Rotting Christ – “Today we are in a position where we can support a massive band like Bolt Thrower.”

Since the release of their excellent album ‘Aelo’ the legendary Greek combo has been touring non stop: first across Europe alongside the mighty Bolt Thrower, then (besides a short stop due to main-man Sakis suffering from a leg injury) doing the various summer festivals. Soon to march on Poland and eventually South America, Rotting Christ see unstoppable! Having deservingly become an extreme metal institution, I decided to pay tribute to their long and brilliant career with an interview focused on how they achieved such status. And of course when I use the pluralia tantum, I actually mean the very charming Sakis Tolis, to whom I chatted before a recent show, as he is very much the heart and soul of the band, as well as the brains!

Coming both from countries that were not exactly thriving spots for alternative music up until more recent days, I have a lot of admiration for you as back then it wasn’t easy to access non-mainstream music, let alone be in a band: if you were let’s say into punk or early Death Metal, you’d be virtually cut out from all the action.
That’s right, it was very difficult. Back then the scene in Athens was quite weird as there were mainly fashionable trends around. I remember I was one of the very few people buying demos, records, even leather clothes on mail order catalogues from abroad. We were really into our thing, but back then we didn’t realize we were actually creating a scene. We struggled a lot and had to work especially hard to end up, after 20 years, with something unique and strong. Today we are in a position where we can support a massive band like Bolt Thrower. We inspired a lot of new bands in the Balkan area, who were writing to me for advice and, to this day, I am always glad to help people out. We are very proud of the fact that we created our own scene: we were definitely one of the first ones out there to play Black Metal, and now we are part of the history of a much wider movement.

Coming from a country with no previous tradition as far as extreme metal is concerned also meant that you were free to create something very unique and individual, am I correct?
Yes, we were always very unique but that created some problems too: we had several problems with the press, even our local TV, because people thought we were Satanists when we were not! They were not leaving us alone, but you know, it all amounts to free promotion so it was a good thing in the end.

Who inspired you right at the beginning?
We were inspired by bands like Venom, Bathory, Celtic Frost, Hellhammer; all the first generation Black Metal bands, basically, even though at the time that sort of music did not have a specific name.

Were you ever into punk?
Yes, punk was quite big in my area actually: we listened to bands like GBH, Discharge, Chaos UK. I still listen to the old-school stuff! Today most new bands, especially the American ones, that call themselves punk, are not punk at all as they are very mainstream and therefore part of the system.

Throughout the 90s you and your old band members toured Europe extensively many times over: I guess it was the only way to get noticed in a movement that was becoming bigger and bigger…
Of course! It was very difficult as we didn’t have a promoter. We had to leave our jobs, bought a van and we drove everywhere ourselves. It was hard, but it was a great experience, something that gave us plenty of experience and today makes us feel like we are a proper band with a solid background and an honest working ethic. You know, some of the fans and the other bands, even if they might not like our music, they still show us a lot of respect for that. So it was a price worth paying for.

Bolt Thrower told me they wanted you as supporting band for their recent European tour because of the enormous lesson in self-respect you have shown all along.
At the end of the day, what do we fight for in our daily lives? There has to be something nobler to aspire to, a bigger goal to achieve, and for me it’s got to do with whatever enriches the soul and makes you a better person.

So music for you is a path to self-discovery?
Definitely, writing music is a form of meditation and always leads to discovering something yet unexplored. Performing is also a great source of spiritual learning as the energy levels involved and exchanged are very powerful.

On a practical side, while bands from other countries may be able to dedicate themselves 100% to their music (as they might not need a side job in order to survive), I know it’s definitely not the case in Greece, so that makes your dedication even more special.
In Greece if you don’t have a job you’re fucked! All of us have always had jobs in our lives, which can be sometimes a big obstacle. Most young musicians in fact are eventually forced out of being in a hard working band because of tough life circumstances, but personally I never gave up! If you have alternative views everything becomes a struggle: nobody understands where you’re coming from and nobody helps you out. In the past people were even scared of us for having long hair, but luckily today it’s more about practical things, like for example, not finding right away the technology I want, as not many people use it. But if you are a pro-active person you can by-pass those kinds of problems.

