Review by Joshua on March 19, 2005.

The combination of retro thrash, classical British style metal, and Gothenburg-style death is becoming increasingly popular these days, with near-coetaneous releases from Herod, Into Eternity and Trivium. Herod, in places, comes very close to the classic thrash sound that permeated metal in the late 1980s and are the closest of the three to a classic metal sound. They’re anachronistic, perhaps, but the effect is remarkable: this album really grows on the listener because Herod, like the thrash metal giants of yore, took time to write interesting songs, whose strong parts etch themselves into the listener’s head. So far, so good. However, this album’s nothing perfect.

The incorporation of Gothenburg-style death metal is nothing new, but their brand of thrash metal sounds a bit familiar, too. Remember Armored Saint? Opened for Metallica in 1991? Hey, these guys do too. They pay great homage to Armored Saint at every opportunity; parts of some songs sound stripped and sampled from Armored Saint’s late material. Fortunately, Herod have a more polished sound than most eighties metal ever dreamed, with impressive segments in every single song. In fact, Herod have an amazing amount of musical talent that shines through where such forgotten thrash metal openers fell apart; the guitars on “A New Hope”, “The End”, and “When your Body Falls” are great examples. Well, therein lies the rub: every song contains impressive segments, but many of them sound contrived, and individual songs are often inconsistent. I’m not sure what comprises their songwriting process, but there’s at least one part of every song where I think “quit showing off.” Such egotistical soloing should’ve died with Yngwie Malmsteen’s career.

The best way to describe each song is a sum of cohesive parts, all arranged haphazardly. This serves to keep the album interesting, but makes for songs that are appreciable only in parts — and hard to follow, overall. Musicians might love the technical finesse and sharp transitions, but they don’t always make sense… and that inconsistent, piecemeal feeling I get from many songs probably will annoy some listeners. Thus their style is excellent, their talent impressive, and parts of this are memorable, but I can say no more than “promising” about their overall composition.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 7
Atmosphere: 5
Production: 8
Originality: 5
Overall: 7

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Review by Kostas on January 29, 2023.

"Triarchy of The Lost Lovers" marks the end of the early black metal trilogy of Rotting Christ and their lean towards a more gothic and experimental sound. The black metal elements and style are of course still present in every song, but this time in a much more mature and pleasant way. Maybe it is due to Sakis and Themis having grown up by that time, or them suffering from measles during the recording, but this album sounds unbiased and is definitely one level higher than the band's previous two.

More specifically, there is an obvious improvement in mixing and production. Every instrument sounds exactly where and as it should, nothing too loud or too low. This, alongside the members of the band having evolved admirable skills, is what helps the sinister cult atmosphere of this record build up. In addition, Sakis seems to have had enough experience to sing in a much more physical way, unlike the previous records where he really just seemed to try too hard.

From the very first second of the first track you know this album is going to be good. The rifts are catchy and the solos are great, leaving you stoked by their genuine complexity and originality. The mood swaps offer a variety of melodies and songs. From the nostalgic, maybe even romantic in some way "King of A Stellar War" to the aggressive, fast "Archon", there is a song for every demanding fan of the band out there. It is in fact sad the drums and at some points keyboards still sound weak and boring, making this album lose some of its might and preventing it from being at the top of the band's discography.

To sum up, "Triarchy of The Lost Lovers" is the first album someone who doesn't know Rotting Christ should listen to. It is not perfect but it is the record that has all the good elements of the band's first steps: amazing melodies, variety, a unique atmosphere... plus some awesome fun and at the same time unusual lyrics. In a few words, although not their best, this album is the ideal introduction to the band and a monument of black metal history.

Rating: 8.1 out of 10

Review by Kostas on January 29, 2023.

"Triarchy of The Lost Lovers" marks the end of the early black metal trilogy of Rotting Christ and their lean towards a more gothic and experimental sound. The black metal elements and style are of course still present in every song, but this time in a much more mature and pleasant way. Maybe it is due to Sakis and Themis having grown up by that time, or them suffering from measles during the recording, but this album sounds unbiased and is definitely one level higher than the band's previous two.

More specifically, there is an obvious improvement in mixing and production. Every instrument sounds exactly where and as it should, nothing too loud or too low. This, alongside the members of the band having evolved admirable skills, is what helps the sinister cult atmosphere of this record build up. In addition, Sakis seems to have had enough experience to sing in a much more physical way, unlike the previous records where he really just seemed to try too hard.

From the very first second of the first track you know this album is going to be good. The rifts are catchy and the solos are great, leaving you stoked by their genuine complexity and originality. The mood swaps offer a variety of melodies and songs. From the nostalgic, maybe even romantic in some way "King of A Stellar War" to the aggressive, fast "Archon", there is a song for every demanding fan of the band out there. It is in fact sad the drums and at some points keyboards still sound weak and boring, making this album lose some of its might and preventing it from being at the top of the band's discography.

To sum up, "Triarchy of The Lost Lovers" is the first album someone who doesn't know Rotting Christ should listen to. It is not perfect but it is the record that has all the good elements of the band's first steps: amazing melodies, variety, a unique atmosphere... plus some awesome fun and at the same time unusual lyrics. In a few words, although not their best, this album is the ideal introduction to the band and a monument of black metal history.

Rating: 8.1 out of 10