Three years ago my wife Jeanette said that she longed for a Christian band that could do something similar to Avantasia's Metal Opera.
I work in the Christian music ministry and have experienced a low level of interest in getting this rock opera written and recorded.
So I understood that if it was to be done, I had to somehow do it myself. I decided therefore that I would begin to write lyrics and look for musicians who would be interested in working with me to produce this unique metal opera.
My aim with the first song I wrote, which will actually be the last song in the opera, was to do something different.
I wanted to try and imagine what Jesus would have been thinking during the long walk to Golgotha. What could have been going through his mind as he carried his cross?
He had done his work and now he needed to take the final step for the salvation of those who beleived in him, he had to die for us before death could be defeated by his resurrection.
The hardest part was getting hold of a musician and it took a long time before I found the one who would write the music, but in the end found someone who I have been friends since we first met at Elements Of Rock. I'm talking about Niclas Buss who is behind Northern Flame, Hilastherion and Parakletos. It turned out that he has an incredible breadth of music knowledge, and was a very good fit for the project.
Then came the search for singer who would be involved. Dave Williams from Meltdown suggested Tom Denlinger for lead vocals from the band Sardonyx who has a unique power metal voice and Tom was happy to sing lead vocals for us. We also hear Ville Herranen from the Death Metal Band Inborn Tendency with his mighty dark growl, and last but not least, Emma Beckman opera schooled freelance singer on the choral vocals.
When we talk about style and genre, those who have heard the song think it sounds like a mixture of Nightwish, Avantasia and.
The ”Passion Project” is the title of the rock opera and the final project will consist of seven songs which will be released as a digital download on our own Christian download label DHA Records.
I am excited to see the remaining songs slowly coming together and the Passion Project will be something that will be different to most Christian metal recordings. We are excited to see this project come together.