Talking about being pro-active, I believe you literally took the matter into your own hands when were looking for a record contract with a big label: tell me what happened.
Haha yes, we were just kids so we didn’t think twice about taking a car and drive all the way from Athens to Germany to deliver our demo to both Nuclear Blast and Century Media. For us it was normal as we weren’t in the center of things so we had to make ourselves heard somehow. If you really want something, you just have to go and grab it!

That’s awesome! What was their reaction?
Well, first and foremost they liked our music so we came to that famous agreement with Century Media for 6 albums. But I think it was also important to show them that we were really serious about Rotting Christ.

Later on though you had problems with the label…
There are always problems with the labels: labels and artists are two different things altogether! Art and business always struggle to find a middle way, don’t they? Everybody works towards their own goal so we ended up having a fight. But you know, we are ok with labels, as long as the take care of the numbers and we can take care of the music, that’s fine. They always try to give you suggestions, but I never listen…

So at one point you found yourself without a label and also without a band!
Yes, but it wasn’t too hard for me to find some other musicians as I knew everybody in Athens. At the same time I was also branching out far more with my music, step by step it was incorporating more of my influences. By then my sound was definitely a lot more Death Metal than Black.

Some of your old Black Metal fans didn’t appreciate the shift in style…
Well, you cannot please everyone! In life you have ups and downs and it might have looked as if things were not working out, but I stuck to my guns and we are still here today! I write all the music and the lyrics for Rotting Christ so it is always about my own experiences and influences. It’s kind of normal to evolve a different sound throughout the years, as your personality becomes more complex and you learn about new things. Although I have been fiercely into metal since 1989, I always try to find new directions in my life and that is reflected in my music, where I like to explore not just within the extreme metal genres but far beyond.

You sound like someone who has his values set in stone, but at the same time is thirsty for new experiences all the time. Did you ever think of moving away from Greece?
Yes, I did at one point, but at the end I decided against it: there I have my family, my friends and people who take care of me.

Let’s move now onto the second decade of Rotting Christ: from the year 2000 your international success started to widen considerably. Does this have anything to do with signing for the excellent Seasons of Mist?
It might be a coincidence, but the last two albums have been very successful. They are a very open-minded label, and they showed a lot of interest and care. It’s nice to feel as if you are finally regarded as a priority, so I guess that brought some results as I feel I have worked harder than ever on these two albums.

You have been bringing the new album ‘Aelo’ across Europe for a few months now: what is the feedback you are getting?
The feedback has been very positive: the press liked the album and the crowds have been amazing! The first part of our European tour with Bolt Thrower was great and I am glad we got to know them as they are amazing guys. We have carried on touring on our own throughout the summer: soon we begin a whole bunch of dates in Poland and Eastern Europe, and then we go to South America: we feel right at home over there!

In your recent music you really drew back from a lot of sources, from rediscovering your old Black Metal roots to the new experiments with Greek traditional music, which is a very exciting addition to your sound.
Yes, I gradually understood the importance of the traditions of my country and now it is something very important to me. I am really into ethnic music, I love exploring traditional music from all over the world, and this time around I wanted to experiment with those beautiful, simple and real sounds. These days all the bands use pro-tools and music has lost a lot of soul and passion: I personally miss that, so what I am trying to do now with Rotting Christ is to bring the heart back into metal! In the new album we have parts sung in different ancient languages, like Greek, Sufi, Latin and so on: it’s a melting pot of traditions we can all relate to, and that’s very important to us.

Do you feel that some countries relate to your music and message more than others?
Of course all the Latin countries really get our music!

Would it also be because fans from Latin countries know exactly what it is like to have a Catholic upbringing?
Definitely, there’s a connection there! It’s so easy to go out there and say religion is shit and this religion sucks, but we were never into provoking people, I just want to express an opinion in a creative way and make people think about things, that’s all. We never mean to offend anyone.

Not too long ago Dave Mustaine refused to play at a festival because of Rotting Christ being on the bill…
Well, some people are far too touchy. We live in what is supposed to be a democratic society where there is freedom of speech and everyone has the freedom to say and think what they want, so I cannot understand why someone who plays metal should have a problem with us. Metal means freedom!

Do you still feel that the old brotherhood that made the early 90s scene so special is still there today?
Well it is a brotherhood, but of course you always have people with big egos and are just in it to be rockstars. I have met many of those… I think it’s a lot of bullshit because we are not special or above anybody else: a cab driver offers something and we do too when we go on state, but that’s it really. Unfortunately some people think they are god’s gift to the world and that their music is so special…