics now at Season of Mist by following the link. Keep up to date with Rotting Christ news at their website and on Facebook and keep a watch out for more from the new album. It is shaping up to be a banger.

Rotting Christ have also been announced as the Thursday night headliner as 2019’s Bloodstock Festival. You won’t want to miss that! Grab your tickets from here.