My HeadBangers, revisited from Week 28, some of the best guys I have met, please welcome back:

REPAID IN BLOOD

Before we get started, I have to give you all some information on the Viper Room:

The Viper Room opened in 1993 and was once owned by Johnny Depp, the world-famous Viper Room  has hosted the likes of Johnny Cash, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Stone Temple Pilots, Bruce Springsteen, Oasis, Queens of The Stone Age, Courtney Love, Natalie Cole, Elvis Costello, Pete Yorn, Lenny Kravitz, Pearl ..

“Rebel Scum”

Those who know me know I love a band with a message and if this isn’t a message you will never get it.

“Wake Up, Time To Die”

Just a little background on my Geeks:

Repaid In Blood is a metal band that started in 2006 in San Jose, CA. The name was taken from a lyric off The Black Dahlia Murder’s first full-length album, Unhallowed. The name is an expression of violence in its purest form, vengeance. Victor Hernandez and Jake Burrman formed the band in high school. Jake Burrmann and Juan Galvez are the last founding members of the band, and yet, with the powerful vocals and live performances of Darrell Durham, along with the blistering leads of Patrick Small, Repaid In Blood is a strong and cohesive family.

Repaid In Blood mixes the best of Death Metal and Metalcore genres creating their own unique genre: Geek Metal. Which blends crushing riffs, searing solos, and ball-shattering breakdowns with a variety of pop culture, movies, games, and geekdom samples into their performances that always gets the crowd going and shouting the lines and samples during the show!

For more background pull up Week 28, that’s right 107 weeks ago, 749 days ago, Repaid in Blood was the feature on the blog.   As I said then “these guys are the real deal”.  I hadn’t run into a band that was so fan driven.  By that I mean they actually sent out lil care packages to their fans with hand written notes.  How many bands do that??  Not many my HeadBangers.  This is mine:

I have kept these items with other things sent to me from some other bands, but this is my special one.  You get CD’s that are autographed by the bands, and that’s great, but a hand written note, come on who does that, my geeks that’s who.    I’m working on putting everything in a big frame instead of locked up.  Seriously these items have been to Finland twice and back to the USA with me.  I want these guys to know how special it is to me.  Some days I may need that extra lil something to make me smile and here it is.  Thank you guys, it means a lot.

I wanted to catch up with the guys and see how everything is going and what they did while we were all in the Covid lock up, let’s take a look…..

Darrell Durham – Vox

When the pandemic hit and we went into lock down I was able to work from home as an IT engineer. From home I worked with Jake to record footage for videos for the new album. Was able to conduct interviews about the release from home via Skype. In the meantime I have really taken up vinyl collecting again. I have my dad’s old collection and started building on that. I am a huge fan of the Melvins and now own all their albums on vinyl. I am looking forward to writing new material with the guys and hopefully soon we can play some of the Reflective Duality material live. I think it will sound massive live! Lot’s of energy and emotion. I’m very animated on stage. I miss being on the stage a lot.

Juan Galvez – Drums

When the pandemic hit I knew the music industry was going to take a big hit. So I knew it was going to put things on pause. Luckily I had already recorded my drum parts for the latest album early. In October 2020 I teamed up with my buddy Mark at Weapon Rex media and shot a drum play through for the new album. I’m also in another band, Infinite Sleep, and now learning drum parts for a upcoming release. Other than that I played a lot of video games and picked up the guitar again. Been learning a lot of Deftones, easy stuff but fun to play.

Jake Burrmann – Guitars

With the pandemic shutting everything down, the band was stuck in a bit of limbo whilst almost being done with the latest record, Reflective Duality. Several things were pushed back which ultimately led to the album coming out in January 2021. Our manager and I handled all the behind the scenes shenanigans for getting the album ready, and dealing with all the usual things that happen before a release lol. I also put together 3 music videos for the album. Personally I’ve taken up a few new hobbies. I started playing the drums, yoga, meditating as well as reading a lot more. Specifically the Dresden Files and Star Wars novels. I’ve spent a good portion of this past year or so reflecting inward and spending time with my wife at home, being safe.

