Antichrisis was founded by singer and songwriter Sid way back in 1995 in Mo… Read Full Bio ↴Antichrisis was founded by singer and songwriter Sid way back in 1995 in Monschau, Germany. Originally meant to be a solo project, Sid was soon joined by guest vocalist Willowcat, and within a few months the legendary 80-minute demo tape "Missa Depositum Custodi" got recorded. Its first and only edition of 500 copies received an amazing feedback within the underground community and was sold out soon after its release in early 1996. That success led to negotiations with various independent labels, and Sid decided to sign to Ars Metalli.

September 1996 saw the beginning for Antichrisis' first studio session for their debut album "Cantara Anachoreta". Sid - by this time still known by his nom de plume Moonshadow - recorded the album within only 14 days with Willowcat's vocal support. At this time Sid was in a very desolate situation concerning his private life - and the best way to express his feelings and to deal with an utterly fucked up relationship was to play that gloomy, melancholic but also furious and pushing kind of music. And that is exactly what Antichrisis is all about: to reflect Sid's feelings and emotions in the best possible way without any restrictions or musical limitations.

"Cantara Anachoreta", the band's striking debut, hit the audience by January '97 and was enthusiastically received by the press: Only once in a blue moon had a newcomer's first album indicated such well-defined and incisive style aligned with an amazingly vast number of different musical influences with enormous implicitness and distinction.

Although Antichrisis' music always beared lots of folk influences, they weren't that apparent due to the band's conventional instrumentation hitherto - until Naex joined the project in 1997 adding a completely new timbre to Antichrisis' sound with his Irish bagpipes.
Also, many of Sid's songs are arranged like stage plays dealing with love and loss, thus requiring different voices for different male and female leading parts - hence a female voice was always of great importance for Antichrisis' dramaturgic concept.

Meanwhile Antichrisis had signed to Napalm Records, and in Spring 1998 it was high time to record the debut's successor "A Legacy of Love" with new singer Lisa. Though this album did bear a few Metal references again, it primarily became a wonderful and brilliant Folk-Pop-album, containing songs that could have easily entered the charts like "Nightswan", "Our Last Show" or the smashing "Forever I Ride".

A year later the band was hitting the stage for the first time during an European tour with Tristania, The Sins Of Thy Beloved, Siebenbuergen and Trail of Tears. On this tour Antichrisis' new female vocalist Dragonfly, who had replaced Lisa, received her baptism of fire. She had joined the band just a couple of weeks before, and not only did Antichrisis promote "A Legacy of Love" live on stage, but they also took the chance of introducing some new dancefloor-influenced stuff from their forthcoming album "Perfume" to a flabbergasted audience.

Antichrisis entered the studio again in Summer 2000, this time reinforced by keyboarder Tilo Rockstroh, drummer Jens-Nils Kuge and guitarist Jens Bachmann, to forge their third album "Perfume", which contained for the very first time in the history of the band a cover version, namely Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love".

Though songs like "Like The Stars", "Goodbye to Jane", "Hole in My Head", "Carry Me Down" or "Wasteland" proved once more Antichrisis' claim for the charts, this venturous album lacked support by Antichrisis' former label Napalm Records, who weren't too happy about the band's increasing pop-appeal due to being afraid of losing their Metal credibility.

But why that long period of silence after the release of "Perfume"? Some fans received the impression that Antichrisis hadn't survived their daring musical experiment. But after a new studio session in Spring 2003, Sid suffered from some unexpected and serious emotional and physical drawbacks, hence Antichrisis was put on the back burner for quite a long time until Sid reformed the band in 2005.

So Antichrisis was ready for recording a new album called "The Legacy Remains", which is supposed to continue the story that had begun on "A Legacy of Love" - and to make both albums sound as if they were two chapters of one book, Sid decided to re-record "A Legacy of Love" before finishing the production of "The Legacy Remains".

