Beloved Antichrist | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 9 February 2018 | |||
Genre | Symphonic metal | |||
Length | 182:50 | |||
Label | Nuclear Blast | |||
Therion chronology | ||||
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Beloved Antichrist is the sixteenth studio album by Swedish symphonic metal band Therion. It is a triple album and was released on 9 February 2018 by Nuclear Blast Records. [1] The album is the soundtrack to a rock musical by the band, who are accompanied by a large orchestra and choir. [2] The staging of the rock musical was delayed indefinitely due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead, the band started to work on the next regular album Leviathan .
Beloved Antichrist was the band's first release of new original material since Sitra Ahra in 2010. Group founder Christofer Johnsson had toyed with the idea of writing an opera for 15 years and had finally decided to "do metal/rock music with opera" [1] instead, citing his inability to write "the ‘boring’ stuff" like recitatives. [3] Thus, Beloved Antichrist features exclusively operatic singing combined with an orchestra and electric instruments typical of a rock band.
The music was composed by Johnsson, Thomas Vikström, Linnéa Vikström and Christian Vidal, the lyrics were written by Per Albinsson and the album cover was created by Thomas Ewerhart. [4] The album consists of 46 songs and is inspired by and partly based on "A Short Tale of the Antichrist" by Vladímir Soloviov. [1] Johnsson expanded the story to include 27 characters played by 15 vocalists. [5]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2018) |
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Cutting Edge | [6] |
Inferno | [7] |
Laut.de | [8] |
Magazyn Gitarzysta | 5/10 [9] |
Metal Hammer | 7/7 [10] |
Plattentests.de | 7/10 [11] |
Powermetal.de | 10/10 [12] |
Rock Hard | 7/10 [13] |
Soundi | [14] |
Beloved Antichrist has received generally favorable reviews. AllMusic said of the album: "taken as intended, as a whole, it is an exhausting, enthralling monolithic marvel." [2] Another reviewer described that the album would be a challenge for new Therion fans, but also described it as "Christofer Johnsson’s masterpiece" which "takes everything that Therion has done to this point to a completely different level." [15]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Turn from Heaven" | 3:06 |
2. | "Where Will You Go?" | 2:15 |
3. | "Through Dust, Through Rain" | 5:01 |
4. | "Signs Are Here" | 4:21 |
5. | "Never Again" | 2:20 |
6. | "Bring Her Home" | 3:59 |
7. | "The Solid Black Beyond" | 3:47 |
8. | "The Crowning of Splendour" | 3:34 |
9. | "Morning Has Broken" | 6:39 |
10. | "Garden of Peace" | 3:25 |
11. | "Our Destiny" | 2:41 |
12. | "Anthem" | 4:18 |
13. | "The Palace Ball" | 5:20 |
14. | "Jewels from Afar" | 4:22 |
15. | "Hail Caesar!" | 5:10 |
16. | "What Is Wrong?" | 2:07 |
17. | "Nothing but My Name" | 2:02 |
Total length: | 65:36 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
18. | "The Arrival of Apollonius" | 5:06 |
19. | "Pledging Loyalty" | 2:56 |
20. | "Night Reborn" | 3:57 |
21. | "Dagger of God" | 3:32 |
22. | "Temple of New Jerusalem" | 4:01 |
23. | "The Lions Roar" | 3:43 |
24. | "Bringing the Gospel" | 4:44 |
25. | "Laudate Dominum" | 5:00 |
26. | "Remaining Silent" | 2:56 |
27. | "Behold Antichrist" | 4:40 |
28. | "Cursed by the Fallen" | 2:00 |
29. | "Resurrection" | 3:41 |
30. | "To Where I Weep" | 5:57 |
31. | "Astral Sophia" | 5:42 |
32. | "Thy Will Be Done!" | 4:37 |
Total length: | 62:41 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
33. | "Shoot Them Down!" | 3:49 |
34. | "Beneath the Starry Skies" | 4:26 |
35. | "Forgive Me" | 9:41 |
36. | "The Wasteland of My Heart" | 3:24 |
37. | "Burning the Palace" | 8:22 |
38. | "Prelude to War" | 0:38 |
39. | "Day of Wrath" | 4:13 |
40. | "Rise to War" | 3:47 |
41. | "Time Has Come/Final Battle" | 2:56 |
42. | "My Voyage Carries On" | 3:52 |
43. | "Striking Darkness" | 2:04 |
44. | "Seeds of Time" | 1:38 |
45. | "To Shine Forever" | 2:06 |
46. | "Theme of Antichrist" | 3:31 |
Total length: | Act 3: 54:34 Total: 182:50 |
Chart (2018) | Peak position |
---|---|
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [16] | 46 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [17] | 64 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [18] | 161 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [19] | 99 |
French Albums (SNEP) [20] | 125 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [21] | 25 |
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ) [22] | 34 |
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [23] | 56 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [24] | 18 |
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