Patrick  “White Light’nin” – Lead Guitarist

Patrick has been super busy at this time doing what all Metal Geeks do.  Let your imagination run with it lmao.

My Thoughts:

Well my HeadBangers what can I say.  LMAO you all know that I am never at a loss for words.  I’m a Metal Blogger FFS, oh and I cuss but I’m a Navy Brat in my defense, you know how Sailors are…   Doing this blog has made me unexpectly emotional.  Oh shit…  See what those little personal notes do…  and after all this time they haven’t changed they are still my Geek Metal Brothers and Metal Family.  It doesn’t matter how long it’s been, and it has been 749 days, over 2 years, and I listen to the music, look at those smiling faces and know that through all the madness of the last 2 years they are still here.  If I text them they answer and vice versa, that is what family is, metal family always.  Like the sign says and Jim Morrison  NO ONE GETS OUT ALIVE….  Love you guys always.

That’s it for this week my HeadBangers.  Join me next week for another band and another song, in the meantime don’t stand to close to the fire if you can’t handle the burn…..

 

• Week 137 – July 3 – Wolves In The Throne Room – Atmospheric Black Metal – Olympia, Washington
• Week 136 -June  26 – Deathbale – Postapocalyptic Viking Death Metal  – Germany
• Week 135 – June 19 – Repaid in Blood – Pure Fking Geek Metal Revisited – San Jose, Calif
• Week 134 –  June 5 – Wardruna – Dark Folk Metal – Bergen, Norway
• Week 133 – May 28 – Rotting Christ – Black Metal – Athens, Greece
• Week 132 – May 21 – Carmilla – Metal – Sverige, Sweden
• Week 131 – May 14 – Wake Up Frankie – Thrash/Rock/Metal – Helsinki, Finland
• Week 130 – May 7  – Disquiet – Melodic Death/Thrash – Utrecht, Netherlands
• Week 129 – Apr 30 – Thanatos – Extreme Thrash/Death Metal – Rotterdam, Netherlands
• Week 128 – Apr 23  – Arched Fire – Heavy Speed Metal – Lapland, Finland
• Week 127 – Apr 16 – The Haunted – Heavy/Melodic Death Metal – Gothenburg, Sweden
• Week 126 – Apr 9 –  Updates 
• Week 125 – Apr 2  –  All Taken – Hard Rock with a little Grunge – Los Angeles, California
• Week 124 – Mar 26 – Aeon Of Awareness – Melodic Death Metal – Germany (Song Review)
• Week 124 – Mar 25 – Scythian Fate – Dark Prog Thrash – Sydney/Melbourne – Australia
• Week 124 – Mar 24 – Hate & Deceit – Danish Melodic Death Metal – Slagelse, Denmark
• Week 123 – Mar 21 – Beyond the Pale – Dutch Metal – Utrecht, Netherlands
• Week 122 – Mar 12 – Thy Kingdom Will Burn – Melodic Death Metal – Kouvola, Suomi
• Week 121 – Mar 5 –  H.E.A.T. –  Hard Rock/Heavy Metal – Uppsland Väsby, Sweden              
• Week 120 – Feb 26 – Temple Balls – Hard Rock – Finland
• Week 119 – Feb 19 – Aeon of Awareness – Melodic Death Metal – Germany
• Week 118 – Feb 12 – Vreid – Black Metal / Black n Roll – Sogndal, Norway
• Week 117 – Feb 5 – Artilharia – Heavy/Melodic/Speed/Thrash Metal – Brazil
• Week 116 – Jan 29 – This week was for Alexi, COB, Rip my dear HeadBanger
• Week 115 – Jan 22 – Paradise Lost – Death/Doom/Gothic Metal – Halifax, West Yorkshire
• Week 114 – Jan 15 – Wintersun – Power/Folk/Melodic Death Metal – Helsinki, Finland
• Week 113 – Jan 1 – Dark Tranquillity – Melodic Death Metal – Gothenburg, Sweden
• Week 112 – Dec 25 – SepticFlesh – Greek Symphonic Metal – Athens, Greece
• Week 111 – Dec 18 – Die From Sorrow – Melodic Death Metal – Beijing, China
• Week 110 – Dec 11 – Fireproven – Progressive Metal – Finland
• Week 109 – Dec 4 – Wolfheart – Winter Metal – Myrskylä, Finland
• Week 108 – Nov 27 – Angelus Apatrida – Thrash – Albacete, Spain
• Week 107 – Nov 20 – Gojira – Heavy Metal – Bayonne, France
• Week 106 – Nov 13 – Enslaved – Prog/Black/Viking Metal – Sveio, Norway
• Week 105 – Nov 6 –  Like A Storm – Metal – Auckland, New Zealand

