A Legacy of Love - Mark II (CD)
(Reartone Records)
2005

"I’ve always been an avid listener of this german band (or perhaps should I say german one man project as Sid is the main brain behind Antichrisis), and those of our readers who are still unfamiliar with this guy had better read on. For my opinion, Antichrisis are by far the most mature, intelligent folk influenced gothic metal act that visited my cd-player. For years and albums after albums, Antichrisis developed their own style of music which isn’t attributed to many bands these days. Of course, there are lotsa folk elements and also some medieval surroundings, but Antichrisis have developed this into a very personal style that incorporates some atmospheric metal. As you can guessed from the title, this new opus "A Legacy of Love Mark II" is a revisited/revamped version of Antichrisis second album. Even if I’m still very nostalgic of the Moonshadow’s period (with the fabulous «Descending Messiah»), I can say this «A Legacy Of Love Mark II» is an awe-inspiring folk music feast that shall hypnotise everybody into this kind of music."
http://www.pullthechain.be/

"After I was desperate to tell the darkened Metal world about the beauty and the musical art of ANTICHRISIS’ album “Perfume”, I received an Email of their bandleader & mastermind Sid, if I would be interested in receiving their latest output “A Legacy Of Love – Mark II”. I accepted it immediately and a few days later I found the DigiPak in my mailbox. I want to thank Sid and the band, because that was a really nice gesture, which you don’t see that frequent in those days.
Now I’m in honour to review the abovementioned album. I was pretty anxious to hear which auditive experiences would befall me. Even the first track “How Can I Live On Top Of The Mountain” is a marvellous piece of instrumental music full of abundant Uilleann pipes and you get this certain feeling that you’re standing somewhere in Ireland on the top of a plateau and that you’re looking with a certain grandness at the land below. Towards the end those awesome Uilleann pipes are supported by monumental drums, before it goes birdy into the second track “Nightswan”. It’s sheer incredible which positive and blithe spirit is laid onto this track. This spirit carries on seamlessly at “Our Last Show”, what a wonderful track with a wonderful guitar solo! That’s one of the typical tracks for me, to which I could listen to 25 times a row and I would like this certain track after the 25th spin as much as I did it after the first spin.
The fourth track “Forever I Ride” starts off with Sid’s great expressive voice, which alternates with Lisa’s voice. This track is the hardest track on this album so far, as you can hear some sounds of a “wall of guitars”, but this certain blithe spirit still carries on, while they’re calming down at the following track “Dancing In The Midnight Sun”. As this slow piano sets in, I can see the vision in the back room of my head, where the band performs this song live as dusk sets in and thousands of cigarette lighters are raised illuminated into the sky. Afterwards I faced the huge surprise at this album. As a few measures of “Baleias Bailando” went by, I assumed these lyrics to be very familiar, as it is a remake of “Carry Me Down”, which I’m recognizing by their predecessing album “Perfume”. The only difference is, that they gave this track a brisk outfit. 
“Planet Kyrah” is supposed to be a good track, but I had to give this track a few spins, to get into the entire atmosphere of it and this track seems to be the “less best” track on this album, if I can use the term “less”. “End Of December” is also introduced by Sid and this track fits seemless into the album’s concept. “The Sea” starts off powerful, abundant, emotional, epic, expressive (I could name about 20 adjectives more, which are heading into the same direction) and significant, before Lisa appeases it. On this track they’re trying to create an image of the (roaring) see and they did it quite well! The song is getting a little bit more lugubrious towards the end, but it doesn’t dilute the song’s quality. This lugubriousness continues at “Trying Not To Breathe”, where a certain Frank has his guest performance as a vocalist and he fits perfectly and flawlessly into the entire emotional concept. The Bonustrack “The Farewell” rounds off the album with Sid’s lamentation and Lisa’s “vow of love” and it’s showcasing a lot of lovesickness or the pain of a love in general.
What else can I say about it? Each song has been produced pretty well, even a tiny bit better than they did it on “Perfume”, as the production is supposed to be a little bit brisker and more abundant. These 73:20 minutes are going by rapidly and afterwards I wanted to have another 73:20 minutes and another and another…
There aren’t many comparisons in my mind about such a unique album, maybe eventually LOREENA MCKENNITT, but that’s it with reasonably useful comparisons from my side. Just go to the next record dealer of your trust; just buy this incredible awesome album and create your own image! As I already mentioned it in my other review about ANTICHRISIS; you can not expect some clichéd Metal, but wonderful Folk/Ambient Rock, which offers unequalled opportunities. Please make it big with ANTICHRISIS; these exceedingly talented musicians deserve it!
(And no, the good rating doesn’t concern with the fact that I got this album as a present; I would invest comparatively much money to get such a piece of great musical art, as you get wonderful and unique music for your money!)
Listening tips: everything from the first second to the last!"
http://www.metal-observer.com/articles.php?lid=1&sid=1&id=11556

