ROTTING CHRIST is a Black Metal band from Greece. "Der Perfekte Traum" is an EP by the group, originally released in 1999, but re-issued by Century Media Records in 2021.

This EP is often regarded as one of the worst releases by this group, and upon listening to it, I have to agree. I came into this EP with no prior knowledge of the band, but just to give a little context, ROTTING CHRIST were one of the first Greek Black Metal bands to ever exist, and have toured with the likes of IMMORTAL during both bands' early years. They are essentially Metal royalty. "Der Perfekte Traum" came on the heels of their wildly successful album "A Dead Poem," and was released days before their follow up record, "Sleep of the Angels," which was successful enough to allow the band to embark on their first US tour.

Now why does that mean that this particular EP is maligned? Well first, let me get this out of the way: the two studio tracks on the EP are fantastic. "Der Perfekte Traum (The Perfect Dream)" features catchy melodies, TYPE O NEGATIVE-esque keyboards, and a general Gothic atmosphere that they had begun incorporating on "A Dead Poem." "Moonlight" is similarly catchy but features more of a Rock feel than the preceding track. The songs are very well done. Here's the catch though: both tracks would end up on "Sleep of the Angels" in some capacity. "Der Perfekte Traum (The Perfect Dream)" was featured in the main track listing of that album, whereas "Moonlight" was a bonus track. Therefore, why would anyone listen to this EP when they can listen to "Sleep of the Angels?"

Now for the main reason why this EP is maligned: the live tracks are terrible. I mean, obviously the songs are very good and the band's performance is exceptional, but the quality of the recording reminds me of how it sounds when I listen to the videos my friends would take of my gigs when I was in college. It sounds like someone held up an iPhone in the middle of a concert, took the audio from the video and turned it into a bootlegged live album.

Overall, of all the releases you could choose to re-issue from a band, why would you pick one of the worst ones? I'm a little disappointed that this EP was my introduction to ROTTING CHRIST, but I enjoyed the original studio tracks enough that I would be willing to look past this review to check out the rest of their discography. Poor choice Century Media, poor choice.