• Week 104 – Oct 30 – Firewind – Power/Heavy Metal – Thessaloniki, Greece
• Week 103 – Oct 23 – Shiraz Lane – Rock – Vantaa, Finland
• Week 102 – Oct 16 – The Agonist – Metal – Montreal, Canada

• Week 101 – Oct 9 – Butcher Babies – Heavy Metal – Los Angeles, CA
• Week 100 – Oct 3 – BaYaT – Alternative Rock – Novi Sad, Serbia 
• Week 98 –  Sept 25 – Dirt – Rock – Heksinki, Finland
• Week 98 –  Sept 18 – Unearth – MetalCore – Boston, Massachusetts
• Week 97 –  Sept 11 – Stratovarius – Power Metal – Finland
• Week 96 –  Sept 4 – SynlakrosS – Mel Death Metal – Valencia, Spain

• Week 95 – Aug 28 – Striker – New Wave Heavy Metal , Canada
• Week 94 – Aug 21 – Turisas – Metal –  Hämeenlinna, Finland
• Week 93 – Aug 14 – Tyr – Metal – Faroe Islands (Part of Denmark)
• Week 92 – Aug 7 –  After Release of EP – Interview with WuF, Kasperi Merilainen
• Week 91 – July 24 – Review of EP – Wake Up Frankie – Helsinki, Finland
• Week 90 – July 17 –  SPECIAL ON THRASH METAL BANDS
• Week 89 – July 13 – SPECIAL ON MELODIC DEATH METAL BANDS
• Week 88 – July 10 –  Hinayana Band – Melodic Death/Doom – Austin, Texas
• Week 87 –  July 3 –   Viikate – Rock/Metal – Kouvola, Finland
• Week 86 – June 26 – Lumberhead – Metal – Leipzig, Saxony (Germany)
• Week 85 – June 19 – Nidhoeggr – Pagan Death Metal – Bern, Switzerland
• Week 84 – June 12 – Aetherian – Dark Melodic Death Metal – Athens, Greece
• Week 83 – June 5 – Frosttide – Epic Dark Folk Metal – Jyväskylä, Finland
• Week 82 – May 29 – Amthrya – Advantgarde Death Black Metal – Italy
• Week 81 – May 22 – Suicidal Angels – Trash – Athens, Greece
• Week 80 – May 15 – Heart of Jordan – Alter Metal – Lansing, Michigan
• Week 79 – May 8 – Parasite, Inc. – Melodic Death Metal – Aalen, Germany
• Week 78 – May 1 – Wake Up Frankie – Grove/Trash/Rock – Helsinki, Finland
• Week 77 – Apr 24 – Abbath – Black Metal – Bergen, Norway
• Week 76 – Apr 17 – Entombed – Dark/Rock Death/Metal – Stockholm, Sweden
• Week 75 – Apr 10 – Cruish-Nir – Gothic/Doom – Romania
• Week 74 – Apr 3 – [Amatory] – MetalCore – St. Petersburg, Russia
• Week 73 – Mar 27 – Njord – Viking Rock – Sandviken, Sweden
• Week 72 – Mar 20 – Mystic Prophecy – Metal – Dortmund, Germany
• Week 71 – Mar 13 – Astralborne  – Melodic Death Metal – Toledo, Ohio
• Week 70 – Mar 6 –  Shakra – HardRock/Metal – Trub, Switzerland
• Week 69 – Feb 28 –  The Browning – Metal – Kansas City, Missouri
• Week 68 – Feb 21 –  Tempting Fate – Hard Rock/Metal – Los Angeles, California
• Week 67 – Feb 14 –  Dynazty – Hard Rock/Metal – Stockholm, Sweden
• Week 66 – Feb 7  –  Dreyelands – Melodic Progressive Metal – Budapest, Hungary
• Week 65 – Jan 31 – HoundWolf – Heavy Metal – Witten, Germany
