Metal veteran brothers Sakis and Themis Tolis of the Greek metal band ROTTING CHRIST have reached immortality by having a fossil named after them! Two researchers from the Natural History Museum in Luxembourg recently found a new brittle-star species and decided to name it “Brezinacantha Tolis” honoring the Tolis brothers.
Frontman Sakis Tolis comments: “This is one of the greatest honors I have received as an individual and musician and it gives me power to keep on creating and offer these wild times.”
Dr. Ben Thuy and and Dr. Lea Numberger (research associates at the Natural History Museum Luxembourg) comment on the naming: “When we first saw the fossil brittle star, we immediately knew it was something exciting. It turned out to be a species new to science, and so we had the privilege to name it. With the choice of the name, we wanted to combine our joint passions for science and music, and decided to honour one of our favourite bands.
“The new fossil belongs to an animal that lived in a dark, toxic environment in the depths of an ancient ocean, dwelling on the remains of their dead predecessors. This is pure black metal! Naming this species after Sakis and Themis Tolis is our way to issue an academic recognition of their talent and hard work. Now they own a small piece of immortality, because scientific species names are for eternity.”
More info on the discovery and naming of “Brezninacantha Tolis” can be found here.
ROTTING CHRIST‘s latest album, The Heretics, was released in February 2019.
