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The Apocryphal Spells, Vol. I is an EP collection of bonus tracks from across Rotting Christ's catalog (with the companion The Apocryphal Spells, Vol. II). Greek black metal is its own thing under the black metal umbrella and these songs are less "traditional" than the band's typical output. What we have are a couple of slow, creepy cuts in "Astral Embodiment" and "Phobia" that aren't too far off from what you might expect from this band with the presence of traditional heavy metal riffs and the band's version of "clean singing." They aren't anything revolutionary, but they have a bit of mood and aren't terrible. "Moonlight" is a decent black and roll song and the covers of Kreator's "Tormentor" and "Flag of Hate/Pleasure to Kill," from back in 1996 (before they were called Rotting Christ) are solid but not materially different from the originals. All the songs are available as bonus tracks on other releases, so there's nothing here that isn't already available, making The Apocryphal Spells, Vol. I more of a niche release as die-hard fans probably own these already. If you are a completist, by all means grab it, but nothing it contains is amazing, so you probably don't really need it.