Antichrist

Therion are the poster band for symphonic metal. For over 30 years, they've developed an innovative power metal that often engages with classical orchestration and theatrical drama. That said, Beloved Antichrist is far more ambitious than anything they've done previously; it makes Gothic Kabbalah and Sitra Ahra sound minimal. Fully 46 tracks are spread over three discs/acts clocking in at 182 minutes. It features the septet and numerous guests (there are 29 individual singers), an enormous orchestra, and choir. This conceptual musical drama is inspired by and partially based on philosopher and abstract theologian Vladímir Soloviov's novel A Short Tale of the Antichrist.

The 13th studio album of Kreator's enviable 30-year career, 2012's Phantom Antichrist is also the fourth long-player released since the group's triumphant rebirth to thrash in 2001 – a move that coincided almost perfectly with a worldwide genre revival driven by both veteran and rookie ensembles and that, as a result, saw these German survivors enjoying a long-deferred coronation for their almost unrivaled achievements. Now that trend – like all trends – has come and gone, and yet Kreator persist: still displaying, as the new material contained here bears repeated witness, 100 percent commitment to the original, metal-thrashing mad raison d'être that launched them in the first place…

Thomas Dausgaard and the Seattle Symphony return with inspiring and powerful performances of works rooted in the fascination with the Antichrist. For Langgaard it became his opera, Antichrist, which was also the original title for Strauss An Alpine Symphony. Coupling Langgaards Prelude to Antichrist with Strauss An Alpine Symphony, this album explores the composers disparate ideological interpretations of the Antichrist in expansive, thought-provoking live performances, superbly played by the Seattle Symphony. With naturalistic imaging, depth of field and dynamic range, all Seattle Symphony Media recordings have been engineered to audiophile standards and aim to capture as realistically as possible the sound of the orchestra performing on the Benaroya Hall stage.