Band:	Rotting Christ
Album:	Passage To Arcturo
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	May 1991

01. Intro. Ach Golgotha
02. Old Coffin Spirit
03. Forest Of N'Gai
04. The Mystical Meeting
05. Gloria De Domino Inferni
06. Inside The Eye Of Algond
07. The Nereid Of Esgalduin [2006 re-release bonus]
08. Vicious Joy And Black Delight [2006 re-release bonus]
09. Feast Of The Grand Whore [2006 re-release bonus]
10. The Old Coffin Spirit [Live in Larissa, Greece, 2007] [2011 re-release bonus]
11. The Mystical Meeting [Live in Larissa, Greece, 2007] [2011 re-release bonus]
12. The Forest Of N'Gai [Live in Larissa, Greece, 2007] [2011 re-release bonus]

It took Rotting Christ two whole years to unleash their second strike after the Satanas Tedeum demo. The first blow in 1991 came in the form of a split release with Monumentum from Italy for which they re-recorded "Feast Of The Grand Whore", but the second and deadly one was the Passage To Arcturo EP.

In the meantime, one of the founding members of Necromantia had joined the core trio of Rotting Christ. Morbid (aka Magus Wampyr Daoloth) was a very well known figure in the Greek underground for his deep knowledge on apocryphism and mysticism and his piano and keyboards playing gave the band a much more atmospheric, dense and mesmerizing sound. At the same time, Mutilator's dark and Lovecraftian lyrics added to the album's spirituality and the bassist also designed the enigmatic cover art that depicts Orpheus gazing at Arcturus.

The music captures the essence of black metal in a way that very few albums can claim they have in the history of the genre. If you don't want to take my word for it, I'll just mention that this is Grutle Kjellson's of Enslaved fame favourite release by the band.

Doom, death, thrash and heavy metal are all blended in Rotting Christ's original black metal sound. Orthodox chanting, invocations, occult piano melodies and inventive riffing make for a record that signified the rise of Hellenic black metal. The ending of "The Forest Of N'Gai" with its jungle/voodoo sounds encapsulates the mystical spirit of the entire release. I also have to confess that the first time I heard the growl at 1:50 of "The Mystical Meeting (Dog Spleh Esoth Sevlesmeth)" on my headphones I just froze with terror.

Passage To Arcturo is unique and unprocessed, inspired and full of innovative ideas. It gave Rotting Christ a contract with Osmose Records (the first Greek band to get signed by a foreign label) and influenced a large number of groups that are today characterized as legendary.

"What I wish appears in my sleep
Surpass the whole mortal life
As succubus creeps in my cold room
Trespass the invisible zone"