• Week 64 – Jan 24 – Shadecrown – Melodic Death/Doom/Thrash Metal – Finland
• Week 63 – Jan 17 – Sea of Treachery – Heavy Metal – Cincinnati, OH
• Week 62 – Dec 21 – Immersed in Darkness – Black Metal – Brownsville, Texas
• Week 61 – Dec 14 – Skälmöld – Metal – Reykjavík, Iceland
• Week 60 – Dec 7  –  The Local Band – Rock – Helsinki, Finland
• Week 59 – Nov 30 – Re-Armed – Melodic Death/Thrash Metal – Kerava, Finland
• Week 58 – Nov 23 – Ashen Crown – Metal – West Midlands, UK
• Week 57 – Nov 16 – FEJD –  Swedish Folk – Trollhattan, Sweden
• Week 56 – Nov 9 – Forever Still – Hard Rock/Metal – Copenhagen, Denmark – This is where it all started.  ONE YEAR AGO, THEY WERE THE FIRST LET’S REVISIT
• Week 55 – Nov 2  –  Krigere Wolf – Black Death Metal – Catania, Sicily
• Week 54 – Oct 26 – Aephanemer – Melodic Death Metal – Toulouse, France
• Week 53 – Oct 19 – Infected Rain – Nu Metal/Nu Metalcore – Chișinău, Moldova
• Week 52 – Oct 12 – The Veer Union – Hard Rock/NuMetal – Vancouver, BC
• Week 51 – Oct 5 – Ligature Marks – Metal – Portland, Oregon
• Week 50 – Sept 28 – AEolian – Metal – Palma, Spain
• Week 49 – Sept 21 – Smorrah – Thrash/Death Metal – Gelsenkirchen, Germany
• Week 48 – Sept 14 – Beyond the Styx – Hardcore Metal – Tours, France
• Week 47 – Sept 7 – Brackish Tide –  Metal – Somerset County, MD
• Week 46 –  August 31 – Kryptos – Old School Heavy Metal – Bangalore, India
• Week 45 – August 24 – Spyder Volt – Alternative Rock – Laredo, Texas
• Week 44 –  August 17 – Descent of The ArchAngel – Underground Metalcore – US
• Week 43 –  August 10 – Dark Messiah – Heavy Metal – Winnipeg, Canada
• Week 42 –   August 3 – Arcsin -Modern Melodic Progressive Metal – Miami, FL 
• Week 41 –  July 27 –  Methane Metal – Southern Thrash Metal – Sweden/Jersey
• Week 40 –  July 20 –  Bloodred Hourglass – Melodic Death/Thrash – Mikkeli, FI
• Week 39 –  July 13 –  Atarka – Metal – Birmingham, UK. 
• Week 38 –  July 6   –  Silverbullet Band – Symp Heavy Metal – Riihimaki, Suomi
• Week 37 –  June 29 –  Hammer Down Hard – New Age Hard Rock/Metal
• Week 36 – June 22 –  Syth Glasgow – Old School Metal – Glasgow, Scotland
• Week 35 –  June 15  – Virtues – Metalcore – Brisbane, Australia
• Week 34 –  June 8  –  Vovkulaka  – Dark Angry Evil Metal – Odessa, Ukraine
• Week 33 –  June 1  –  Executioner  – Hardcore Thrash – San Antonio, Texas
• Week 32 – May 25 – Night Shadow – Power/Speed Metal – San Diego, California
• Week 31 – May 18 – Primitive Machine – Rock, Dublin City, Ireland
• Week 30 – May 11 – Daggerplay – Punk, R&R, Power Pop, Helsinki, Finland
• Week 29 – May 4 –  Kalmo – Finnish Doom Metal – Kerava, Finland
• Week 28 – April 27 – Repaid in Blood – Pure Fucking Geek Metal – San Jose, CA     

