Artist : Therion

Album : Beloved Antichrist

Release Date : 09-02-2018

Added : 20-05-2018

Usually, Americans are quite fond of the word 'Awesome' and they use it in every way, and yet this is the word that comes first to my mind with the release of this gigantic work by Sweden's 'Christopher Johnson' : Awesome, Spectacular, Monumental, Fantastic, Grand, Unique and we could add some more adjectives because, we can always try to search, there is no work equivalent to this day for this metal opera. Hovewer, we waited impatiently : I remember a concert at the z7 near Basel in October 2012 where Christopher began to talk about his opera that he had already begun for a long time. Revenues in January 2016 in the same place, we even had the right to some exracts to 'take the temperature' with the fans. And now, it was worth the wait because the dream became reality in early February 2018, the precious digibook containing the 3 CDs is finally available and for several months, listening after listening, the 46 compositions are incremented little by little in my head because it took all this time to digest this impressive work. Impossible to describe this opera succinctly as I usually do for a classic album and this 'Beloved Antichrist' requires much more. As this work is something very special and may confuse some (even many), and to avoid a chronic too long to read, it is first necessary to adhere to 2 kinds of music in the margins of the general public: the metal with the power of its guitar riffs and the opera but in the classic sense of the term, hat is to say the operatic art that tells a story interpreted by singers with fixed vocal registers (Soprano, Mezzo soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone, Bass). Well, I have already lost more than half of the readers and when I told you that these two styles coexist and so it is precisely this alchemy that makes a work completely apart, I have certainly lost a good part of those who stay. You are still here ? we continue.

The original theme:
To start, as in any opera, you need a story with intrigue and twists : on this side, you are served with a rather free adaptation of the essay of the Russian philosopher 'Vladimir Soloviev' from the end of nineteenth century entitled 'Short story about the Antichrist' which is available in French Here. By Antichrist, we designate a person or a group of people who try to replace Jesus Christ and this figure appears in different places in the texts of the different religions which origin comes from the notion of "anti-messiah" present in the Judaism. Soloviev's essay on this subject tells how a man sees himself receiving the spirit of the Antichrist and how, in a world plunged in chaos, repels the invasion of the Chinese and the Japanese, the Europeans being occupied by the wars with the Muslims. In a few years, the Antichrist imposes, thanks to his army that no other army can conquer, the peace on a world level then regulates the hunger in the world by rebalancing the profits and by imposing on the rich to give to the poorest. But by tackling the thorny problem of the unification of religions, he appoints a Pope, called the antipope who must help him in his project but meets a fierce opposition from the 3 representatives of Christianity; moreover, the Jews, learning that he is not circumcised, try to confront him, but the earth opens and engulfs the Antichrist, the antipope and all his army. It is then that the 3 religions attend the return of Christ on earth: it is the glorious return. In summary, the idea of 'Solovyev' was a critique of religions that each put forward their values without concern for the essential that faith in Christ represents.

The adaptation of 'Christofer Johnsson':
The original theme is just a starting point for the metal opera because the story was modernized to happen in the future in 2046 when a massive solar storm destroys all electrical installations depriving the world of electricity and plunging the inhabitants into a period of epidemics and famine where only a few groups manage to survive. It is finally in the old continent, Europe, that the inhabitants, thanks to the cooperation of the Men, end up again developing and being at a level of technology of the beginning of the 19th century. The Christian religion that had disappeared is gaining momentum and becoming an important link in society. The setting is set to start the story of the Antichrist, his name 'Seth Thanos' who thinks he is a second messiah. But to make it an opera, it was obvious that the story of 'Soloviev' did not put enough characters on stage and 'Christofer' therefore invented a whole set of characters and added female roles to allow first of all to have a balance between the different voices as for a classical opera but also to densify the story allowing him to cut out the 3 acts in small episodes representing the different titles.

The roles:
With the very free adaptation of Chistopher, there are 25 different roles that are interpreted by 15 singers and singers accompanied by a choir. The main roles are of course held by the artists who have always followed the adventure of Therion with 'Thomas Vikström' as the ‘Antechrist'. In the original version, the opponent of the ‘Antichrist’ was an old man who did not have a very important role and Christofer thus invented a new character in the person of 'Johanna Orsini' held by the Soprano 'Chiara Malvestiti' who represents the fanatical side of the religion while her sister 'Helena' interpreted by 'Lori Lewis' is a religious of heart which represents the calm side. In the other main roles, 'Sophia' is the mother of Johanna and Helen who is a widow and who is on the eve of death, 'Appolonius' is a character with magical powers and who is determined to join the new master of the world, 'Agnes' is a Russian who approaches the Catholic religion becomes an ally of 'Johanna' and in his fight against the forces of evil and 'Mare', conceived during the flight of his parents from Corsica to Sardinia (hence its name) is also close to 'Johanna' and 'Agnes'. The following list describes all the roles, their interpreters, and their range:

