Showing posts with label Symphonic Metal - usually. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Symphonic Metal - usually. Show all posts

Thursday 19 April 2018

Therion : Beloved Antichrist


Therion
Beloved Antichrist
Nuclear Blast

There is a statue of engineer George Louis Stephenson outside Chesterfield railway station with an inscription that reads “Conquest over space and time”.  It could be equally applied to founder member of Therion, Christofer Johnsson, for this three and a half hours, three disc, three act opera, driven not by steam but by rock.

It’s a loose adaptation of Russian philosopher and theologian Vladimir Solovyov’s Tale of the Antichrist, a venerated book about the coming of the Deceiver.  It is better understood by also listening to the composer himself for his own explanation on YouTube.

He has finally fulfilled his lifelong ambition of writing an opera despite hitting the creative buffers for years by sustaining interest and pace with rock music.  Modern rock combines and alternates with the best hand-picked operatic voices, from bass-baritone to soprano, from solos to choirs and from simplicity to fanfare.

By also overcoming debilitating spinal disc herniations, by coincidentally flying to Moscow, Solovyov’s birthplace and resting place, Christopher Johnsson has completed his own special journey and this aural epic that entertains as well as any music or film, of a similar length.

NE

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