• Week 27 – April 20 – Arch Enemy – Melodic Death Metal – Halmstad, Sweden 
• Week 26 – April 13 – Falling Into Red – Hard Alter Rock – Pittsburg, PA
• Week 25 – April 6 – Tulsadoom – Evil Barbaric Heavy Thrash – Vienna, Austria 
• Week 24 – March 30 – Dream Troll – Old School Rock – Leeds, England
• Week 23 – March 23 – The 69 Eyes – Goth & Roll – Helsinki Finland
• Week 22 – March 16 – Ghost Season – Alternative Metal – Athens, Greece
• Week 21 – March 9 – Vane – Pirate Melodeath Metal – Poland
• Week 20 – March 2 – Ravenscroft – Rock – Orange, California
• Week 19 – Feb 23 –  Love Machine – Heavy Rock – Milano, Italy
• Week 18 – Feb 16 – Children of Bodom – Melodic Death Metal – Espoo, Finland
• Week 17 – Feb 9 – 10 Gauge – Hard Rock – England, UK
• Week 16 – Feb 2 – Everlit – Hard Rock – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Week 15 – Jan 26 – Victim of Illusion – Progressive Rock – Turin, Italy
• Week 14 – Jan 19 – September Sky – Alternative Metal – Indianapolis, Indiana
• Week 13 – Jan 12 – The Edge of Reason – Post Hardcore – Regensburg, Germany
• Week 12 – January 1, 2019 New Years Day – The HU BAND – MONGOLIA
• Week 11 – Dec 29 – Apocalyptica – Rock/Metal – Helsinki, Finland
• Week 10 – Dec 22 – Hidden Scars – Prog/Indus Metal – Las Vegas, Nevada
• Week  9 –  Dec 15 – In Hell – Black Death Metal – Lille, France
• Week  8 –  Dec 08 – Fireproven – Prog Death Metal – Tampere, Finland
• Week  7 – Nov 30 – Amon Amarth – Death Metal – Tumba, Sweden
• Week  6 – Nov 23 – Chernobyls Uterus – Grindcore Metal – Pripyat, Ukraine
• Week  5 – Nov 17 – Five Finger Death Punch – Metal – Las Vegas, Nevada
• Week  4 – Nov 10 – Universal Theory – Gothic Metal – Madrid, Spain
• Week  3 – Nov 03 – Mawcore – Hard Rock/Metal – Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
• Week  2 – Oct 27 – Sin7 Band – Heavy Metal – Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Week  1 – Oct 20 – Forever Still – Hard Rock/Metal – Copenhagen, Denmark

 

My HeadBangers welcome from Bergen, Norway:

WARDRUNA

“Lyfjaberg”

 

“Skugge”

How about some Nordic Dark Folk Metal?  I love it!  Before you judge it, let’s find out about these guys.

Wardruna is a Norwegian band formed in 2003 by Einar Selvik along with Gaahl and Lindy Fay Hella. They are dedicated to creating musical renditions of Norse cultural and esoteric traditions, and make significant use of Nordic historical and traditional instruments including deer-hide frame drums, flutes, kraviklyra, tagelharpe, mouth harp, goat horn and lur.  Non-traditional instruments and other sources of sound like trees, rocks, water, and torches are also used.

They have released five full-length albums, the first three based on Norse runes, the fourth based on the sayings of Odin from the Völuspá and other old Norse sources. The name Wardruna means “the guardian of secrets” or “she who whispers”.

 Selvik and Gaahl were both previously members of Gorgoroth, appearing together on the album Twilight of the Idols and the live DVD Black Mass Krakow 2004. Selvik had also recorded with other projects including Det Hedenske Folk, Bak de Syv Fjell, Jotunspor, Sahg, Dead to this World, Skuggsjá, and Faun.   Gaahl also recorded with Trelldom, Gaahlskagg, and God Seed.

