Reviewed by Gloon
A Dead Poem sees Rotting Christ step away from their black metal roots into the realms of goth rock and doom. The music is slower and more melodic and the vocals more anguished and less harsh than on previous releases. Though stylistically this is a big jump from their blackmetal days, the riffs and unique vocals are still very much RC just in a more refined and controlled way. Xytras from Samael produces and places keyboards on this release but has little influence on their sound except for the track 'Out of Spirits' which sounds similar in structure and style to Xytras full time band. Another guest includes Moonspell's Fernando who supplies backing vocals on 'Among the Storms', his band probably being a good indicator of where RC are now heading. Listening to ADP one also detects a subtle Mediterranean sound now filtering through their music and adding to their atmosphere. The problem I have however with ADP is not Rotting Christ's new style but rather their lack of diversity on this album. All the songs are slow to mid paced making listening to the album a little tedious and predictable with later songs sounding samey and dull. The album also lacks aggression, with RC more than comfortable playing within their new Dark/Doom style. Overall not a total disaster though older fans be warned, this isn't like their older albums.