The Antichrist - Seth Thanos = Thomas Vikström (Tenor)
Johanna = Chiara Malvestiti (Soprano)
Helena = Lori Lewis (Soprano)
Agnes = Ulrika Skarby (Mezzo)
Mare = Lydia Kjellberg (Soprano)
Sophia = Melissa Verlak (Soprano)
Appolonius = Markus Jupiter (Bariton)
Pope Pete II = Samuel Jarreick (Bariton)
Pauli Professor = Linus Flogell (Tenor Bariton)
Satan = Erik Rosenius (Bass)
President of USE = Kaj Hagstrand (Tenor)
President's wife = Matilda Wahlund (Mezzo)
Messenger = Karin Fjellander (Soprano)
Angel = Karin Fjellander (Soprano)
Priest = Mikael Schmidberger (Bass)
Demon = Mikael Schmidberger (Bass)
Lydia = Matilda Wahlund (Mezzo)
Female vote = Matilda Wahlund (Mezzo)
Male vote = Samuel Jarreick (Bariton)
Serving Male = Mikael Schmidberger (Bass)
Congress woman = Linnea Vikström (Soprano)
Congress woman = Linnea Vikström (Soprano)
Antichrist Soldier = Kaj Hagstrand (Tenor)
3 Demons = Mikael Schmidberger (Bass) / Samuel Jarreick (Bariton) / Linus Flogell (Tenor Bariton)

And the music in all this:
First of all, at the risk of repeating myself, it is a gigantic work and consequently, the compositions are to the measure of the whole opera. I already hear some criticize and say that it is not enough metal in some places or that it is too much I do not know what in other places. To this I will answer that it is obvious for an opera to have a music that adapts to the different episodes of history because the whole is inseparable: would extreme metal be welcome in 'Through Dust, Through Rain' which is a scene between Helena and her mother Sophia who is on her death bed !! and on the contrary, what would we say if we had a requiem at the arrival of Appolon while it requires something grandiose !! and in these two examples, Chistopher found the right melodies and arrangements to accompany the lyrics : in 'Through Dust, Through Rain' which follows the powerful and epic start with impressive choirs, the melancholic melody where the sweet voice of 'Melissa Verlak' ('Sophia') is accompanied by some piano chords could very well have been written for a classical opera at the time of Mozart. Similarly, 'The Arrival of Appolonius' begins in a peaceful atmosphere where the messenger comes to announce the arrival of Appolon then we attend a crescendo due to the spread of the news to let burst a majestic finale with a large backing of choirs. These are only 2 examples among many others, but you will understand that the great strength (see the genius) of 'Christofer Johnsson' reside in this ability to have not only composed a partition as fair as possible according to the episode narrated but also to be seeking his inspiration in the classical music he 'metalized' when it was necessary and this to pass all the feelings of each character because history makes us cross all kinds of emotional states . So, certainly, 46 compositions of this quality, it may seem heavy to swallow in one go and do not we risk getting lost in such a profusion of episodes? Certainly, in our contemporary world where everything is going so fast, it is certainly something difficult to integrate but if you do not want to miss this opera, I can only give you one piece of advice: stop and take the time to discover this opera by taming each corner and nook and do not force you to listen to it in one go.

Summary:
Given the ambition of the project, 'Beloved Antichrist' is difficult to summarize in a few words but for those who would have difficulty integrating all of this titanic work, I would simply say that it is also necessary to look at the time it took to design it and that it makes no sense to compare it to an album release but it must be taken as something unique and the only comparisons that could be made would be with other classical opera works such as 'The Trojans' of 'Berlioz' or 'William Tell' of 'Rossini' which both fringe 4 hours. And finally, whether we like it or not, we can only hail 'Christopher Johnsson' for having managed this crazy bet and for having the tenacity to make this project a reality : Hats off, the artist !!

Line Up / Musicians

Christofer Johnsson (Guitar), Christian Vidal (Guitar), Nalle Phalsson (Bass), Thomas Johan Koleberg (Drums), Sami Karppinen (Drums), Peter Ljung (Piano, Hammond), Micke Nord (Guitar), Thomas Vikström (Vocal), Lori Lewis (Vocal), Chiara Malvestiti (Vocal), Marcus Jupither (Vocal), Erik Rosenius (Vocal), Melissa Ferlaak (Vocal), Ulrika Skarby (Vocal), Lydia Kjellberg (Vocal), Samuel Jarrick (Vocal), Linus Flogell (Vocal), Kaj Hagstrand (Vocal), Matilda Wahlund (Vocal), Karin Fjellander (Vocal), Mickael Schmidberger (Vocal), Linnea Vikström (Vocal), Taras Yasenkov (Chef de chœur), Anastasia Dreyer (Choirs), Anna Belova (Choirs), Ekaterina Shamina (Choirs), Lyudmila Mikhailova (Choirs), Maria Chekrkchieva (Choirs), Anastasia Polyanina (Choirs), Darya Mikhailova (Choirs), Ksenia Krasikova Mikhail Nor (Choirs), Danil Jurilov (Choirs), Artemy Menshikov (Choirs), Nikita Mikhailov (Choirs), Gleb Kardasevich (Choirs), Dimitry Volkov (Choirs), Mikhail Yurkus (Choirs), Grigory Pyankov (Choirs)