OK my HeadBangers, GORGOROTH, yeah well I’d say they got it.  You all know I LOVE folk metal, but dark folk metal, what more could you ask for.  

The group’s debut album, Runaljod – Gap Var Ginnunga, was released on January 19, 2009 by Indie Recordings, followed by Runaljod – Yggdrasil on March 15,  2013.

In 2014, Selvik announced on the group’s official Facebook page that they would take part in composing the score for season 2 of VIKINGS along with Trevor Morris.   He later appeared as an actor on the show.  In 2015, Gaahl left Wardruna on amicable terms.

Wardruna’s third album, Runaljod – Ragnarok, was released on October 21, 2016. Thanks in part to the success of Vikings, the album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s World Albums chart.

“Kvitravn (White Raven)”

In August 2017, Wardruna headlined the 20th Alternative Music, Folk Music and Experimental Music Festival Ménuo Juodaragis in Dūburys Lake, Lithuania. In early 2018, they embarked on their first tour of North America.

In October 2019, Wardruna announced they are now signed to the major labels Sony Music/Columbia Records and they will be going on a European concert tour from March to August 2020.

In February 2020, the band announced the release of their fifth studio album in June 2020. The album is named Kvitravn, which means “white raven”. The album was delayed to January 22, 2021 due to the covid-19 pandemic.

Let’s meet these Norse Gods and Goddess:

Einar Selvik – Vocals, all instruments, composer

Lindy Fay Hella – Vocals, flute

Arne Sandvoll – Backing vocals, percussion

HC Dalgaard – Backing vocals, percussion, drums

Eilif Gundersen – Horns, flutes

John Stenersen – Moraharpa

 

My Thoughts:

Another band that I can’t believe I haven’t heard before!  Vikings omfg you all know that’s me and my favorite show.  All my Tatts are viking runes, so now I will have to get another one lol.  And I have a love of folk metal, all nordic folk metal.  Listen when your mind is still and it can take you to a different time and place.  Even without knowing the words that are being sung it grabs me.  I can feel a strength in their music, and a calmness at the same time.  We all hear something different in our music but at the same time it bonds us.  The fact that they play original instruments is another plus for the listener.  I really can’t say enough about this band, I wish I had gotten to see them when they were touring here, but maybe someday when this Covid is under control, but until then we have the internet and the music will never be stopped and either will I.  As I always say I will be here till the last song plays and I mean that.  There are times I run a little late but better late than never as the saying goes.  But seriously guys listen to them, it’s magical…..

Well that’s it for this week, join me next week for another band and another song.  In the meantime don’t stand to close to the fire if you can’t handle the burn……

 

My HeadBangers, starting this week I will post the blog on Saturday instead of Friday.  I need the extra day cause I hate rushing my bands.  Thanks guys see you on Saturdays.  Pass the word along…..

My HeadBangers, welcome from Athens, Greece, the Black Metal Band:

ROTTING CHRIST

 

OMFG HeadBangers little did I know about these guys, I’ve heard about them, but never took the time to listen.  Well guess what, yeah you know me to well guys.  What’s better than long blonde hair?   Long black hair is just fine……

Actually I was getting on here tonite to say I’m taking this week off, been soo busy, but somehow I stumbled on these guys and the blood starting moving so here I am with a black metal band and I’m loving these guys.

Let’s look at some bio on these Greek Gods:

 This Greek black metal band was formed in 1987. They are noted for being one of the first black metal bands within this region, as well as a premier act within the European underground metal scene. They are also responsible for creating the signature Greek black metal sound prevalent in the early 1990s.

 In the late 1980s, the band began as grindcore and released various demos and splits with other bands from the Athens area. The group would later alter their sound with influence from proto-black metal bands like Celtic Frost and Venom, and in the process became one of the genre’s instigators. Their 5-song demo, Satanas Tedeum, would show a grindcore/black metal crossover, followed by their career-breaking EP, Passage to Arcturo, in 1991.