This revised version of "A Legacy of Love" saw its release on Reartone Records in early 2006 as a digipack-edition titled "A Legacy of Love Mark II", and it definitely didn't sound at all like a simple re-issue. But once you listen to "A Legacy of Love Mark II" you will easily realise that this expenditure was worth while. The new versions of those already stirring songs develop an almost irresistible maelstrom - they seem like aural environments waiting for the listener to enter: "How Can I Live on Top of The Mountain?" is simply one of the most beautiful soundtracks never used for a movie score; R.E.M. would take themselves to the cleaners for a Folk-Pop-jewel like "Nightswan", "Our Last Show" couldn't have been done better by the Doors in their heydays and someone not being close to tears after listening to "Dancing in The Midnight Sun" has probably never fallen in and out of love. "Baleias Bailando" and "Planet Kyrah" are evidence of Sid's capability of creating magnificent pop songs with rather unorthodox sounds and arrangements, whereas "End of December" seems like a brilliant outtake of a late midnight session that The Jam, The Pogues and Bruce Springsteen could have had in a Galway pub. "Forever I Ride" proves that blending Knopflerian guitar riffs with McKennittish romanticism and Sabbath's abrasiveness doesn't necessarily have to be a mission impossible, and the raw guitar power of "The Sea" and "Trying Not to Breathe" should as well raise hell in every moshpit of this planet without attenuating dead catchy qualitites while at last "The Farewell" is the successful romantic conclusion of an album that is simply the most emotional roller coaster ride one could ever experience. Basically each song on "A Legacy of Love Mark II" could make easily a smashing hit single!

And if mastermind Sid should manage to avoid further detachments, breakdowns and strokes of fate that blocked the band's succession in the past, Antichrisis' future should look bright enough to make him wear shades: He sure has more than enough ideas and visions for many years to come, and "The Legacy Remains" will surely become Antichrisis' well-deserved smash hit.

Current line-up:
Sid - Vocals, Acoustic Guitars, Bass
Steffi Vreiting - Vocals
Alexander "Naex" May: Uilleann Pipes, Flutes & Whistles
Jens "Gnu" Bachmann: E-Guitars, Bass
Tilo "Waran" Rockstroh: Keyboards & Loops
Jens-Nils "Kugator" Kuge: Drums
Frank J. Hennig: Baritone Vocals

Baleias
Antichrisis Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

By the river I sat down one day
Saw my life the other way:
All these trials to no avail!
Broken dreams was all I bloody gained!
Way down,
Carry me down
To the River of Life!
Vindicate!

Remember well when I was a child
They promised me a paradise
But promises turned into lies
All they left us was a world demise!
Way down,
Carry me down
To the River of Life!
Anyhow!
Hold me in your arms
Drown me in sweet moisture
Lascivious fiery breath covering
Your fangs softly penetrate:
The pleasure & the pain!
Dissolving I discern
I'm not dead!
I asked for love, got a golden cage
Plastic emotions in a plastic age
The pain I felt they told me wasn't real
"The Earth!", I cried - my last appeal!
Way down,
Carry me down
To the River of Life
Come to light!
Now it's my turn to realize
To change the road, to change the side
The past has gone: May it rest in peace
A new dawn fades as she sows the seed
Way down,
Carry me down
To the River of Life
Recognize!
Hold me in your arms
Drown me in sweet moisture
Lascivious fiery breath covering
Your fangs softly penetrate:
The pleasure & the pain!
Dissolving I discern
I'm still alive!
A midnight's dream disclosure
Saw momentous desire
My life laid in your hands,
My confidence!
The background of reality
Just one step away
Am I to cross the frontier?
Am I to dare?
In dreams I died a thousand times
But then one dream: A golden shrine
Her whispered words did soothe my grief
She is candour in this world of thieves!
Way down,
Carry me down
To the River of Life!
Indicate!
I hear the call of the roaring sea
There's still a fire burning inside of me
The wind shall take me to another shore
The earth I am for evermore!
Way down,
Carry me down
To the River of Life
Eternity!
And as I try to stand the trial
Dreams & Memories of You
Come haunting me like demons!
But I won't fail this time
Because my Love had been asleep for much too long!
Oh Eva,
Your Love so precious & pure!
My the Goddess grant me a second miracle
So I may lie in Your arms again!
For You are the Sun,
The Moon and the Stars to me!
You are the only one I desire
From the depths of my heart!
Desperate I walk the blackness of the Maze
Trying to follow the footsteps
Of an unforgetable Love

That'll bring me back again
To You, Eva, my Beloved!

