It is inevitable not to mention Rotting Christ in this review, since my admiration for the band and, in particular, for Sakis, led me to explore their parallel projects in search of a relatively similar sound. I was pleasantly surprised to find a magnificent album from his solo project that evokes that time of Rotting Christ "Intermedia" (between "Triarchy of the Lost Lovers" and "Genesis"), when the band distanced itself from the more brutal sound of its first works and It took a turn towards a gothic, dark, atmospheric and dense sound that all fans of the band know.
If you are looking for new sounds, compositions and atmospheres different from those already described, this album may not be for you, since Sakis does not reinvent the wheel by exploring new genres. Many of the riffs will sound quite familiar to Rotting Christ songs, even some that have been used in their more recent work. For example, the central riff of "The Dawn of the New Age" is very similar to the single that Rotting Christ released in 2020, "Fire and Flame", as well as the riff of his new song "Pix Lax Dax" from the upcoming . Rotting Christ album, "Pro Xristoy" (I had the pleasure of hearing this song live in Santiago de Chile last Friday, February 23). Although this may be considered negative for some listeners, as I mentioned at the beginning of the review, for me it is not at all, since, regardless of whether the songs share similarities with other Sakis ideas, they are still majestic and have a soul of their own. In no way does it sound like a clone.
One of the highlights of this album is the vocal theme. Songs like "My Salvation", which begins with a clean vocal, have pleased me quite a bit (Sakis's vocal change over the years is well known, so this aspect positively surprised me). In "Among the Fires of Hell", Sakis once again evokes that putrid voice of yesteryear that has been lost since Rotting Christ released "Rituals" in 2016.
In conclusion, if I had to look for a similarity or point of comparison, this album would be the little brother of “A dead poem”, “Sleep of the Angels” and that entire era of glory of Rotting Christ, full of melodies, desolate atmospheres, Catchy riffs, strident drums, with very good production. The high points of “Among the Fires of Hell” in terms of composition and according to my tastes, would be “My Salvation”, “Among the Fires of Hell”, “The Dawn of a New Age” and “Ad Astra”. /link