One of band’s first major appearances was on the 1993 “Fuck Christ Tour” consisting of Immortal and Blasphemy. During this concert, some audience members had engaged in cutting and self-mutilation that resulted in hospitalization.  Before signing to Unisound Records (a now-defunct Athens-based independent record label founded in 1992), Mayhem’s Øystein Aarseth  had expressed interest in distributing the band through his Deathlike Silence Productions label, but due to Aarseth’s murder the same year, nothing materialized. The band would sign to Century Media in 1996 and remain on their roster for 10 years before joining Season of Mist.

Rotting Christ has played in many countries outside their native Greece, including both Americas, Greater Europe, Russia, the United Kingdom, Malta and the Middle East. Several heavy metal festivals around the world have hosted the band, including the 2003 Wacken Open Air in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Past tourmates have included  Behemoth, Vader, Melechesh, Finntroll and Nile, among many others.

“King Of A Stellar War”

I’ve seen a lot of Hair Moshing but these guys, FIRE…………………..

Rotting Christ was one of the initial bands to be announced to perform the Barge to Hell festival, which is a metal-themed cruise organized by Ultimate Metal Cruises and take place aboard Royal Caribbean’s Majesty of the Seas.. Barge to Hell set sail from Port of Miami on December 3, 2012.

As of 2012, Rotting Christ has been around for 25 years and is one of the longest running bands within the black metal genre. In celebration of the band’s longevity, the 2-DVD + 2-CD compilation Non Serviam: A 20 Year Apocryphal Story, shot in Athens on December 8, 2007, was released worldwide February 23, 2009.

They made their first appearance in south Asia on September 13, 2014 in India (Bangalore Open Air 2014 Edition)  and September 14, 2014 in Sri Lanka.   These guys have been everywhere and sometimes more than once.

To coincide with their 30th anniversary, the band also released an official biography entitled “Non Serviam: The Official Story Of Rotting Christ” in late November 2018, written by Sakis Tolis and British author Dayal Patterson (author of ‘Black Metal: Evolution Of The Cult’, ‘The Cult Never Dies Vol. One’ and ‘Into The Abyss’) and published by British publishing house Cult Never Dies. The book features extensive interviews with Sakis Tolis, Themis Tolis, Jim Mutilator, Morbid, George Emmanuel and members of the bands Watain, Mayhem, Enslaved, Moonspell, Blasphemy, Mystifier, Septicflesh, Behemoth, Macabre Omen, Cradle Of Filth and Immolation.  The book has since been released in Greek, Russian and Czech languages.  English please I have to read this one.

In 2020, Rotting Christ announced a collaboration with the video game developer Cold Symmetry on their action role-playing video game, Mortal Shell.  The game’s launch trailer, released in August 2020, featured the song “χξς (666)” as its soundtrack. In addition, a downloadable content pack, titled “Rotten Autumn”, was released for the game in October 2020 and includes, among other content, an alternative soundtrack composed by Rotting Christ.  Seriously is there anything these guys don’t do??

The permanent line-up consists of brothers Sakis Tolis (vocals and guitar) and Themis Tolis (drums). Third founding member Jim Patsouris played bass until 1996. Andreas Lagios was the bassist since 1997, taking the stead of Patsouris until the end of 2011. Nightfall’s Giorgos Bokos joined as a guitarist in 2005, replacing Costas Vasilakopoulos. In February 2012, Bokos announced his departure from the band for personal reasons. In December 2012, the new members of the band were announced: guitarist George Emmanuel and bassist Vagelis Karzis. George Emmanuel and Vagelis Karzis amicably left the band in February and May 2019 respectively to pursue other projects.

