The Miskolc Experience, a 2 CD + DVD masterwork of Sweden’s THERION is available today in the US and Canada. View a preview trailer of the DVD footage below.

Recorded and filmed at the remarkable and renowned International Opera Festival in Miskolc, Hungary on June 16, 2007, the evening featured Therion with the Miskolc Bartók Choir, the Choir of the Miskolc National Theater, and the Miskolc Symphony Orchestra conducted by Markus Stollenwerk.

The Miskolc Experience showcases the talent of Christofer Johnsson on guitar, brothers Kristian & Johan Niemann on guitar and bass (who joined Therion in 2000), and drummer Petter Karlsson (Gothic Kaballah and Live Gothic), and features guest vocalists Lori Lewis, Judit V. Molnar, Andras Molnar, Gergely Boncser, and Mats Levén. The DVD contains a documentary and “Therion Goes Classic” bonus material.

“It would have been an easy choice just to take a bunch of Therion songs, stand on a stage with an orchestra, and just play... but Therion isn’t a band that settles for what is ‘good enough,’” states Therion mastermind Christofer Johnsson. “We want to do more than that. So much of what you will hear and see are exclusively arranged for this event and one previous one we did in Romania. We wish to offer you a musical journey where the band both enters the classical world as humble guests as well as invite the classical players and singers into our world.”
“There are several ways to incorporate opera and classical music with metal and rock music,” continues Johnsson. “Most rock musicians would do it in a rather chauvinistic way: looking upon themselves as the stars and the orchestra, choir, soloists and conductor as a bunch of people just helping them to realize some spectacular event they would do at some point in their career. And as they are the big stars, they would play over the compositions like a bulldozer, adding guitar chords in every inch of even the classical pieces. Here, Therion tries to show a great diversity by knowing what style and which rock instruments to play in each place, and (very important) when to be quiet and let the orchestra do their thing undisturbed, in which some dynamics between the two worlds can grow.”

DVD + CD tracklist:

Part 1 - Classical Adventures: (44 min.)

'Clavicula Nox'

'Dvorak: Excerpt from Symphony no. 9'

'Verdi: Vedi! le fosche notturne spotigle from Il Trovatore'

'Mozart: "Dies Irae" from Reqiuem'

'Saint-Saens: Excerpt from Symphony No. 3'

'Wagner: "Notung! Notung! Niedliches Schwert!" from The Ring'

'Wagner: Excerpt from the Overture from Rienzi'

'Wagner: Second part of "Der Tag ist da" from Rienzzi'

'Wagner: First part of "Herbei! Herbei!" from Rienzi'

Part 2 - Therion Songs: (66 min.)

'Blood Of Kingu'

'Sirius B'

'Lemuria'

'Eternal Return'

'Draconian Trilogy'

'Schwartsalbenheim'

'Via Nocturna'

'The Rise Of Sodom And Gomorrah'

'Grand Finale'

Bonus Features (DVD only):

- Documentary (20 min.)
- Therion Goes Classic – Bucharest (16 min.)