"I still remember fondly the first time, I heard of a song from “Cantara Anachoreta” on Andy’s radio show: it was a serene melody, yet the performance and sound quality were not up to par with my expectation. Still when I obtained that album, it kept me good company. So I was eager to get some more music. I got “A Legacy of Love”, and since the day I got it, this album has been like a friend to me. A friend that I love and revisited often. I played some of the songs when I was in love, like “Planet Kyrah” and others when I was out of it. “Trying not to breathe”. I usually dismiss, goth and goth tinged music as being too pretentious. But Antichrisis' music defies categorization, as it is not music: It’s love encapsulated in a cheap piece of plastic. This record is a journey through the corridors of a maze we call love. It takes you on a tour that takes you on to heaven one minute and then it takes you plunging down into the depths of the bottomless abyss that is life without love. Sid, our hero, is augmented by Naex on Uilleann Pipes and Lisa on vocals. Her voice is bold but yet fragile, serene and beautiful. I actually fell in love with her voice. To even dare and criticize songs like the “Nightswan”, “Trying not to breathe”, “Baleias Bailando”, “Dancing in the Midnight Sun”, “Planet Kyrah”, “The Sea” or for that matter anything on this record is like trying to decide which finger of your hand you ‘d rather loose. Impossible. Even the new tune “ “End of December” mingles well. The rerecordings on "A Legacy of Love Mark II" show the songs in a new light, more vibrant and live sounding. No matter what, I felt like getting reacquainted with an old friend, a dear one. The packaging is immaculate, and I feel to small to really try and pass judgment on this true “work of art” and true “labour of love”, so I'll just say that for me, listening to this record had the same effect like when I first fancied a girl. It made my heart beat faster and sweat ran down my brown as my knees felt weak. It already was an amazing album, to begin with so my opinion about it, remains unchanged, it’s still an amazing album, just slightly differently recorded and sequenced. A lantern burning bright, in the cold of the night, against the fury of the wind, all in the name of love."
http://www.metal-invader.com/db/reviews-1754.html

"Antichrisis plays a mixture of gothic rock with a lot of folk elements. This album has eleven songs and seventy three minutes of total running time, with a high quality. The band had worked hard in order to release this album with these wonderful songs. If you hear the opening track, you can get a taste of perfect folk music. The band produced and mixed this album at Blue House Studio (Falkenbach, Morgenstern, Dies After and more). So they definitely have a very good production and sound. If you are a fan of gothic music, you must have this album, if you don't get it, then you will lose one of the best albums I have ever heard in this music genre. Just close your eyes and go to a trip in the Antichrisis world and you will not regret it. Search for this album, it deserves your attention." (9,5 of 10 Points)
http://www.geocities.com/behind_the_veil2001/spring_frames.htm

"Sometimes I have to admit that the re-recordings are good at something. In this case, we have in front of us a completely re-recording of the brilliant "A Legacy Of Love" released in 1998. I remember that this material shocked me at that time, not concerning the virtuosity, but the approach, melody and imagination. The album has nothing to do with Metal, it's an extremely rich mixture of Gothic, Pop, Folk, Celtic or Irish, everything in a positive Rock manner, abundant in atmosphere and rhythm! The traditional instruments outline a dreaming sound, and with a lot more neat and clear sound, ANTICHRISIS sends us now a new slot of light, extremely warm and well-meant, that should not miss from the collection of everybody who appreciates good music. For me the listening of this album made me go back to their debut, the excellent "Cantara Anachoreta". Why wouldn't you do the same?" (Rating: 0.1 - and 0.1 is the highest rate... i think this is the second album i see to get the maximum rate in this zine. the first was Opeth's "Damnation")
http://www.kogaionon.com/

the german reviews