"The Four Horsemen" is the hit single and most famous song[1] from the concept album 666 by the psychedelic rock band Aphrodite's Child. It has received regular airplay on AOR stations since its release in 1972. Like the album, the song is based on the Book of Revelation.
The song's lyrics mostly paraphrase the text of Revelation 6. The song's structure is marked by a dynamic contrast, with Roussos singing over an echoed keyboard drone and wind chimes in the verses,[3][4] and the chorus containing traditional rock instrumentation highlighted by Sideras' drumming.[3][5] The song culminates in a two-minute wah guitar solo by Koulouris over heavy drumming by Sideras and a repeated "fa fa fa" background chant by Roussos.
In the song, as in Revelation 5, "The Lamb" is presented with a sealed scroll. This lamb is often taken to mean Jesus (who was referred to as The Lamb of God who will take away the sin of the world" in John 3:36). The Lamb begins opening the scroll in both the book and the song. It has seven seals, and as each of the first four is opened, it releases some crisis represented by a horseman. These horsemen are described in part by the color of their horses, especially in the song:
The leading horse is white
The second horse is red
The third one is a black
The last one is a green.[6]
Impact
Receiving significant airplay on album-oriented radio, the song went on to be covered or sampled by a number of bands.[7]
"The Four Horsemen" influenced Beck's "Chemtrails", which has a similar structure,[8] and The Verve's "The Rolling People", which quoted the "fa fa fa" chant.[9] The chorus was also sampled, in a slowed-down fashion, on Daniel Lopatin's "A7", from Chuck Person's Eccojams Vol. 1.[10] The song is popular among metal and techno acts, forming a significant list of covers and samplings.
"The Four Horsemen" has proven an especially popular cover among European heavy metal bands.[according to whom?] Bands that have covered the song include the Italian band Death SS (on their 2006 album The 7th Seal), and the Greek black metal band Rotting Christ (on their 2016 album Rituals).[citation needed]
In 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Belgian drummer and singer Isolde Lasoen covered the song, not only because she thought it was "a terrific tune", but also because she could relate to it. "The four horsemen announce the apocalypse, because - among other things - a strange disease will sweep the world. It instantly made me think of the coronavirus and I always prefer to have a specific reason to release a song."[11]
Samples
The Verve's song "The Rolling People" (from their 1997 album Urban Hymns) borrows its title from "Altamont", while also containing musical elements of "The Four Horsemen". Frontman Richard Ashcroft reportedly mentioned 666 as a strong influence on his music.[citation needed]
Beck's song "Chemtrails" (from his 2008 album Modern Guilt) also resembles "The Four Horsemen".[12]
