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Review: Therion, Fiddlers
The first victim of the Bierkeller’s abrupt closure sees puzzled metalheads negotiating the backstreets of Bedminster in search of a venue which, it’s safe to say, has never played host to music quite like this multinational symphonic metal invasion.
You’d never guess that openers Midnight Eternal were American. Fronted by Israeli soprano Raine Hilai, this Noo Jersey mob trade in various stripes of Euro-metal – a bit of power metal here, a dash of symphonic metal there. There’s even a soupcon of melodic death metal to heavy things up a bit. Few of their fellow countrymen tread this path, with the exception of the likes of Symphony X and Kamelot or aberrations like Evanescence. The warm applause they receive suggests they’re likely to make plenty of new friends on this lengthy Euro-trek.
In terrible Hollywood thrillers set in Europe, the bad guy’s lair is often an over-dressed warehouse nightclub drug-dealing den full of self-consciously ‘edgy’ extras gyrating to pounding music. Now suppose that instead of miming to awful techno, the band on stage were playing metal. That’s Germany’s Null Positiv. The heaviest act of the night, they’ve certainly put plenty of effort into their image. The chaps all sport matching black vests and striking semi-tribal make-up, and they’re fronted by the imposing, Amazonian Elli Berlin, who towers over them all and specialises in harsh, guttural vocals. Like their fellow countrymen Rammstein, they’ve resisted the temptation to sing in English, perhaps recognising that German is the perfect language for such pounding percussive metal performed on an eight-string guitar and six-string bass for added heaviosity.
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Holy crap – the Cossacks are invading! “We are Imperial Age from Russia. We salute you, Bristol!” announces frontman Alexander Osipov, who’s resplendent in a suitably ornate costume of mysterious provenance. Possessed of a sonorous baritone that could probably have won him a place in the Red Army Choir, he’s flanked by impressive female vocalists Jane Odintsova and Anna Moiseeva for a fabulous display of grandiose symphonic dressing-up box metal. What on earth are these Muscovites on about? Well, the name and image might suggest a dodgy yearning for Russia’s Tsarist past, but the lyrics and performance speak more of a boys’ own approach to their heritage, not unlike those raiding parties of Viking metal bands who regularly plunder our music venues. It’s magnificently overblown stuff, performed by the talented sextet exactly as it should be done – without the slightest hint of irony or smirking. Little wonder they’ve become such great chums of the headliners.
In the OTT world of symphonic metal, nobody outdoes Sweden’s Therion, whose latest release is the three-hour metal opera Beloved Antichrist and who are currently in the second week of a four month tour of 25 countries. Ideally, we’d see them perform in a huge concert hall with a full orchestra and choir, as they’ve done elsewhere. But unlike musical fellow travellers Epica, who’ll pack out the Academy in April, their UK profile is low, so seven of them are crammed onto a stage in a Bedminster club.
How’s this going to work, then? Clearly, tapes and triggered samples are going to be involved, but it’s remarkable how much of this rich and powerful music is performed live. Unassuming founder Christofer Johnsson, who writes everything and now affects a top-hatted steampunk look, takes something of a backseat, withdrawing altogether from vocals and ceding the spotlight to his ever-changing line-up of musicians – especially the three well-matched singers. Italian operatic soprano Chiara Malvestiti’s voice meshes beautifully with that of more traditional belter Linnéa Vikström, whose dad Thomas takes the male lead. His background in musical theatre also brings some drama to the proceedings – as much as is possible on Fiddlers’ tiny stage. Nalle Påhlsson has the kind of big fat bass tone that most bassists would kill for, while Argentinean guitarist Christian Vidal is not only a hugely accomplished player but also seems to be having the time of his life.
Perhaps understandably, they only play a few excerpts from the mammoth Beloved Anitchrist, which has been out for just a few days, notably Bring Her Home and Temple of New Jerusalem, the latter acting as something of a vocal showcase for Vikström sr. Instead, their first Bristol show is a career-spanning set taking in such audience favourites as An Arrow from the Sun, Wine of Aluqah and the lovely Lemuria, which takes the pace down a notch mid-set. There’s no encore and, non-converts may be surprised to learn, no grandstanding solos whatsoever; just an epic show packed with great songs. It’s after midnight when we finally tumble out into the frozen wastes of Bedminster, having thrilled to the closing double-whammy of the glorious The Rise of Sodom and Gomorrah and Crowleyan crowd-pleaser To Mega Therion. Movingly, Johnsson dedicates the latter to Judas Priest’s Glenn Tipton, who inspired him to pick up a Flying V and has just been diagnosed with late-stage Parkinson’s.
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