Therion "Theli"
Nuclear Blast , 1996
Lord Pale :
Groovy Swedish operatic metal . Therion utilised the German Radio Choir for this album and as a result many of the lyrics are sung in choir style . The guitars groove along and are heavy but sometimes venture into softer melodic realms , whilst the vocals vary from deep Type O Negative style singing to a hardcore grunt ( 'Invocation Of Naamah' ) to a clean traditional style of singing . Keyboards are abundant and rampantly happy throughout the disc . They provide interesting breaks and orchestral build ups as well as being fully integrated into the song writing process . Theli contains 4 musicals and 6 actual songs . The musicals vary from cheesy to dramatic , and provide interludes that for the most part aren't entirely necessary . The albums first song kicks in with and excellent heavy horse riding riff accompanied by opera style vocals chanting the verses , and a clean sung chorus . This is a pattern often used on the album , frequently the choir vocals will sing either the verses or the chorus of a track and one or multiple of the other vocal styles will be deployed to sing the opposite . All the songs are well composed and arranged and have plenty of identity to keep the listeners attention . Some tracks as well as the album overall ( including artwork ) have an archaic feel , and the 3rd musical 'Opus Eclipse' even sounds slightly Egyptian . Theli is a well conceived album that starts strong and doesn't ever give up , the final actual song the album ( 'The Siren Of The Woods' ) is a little slower and lighter and fades out a nicely rounded album before the final musical 'Grand Finale / Postludium' kicks in with a powerful tense ending . Lasting over 51 minutes Theli is well worth the purchase if you feel like experimenting with the weirder side of metal . An original and highly worthy release .
Favourite Tracks - To Mega Therion ; Cults Of The Shadow ; Invocation Of Naamah
Mark - 8.5/10 |
