The Summary Judgment Reviews:

	Title: Khronos Artist: Rotting Christ Label: Century Media Release Date: 8/29/00 Rating: 4 Skulls
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Submitted by Requiem (1/17/01):
Anyone familiar with the melodic or atmospheric death metal genres should easily recognize the name Rotting Christ. Since their formation a little over a decade ago, the band has brought freshness while paving the path for this ever-evolving style of music. The earliest records brought much speed and aggression to the style while newer releases were more slowed down, more melodic and much more keyboard oriented. The new album, Khronos, craftily mixes elements from both new and old to create a fresh sound for themselves.
Rotting Christ have not undergone any major changes over this time, but rather have undergone a slow evolution into what they are today. They have always had some really great demonic sounding vocals, similar to those heard by Samael. The music has always contained plenty of heaviness and aggression, but most importantly the inclusion of melodic elements and multi-layered rhythm sections. Most recently the band has given the keyboards more of a dominating role in their sound.
The album opener, "Thou Art Blind" brings out the speed and aggression of the past with this song barreling through almost non-stop till just before the 2 minute mark when the song comes to a halt. The next track, "If It Ends Tomorrow" is my personal favorite. Being a much slower and laid back tune similar to their most recent material, the song demonstrates some surprisingly effective clean vocals on the chorus with a great effect used which gives the song its greatness. Other highlights are "Art of Sin" which has a superb finger-tap guitar part that brings to mind the mastery of Sepultura's "Inner Self." Later in the album there are some industrial elements brought in, being most apparent on "You Are I." The album's title track utilizes a unique approach in dropping out the guitars/vox for a portion of the verse while dropping out the keyboards/bass during the small remaining portion of the verse in which just the guitars, drums and vocals are heard. And besides that interesting little arrangement, there is a really killer drum part towards the end of the song making this a contender for best song of the album.
The more I listen to this album, the more I find that I like. For fans of old, Rotting Christ have brought back the speed we haven't heard since Non Servium and for fans of new, there are plenty of keyboards and that midpaced groove. Khronos covers the band's history while continuing on their quest to reach new levels in the constant evolution of melodic death metal. This band has been consistent at releasing great albums and Khronos is no exception. Just give it some time and you will find many great elements that will keep you searching for more.

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