That debate aside, there's little arguing the importance of Rotting Christ's musical legacy. They delivered three of black metal's most enduring and unique offerings, before giving melodic metal a kick in the pants nearly a decade before it even needed one, and then coming full circle by fusing their passion for both. In that respect, little has changed on _Theogonia_, despite the heavier reliance on guitars and blast-beats on "The Sign of Prime Creation" and "Keravnos Kivernitos" indicating otherwise.

These serve simply as the opening flurries in an assault on the senses that quite literally runs the gauntlet of Rotting Christ's past and sows ample seeds for its future. Along the way, you'll encounter choirs, strings, female vocals, keyboards, folk and classical influences, to name but a few. Yet rather than hurl them at the listener in a single convoluted amalgam, the band pick their spots like true masters of their craft, ensuring that by the time the album grounds to a halt the highlights number well into double digit territory.