Therion

A symphonic metal band who mix grizzly guitar thrash with heavenly choirs and orchestral crescendos, Sweden's Therion have been creating huge, swelling, sonic storms since 1988, remaining one of European metal's most epic forces. Front man Christofer Johnsson started playing in bands in suburban Stockholm in his teens and after early attempts to imitate metal heroes such as Slayer and Metallica, Therion came together in the late 1980s and started releasing demos through a local record store. Their debut album 'Of Darkness' delivered growling, death metal thunder but by 1993's 'Symphony Masses: Ho Drakon Ho Megas' the band had become influenced by prog-rock, opera and obscure mythology and were creating a more epic, experimental sound. Soprano singers, full orchestras, religious chants and grandiose production fully transformed the band into a symphonic metal act on 'Vovin' in 1998, and with occultist author Thomas Karlsson taking over as main lyric writer, their reputation grew on acclaimed albums 'Deggial', 'Secret of the Runes' and 'Lemuria'. Ever-changing line-ups and Johnsson's fevered wealth of eclectic ideas saw the band's sound evolve dramatically over the years, and they even covered French pop songs on their 2012 album 'Les Fleurs du Mal'. Essentially, though, they remained a wild concoction of Iron Maiden's dark metal riffs, Pink Floyd's theatrical, ambitious prog-rock and Richard Wagner's grand, classical operas. In 2015 Johnsson embarked on a side project called Luciferian Light Orchestra, creating music akin to 1970s occult rock. After releasing a self-titled record as Luciferian Light Orchestra, Johnsson revealed that he had received a diagnosis of two spinal disc herniations as a result of many years of headbanging. Advised to take it easy he put his rock opera project on hold. After undergoing physiotherapy Johnsson was declared fit to perform and he resumed work on 'Beloved Antichrist'. Based on Vladimir Solovyov's 'Tale of the Antichrist', the rock opera's released was revealed for February 2018 with a live performance scheduled for later in the year.

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