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Baleias" by Antichrisis are about a person who has been disillusioned with life due to broken promises and a world in demise. The singer asks to be taken down to the River of Life to be vindicated and remembers the promises made to them as a child. They have asked for love but instead have been given a golden cage and plastic emotions in a plastic age. However, they realize it is their turn to change their path and move towards a new dawn where they can sow the seeds for a better future. The singer also has a dream about a golden shrine and a woman named Eva. They long for her love and hope for a second miracle so they can be in her arms again.

The River of Life in the song represents a symbol of hope and redemption. The singer has suffered from broken promises and personal disillusionment, but they believe that the River of Life may be their salvation. The lyrics also touch on the theme of deception and disillusionment, where the singer has been promised a paradise, but has instead been given plastic emotions and a world in demise. Finally, the song also evokes a feeling of love and longing, specifically for Eva who represents the singer's desire for true love and connection.

Line by Line Meaning

By the river I sat down one day
One day, I sat down by the river

Saw my life the other way:
I saw my life differently

All these trials to no avail!
All my troubles were for nothing

Broken dreams was all I bloody gained!
All I got were shattered dreams

Way down, Carry me down To the River of Life!
Take me down to the River of Life

Vindicate!
Clear my name!

Remember well when I was a child They promised me a paradise But promises turned into lies All they left us was a world demise!
When I was young, they promised me paradise, but those promises were all lies. All that's left is a dying world

Anyhow!
In any case

Hold me in your arms Drown me in sweet moisture Lascivious fiery breath covering Your fangs softly penetrate: The pleasure & the pain! Dissolving I discern I'm not dead!
Hold me close, suffocate me with passion, let me feel both pleasure and pain. I'm not dying, I'm dissolving

I asked for love, got a golden cage Plastic emotions in a plastic age The pain I felt they told me wasn't real "The Earth!", I cried - my last appeal!
I wanted love, but was trapped. My emotions and pain were not considered valid. I begged for help to save the world

Now it's my turn to realize To change the road, to change the side The past has gone: May it rest in peace A new dawn fades as she sows the seed
It's time for me to change direction and leave the past behind. A new dawn emerges as something new grows

Recognize!
Realize

I'm still alive!
I'm not dead

A midnight's dream disclosure Saw momentous desire My life laid in your hands, My confidence!
In a dream, I saw my greatest desire. My life was in your hands, and you gave me confidence

The background of reality Just one step away Am I to cross the frontier? Am I to dare?
Reality is close, I'm on the edge. Should I cross over and take a risk?

In dreams I died a thousand times But then one dream: A golden shrine Her whispered words did soothe my grief She is candour in this world of thieves!
I dreamt of death countless times, but then one dream of a golden sanctuary. Her whispered words eased my pain. She is honesty in a world of lies

Indicate!
Show me the way

I hear the call of the roaring sea There's still a fire burning inside of me The wind shall take me to another shore The earth I am for evermore!
The sea calls to me. A fire burns within. The wind will carry me to another place. I am forever bound to the earth

Eternity!
Forever

And as I try to stand the trial Dreams & Memories of You Come haunting me like demons! But I won't fail this time Because my Love had been asleep for much too long!
As I struggle, thoughts of you haunt me, but I won't fail because my love for you has been dormant for too long

Oh Eva, Your Love so precious & pure! May the Goddess grant me a second miracle, So I may lie in Your arms again! For You are the Sun, The Moon and the Stars to me! You are the only one I desire From the depths of my heart!
Oh Eva, your love is precious and pure. May the goddess grant me another chance to be in your arms. You are everything to me. You are the only one I want from the bottom of my heart

Desperate I walk the blackness of the Maze Trying to follow the footsteps Of an unforgetable Love That'll bring me back again To You, Eva, my Beloved!
Desperately, I walk the dark maze in hopes of finding the unforgettable love that will bring me back to you, my beloved Eva

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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