1. First of all, - congratulations on the release of Rituals. I did not expect anything less awesome than your previous work Κατά τον δαίμονα εαυτού! Rituals just enchanted me from the first minutes, and I must tell you it still holds me under the strong impression: In other words, I can not stop listening to this record!

                    Is that the exact effect you wanted to reach when creating it?

                    

                    Sakis: This is the type of feedback that always makes me proud. Such feedback is the reason, why I create music. To speak to other people's soul. And it seems, that I did that to yours.

                    

                    2. Is there a certain concept, represented in this album? As far as I can see, most of the texts contain certain names, names of gods and demons (even the first song itself), not all of them are dark ... However it seems, that Satan is above all of them. Also, why did you choose to name your actual CD "Rituals"?

                    

                    Sakis: This is an album with 10 songs ­representing 10 different rituals around the World. Simple as that. And the concept per song is as follows:

                    

                    1.­ In Nomine dei Nostri

                    Is a song that is referring to a black mass ritual.

                    

                    2.­ נגמר זה ­Ze nigmar

                    Refers to the last 7 sentences of Jesus Christ on the cross and is written in Aramaic, the spoken language of Christ.

                    Ze nigmar translated is “It is finished”

                    

                    3. ­ἘλθὲΚύριε ­(Elthe Kyrie)

                    Translates to 'Come Lord' and was influenced by the tragic ancient Greek poet Euripides and more specifically his creation 'Bakxais'. This pure bacchanalian play refers to the coming of the new god. The ritualistic atmosphere of this historical theatre drama influenced us lyrically as well as musically and resulted in this song that you are currently listening to.

                    Special guest:Danai Katsameni­a actress of the national Hellenic theater

                    

                    4. ­Ἄπαγε Σατανά ­(Apage Satana)

                    Is a song influenced by a Christian orthodox exorcism in which a character takes part in the ritual

                    

                    5. ­Les litanies de satan (Fleurs du mal)

                    A song based on Charles Baudelaire's poem ­Fleurs de mal-

                    http://fleursdumal.org/poem/191

                    French part sung by :Vorph (SAMAEL)

                    

                    6. ­For a voice like thunder

                    A song based on William Blake’s poetic sketches. Prologue Intended for a Dramatic Piece of King Edward the Fourth

                    

                    http://poetry.about.com/od/poemsbytitlep/l/blblakeprologue.htm

                    Prologue narration by Nick Holmes (PARADISE LOST )

                    

                    7. Του Θάνατου­ (Tou Thanatou)

                    This is a Greek traditional elegy or funeral song. A call to Charon.

                    

                    8­. Konx Om Pax

                    A song that is influenced by the most famous of the secret religious rites and rituals of ancients: ELEFSINIA MYSTERIES. The title translated as Hear­ See­ Hush.

                    

                    9­. Devadevam

                    A ritual based on indian chakra sung in Sanskritic

                    

                    10. ­The Four Horsemen

                    Based on the apocalypse of John...The four horsemen of the apocalypse.This is an APHRODITE’S CHILD song cover .

                    

                    BONUS SONG

                    

                    11. ­Lok'tar ogar

                    A song completely written in Orcish and meaning victory or death.

                    

                    3. How did you get the idea to represent one song in French? Do you speak the language and how easy was it - to learn the french text and to bring it to life in your composition? (From my experience - French is one of the most difficult languages).

                    

                    Sakis: We pay a tribute to a special french poet Charles Baudelaire

                    He is an important French poet so we wanted the official language which is French. No, my French is not good enough to sing so i asked my good friend Vorph, from Samael to contribute in his native language and together we created French. Why French? Why not! Metal has no borders!

                    

                    4. What defines a true "Ritualist"?

                    

                    Sakis: The sublime level of spiritualism.

                    

                    5. Which "ritual" can be (and should be) considered the main one in man's life?

                    

                    

                    Sakis: Everyone can choose his own path...Devotion and spiritualism always show the way for each individual differently.

                    

                    6. Speaking about the visual representation of this CD... does the portrait on the cover represent a certain ritual or reflect the transformation of the person, departure from everything social and casual ("normal") in general?

                    

                    Sakis: Not a specific ritual...the picture of a ritual is there. Definitely refers to an ancient ritual.There is so much hidden knowledge in the past.

                    

                    7. Which ritual (or...tradition) from those which are present in the World's history is the most horrible one and why?

                    

                    Sakis: The modern religion rituals in my opinion.Someone is looking for some victims there and plays with the spiritualism of any individual.

                    

                    8. "Rituals" sounds very inspiring, very honest, - a lot as anthem calling to an action. At certain moments it's even possible to think, that this record must have been born very naturally and "easy". On the other hand however, it's not always easy to find the proper words and melodies in order to explain your vision of the world. How was it - working on "Rituals"? What moments would you have described as the most difficult ones and why?

                    

                    Sakis: This album might sound simple but it took more of my time to create. This is because I worked hard to capture the ideas. I read a lot, I searched myself a lot - a procedure that takes time indeed. I want to be as honest as possible and you know honesty takes time Natalia! Maybe some people would expect more guitar riffs or for it to be more complex but simplicity sometimes is way more difficult than complexity. So to capture the concept and the ideas was a different procedure from my previous albums .

                    

                    9. Would you be so kind as to tell us more about working over the composition ‘Ἐλθὲ Κύριε (Elthe Kyrie)’? I know Danai Katsameni, actress of the National Greek Theater participated in its recording... Her part is very emotional, - the vocals' work is so great, that each line sounds truly and from the soul.

                    

                    Sakis: Danai is an actress of the hellenic theater in Athens. After attending an ancient greek tragedy i was impressed indeed by her capabilities and performance so i kindly asked her to contribute to a song that was quite similar to an ancient tragedy.She accepted and we went ahead with one of the most furious atmospheric songs we have ever created. Danai performs Evripidis, Bakxais in the best possible way

                    

                    10. Which song from "Rituals" has a biggest impact on you and why?

                    

                    Sakis: I would be a liar if i tell you one! All songs are considered my children so i wont choose just one of them. Now if you want to know which song took me more to create...this is ELTHE KYRIE. Very hard to combine tragedy and black metal!!!!!

                    

                    11. Rotting Christ exists for more than 20 years now, I am sure, there have been hundreds of live performances. However, I can not skip asking if any of them have taken place at some "ritualistic" or "cultist" location? If you could choose, where from the known mystical places/ locations you would have liked to make a concert where would it be?

                    

                    Sakis: We count more than 1200 shows all over the world in every corner of this planet and any show we give is a kind of ritual! Maybe someday we will be happy play on an ancient monument or something, not particularly in greece but anywhere there is historical interest. That would be majestic for us. We want to feel our ancestors vibes there!

                    

                    12. Can you name any mystical cases that have ever happened to you and to the band itself?

                    

                    Sakis: Natalia...i can not get the question please....I am sorry indeed!

                    

                    13. What are your plans regarding visualisation of "Rituals' " songs? Are you going to film some video? And if yes, why exactly for ThaT song?

                    

                    Sakis: yes a video is in process… As well as some other visual creations. Each song of the album needs a special treatment and this is what we are trying to do.Stay tuned please!

                    

                    14. Thanks for your time! Please share some words addressed to your russian fans and visitors of our portal.

                    

                    

                    Sakis: Russia...you are always in our hearts!

                    You guys keep the spirit alive and soon we come to your land for some rituals.

                    Until then…

                    

                    KEEP THE SPIRIT ALIVE!

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