«Sleep of the Angels» from January 1999 is the most gothic point of their discography: melodic, slow and dark, with keyboards audible on almost every track and the guitars leaving room for the atmosphere.
Country: Greece
Genre: Gothic Metal
For fans of: Moonspell, Tiamat, Paradise Lost
The recording took place in September 1998 at the same Woodhouse Studio in Germany, again produced by Xy of Samael. All the tracks are composed and written by Sakis Tolis, with guests adding guitar solos and extra vocals — Waldemar Sorychta plays lead guitar on «Victoriatus» and Eddy Kante sings on the partly German-language «Der Perfekte Traum». «After Dark I Feel» became a music video directed by Vasilis Arnaoutoglou.
The album backed the band’s first US tour, where they also played with Cradle of Filth. In late 1999 their name became part of a political row in America: then Republican presidential hopeful Gary Bauer called them «anti-Catholic» and on December 2, 1999 the band responded with an official statement that they are not a «satanic-crusading» act. The American edition added the bonus track «Moonlight» and in June 2026 a new vinyl reissue came out from Season of Mist.
Our take
The album divides fans, but it has an atmosphere hard to find elsewhere in the genre. «After Dark I Feel» is perhaps the most beautiful track of that period.
See also
Varathron – Patriarchs of Evil · Macabre Omen – Gods of War · Rotting Christ – Tribute · Rotting Christ – A Dead Poem · Rotting Christ – Khronos
