The Heretics (album)

The Heretics
Studio album by Rotting Christ
Released	15 February 2019
Recorded	2018
Studio	Pentagram Studios (Athens, Greece)[1]
Genre	Melodic black metal
Length	43:36
Label	Season of Mist
Producer	Sakis Tolis
Rotting Christ chronology
Rituals (2016) The Heretics (2019) Pro Xristou (2024)

The Heretics is the thirteenth full-length album by Greek extreme metal band Rotting Christ. It was released on 15 February 2019 via Season of Mist.^[2][3] Loudwire named it one of the 50 best metal albums of 2019.^[4]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Sakis Tolis, except on songs "Πιστεύω", written by Nikos Kazantzakis, and "The Raven", adapted from a poem by Edgar Allan Poe; all music is composed by Sakis Tolis^[1]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"In the Name of God"	4:14
2.	"Ветры злые" (Russian for "Evil Winds")	3:13
3.	"Heaven and Hell and Fire"	4:52
4.	"Hallowed Be Thy Name"	5:06
5.	"Dies Irae"	3:46
6.	"Πιστεύω" (Greek for "I Believe")	3:42
7.	"Fire, God and Fear"	4:50
8.	"The Voice of the Universe"	5:23
9.	"The New Messiah"	3:07
10.	"The Raven"	5:23
Total length:		43:36

Digipak edition bonus track

No.	Title	Length
11.	"The Sons of Hell"	4:18
Total length:		47:54

7-inch vinyl bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
11.	"The Sons of Hell"	4:18
12.	"Phobos"	4:12
Total length:		52:06

Personnel

Rotting Christ

• Sakis Tolis – vocals, guitars, bass guitar, keyboards, percussion, production^[1]
• Themis Tolis – drums

Additional personnel

• Stelios Steele – poem narration (track 1, 4, 10)
• Alexis Karametis – vocals (backing) (track 6)
• Stratis Steele – vocals (choirs)
• Alexandros Louziotis – vocals (choirs)
• Giannis Stamatakis – vocals (choirs)
• Theodoros Aivaliotis – vocals (choirs)
• Nikos Velentzas – percussion
• Stamatis Ampatalis – percussion
• Vasilis Koutsouflakis – percussion
• Manos Six – percussion
• Irina Zybina – additional vocals (track 2)
• Dayal Patterson – narration (track 3, 7)
• Melechesh Ashmedi – vocals (track 8)

Production

• Tony Lindgren – mastering
• Vyacheslav Smishko – artwork
• George Emmanuel – engineering
• Maximos Manolis – cover art
• Jens Bogren – mixing

Charts

Chart (2019)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[5]	61
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[6]	157
French Albums (SNEP)[7]	154
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[8]	51
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[9]	33
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[10]	13
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[11]	27

References

1. Rotting Christ - The Heretics discogs.com. Retrieved 23 March 2019
2. New album: The Heretics on rotting-christ.com Retrieved 22 March 2019
3. Season of Mist's Website for Rotting Christ Retrieved 23 March 2019
4. "The 50 Best Metal Albums of 2019". Loudwire. Townsquare Media. December 3, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
5. "Ultratop.be – Rotting Christ – The Heretics" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
6. "Ultratop.be – Rotting Christ – The Heretics" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
7. "Lescharts.com – Rotting Christ – The Heretics". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
8. "Offiziellecharts.de – Rotting Christ – The Heretics" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
9. "Swisscharts.com – Rotting Christ – The Heretics". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
10. "Rotting Christ Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
11. "Rotting Christ Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 December 2021.