With that being said, let’s meet the band:

Sakis Tolis – Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar, Keyboards, Bass (Studio Only) 1987 – Present

Themis Tolis – Drums 1987 – Present

Kostas “Spades” Heliotis – Bass, Backing Vocals – 2019 – Present

Kostis Foukarakis – Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals – 2019 – Present

My Thoughts:

Seriously do these guys ever take a bad picture, my answer is a big HELL NO.  I never thought I would listen to these guys, but they got me 100 per cent.  They started in 1987, and are stronger than ever.  I have a lot of respect for bands that stick to it no matter who comes and goes and Rotting Christ has seen and been through it all.  I have to include this, I like a strong man that tells it how it is and sticks to his beliefs:

Over the years, the group has faced controversy due to their name and gained international media attention in November 1999 during the 2000 United States Presidential Primaries for Republican Nomination  when Candidate/Christian conservative Gary Bauer accused the band of being “anti-Catholic”, among other things. In response to Bauer’s criticism, Sakis Tolis wrote:

Living in (so called) democratic societies, I think everyone should have the right to call religions as he/she wants. We in fact simply believe they are “rotting”! We are not a “satanic-crusader” type of band but rather one of the many bands that represent the dark side in nowadays Metal music.

You tell him Sakis.  Some people are self righteous assholes.  But look at the extremely intelligent response he, Gary Bauer, was given by this metal head, I just love it.  I could go on all nite talking about this band, but I’ll leave it up to my HeadBangers who haven’t listened to them, trust me I am one of their biggest fans now, ride or die to this black metal band.

Well that’s it for this week my HeadBangers.  Join me next week for another band and another song.  In the meantime don’t stand to close to the fire if you can’t handle the burn…..

My HeadBangers welcome from Sverige, Sweden:

CARMILLA BAND

“Underground”

“Nevermore”

Well my HeadBangers what do you think?  

 

Ok HeadBangers let’s take a look at the bio on these guys:

The Band was founded by Hakan Alander, Daniel Karsson and Daniel Trabold in 2016.  They started to get serious about songwriting and said they would write their own music, and didn’t start recording till 2017.

In 2017, Oksana Blohm Hedlund joined the band as the female frontwoman.  The following year 2018, Felix Bjorklund (Bass) joined the band after the release of the “Devil’s Feast” album on digital platform.  Carmilla also released 2 videos. one with Felix and one with temporary bass player, Mathias Nojd.

In 2018, Daniel Trabold decided to leave the band to spend more time with his family.  Oskana’s husband, Dennis Blohm Hedlund became the new drummer and the band released the “Deflector” album.  

In October 2019, the band cut ties with Oksana and Dennis due to differences in opinion about the continued development of the band.

Felix Forsberg brought his talent as a drummer to the band and has had a huge impact on the Carmilla sound.  During this time Nathalie Astrada joined the band as the new voice of Carmilla.  Nathalie is an extremely talented vocalist that works hard every day along with the rest of the band.  We are proud to continue the journey through the next album with her.

On May 16, 2021, Nathalie and the band parted ways.  Carmilla wishes Nathalie all the best in the future, both personally and artistically.

Here’s a bit of history on the name Carmilla.  Some say that Carmilla was the name of Dracula’s mother, she was one of a king.   The band picked this name as they have Frontwomen, and they also are one of a kind.

Let’s meet the band:

Left to right:

Felix Forsberg – Drums

Hakan Alander – Guitar

Felix Bjorklund – Bass

Daniel Karlsson – Guitar

Nathalie Astrada – Vocals

Also HeadBangers, May 21, the band releases 3 new songs, Underground (above) , Angel Eye, and Burning Heart on Spotify.

My Thoughts:

My HeadBangers, if it’s one thing we all know there are many changes in a band till the right people come together.  Carmilla is set on their future, with a new frontwoman.  And in their words, they will be back faster, harder and ready for the next chapter in their journey.  This is a very talented band.  I’ve heard some songs that are just instrumental and they are really great.  How they come up with all this music in such a short amount of time amazes me.  We are all looking forward to see where life takes Carmilla, and I’ll be here to keep you updated on all the new things they have in store.  Give the band a follow, listen to the music, you won’t be disappointed trust me.

Well my HeadBangers that’s it for this week.  Join me next week for another band and another song.  In the meantime don’t stand to close to the fire if you can’t handle the burn…..