REVIEWS:
An extreme metal band that basically revolves around singer/songwriter Christoffer Johnsson, a very ambitious man. His earlier albums were pretty much straight ahead death metal, but he eventually started adding in different elements, most notably choirs and orchestras. All of this peaked on Theli, the first album they released where Johnsson was able to fully record his vision (there are tunes there that he had written before, but saved them for just such an opportunity). Since then, he has left singing behind, handing over vocals to guest singers and choirs, and has made his music more and more classical and less and less metal.
--Philip Maddox
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(reviewed by Philip Maddox)
This album is usually considered Therion's best release, and their most unique. I haven't delved deeper into the catalogue of Therion (yet), so I don't really know about it being their best, but it's probably their most creative. What Therion has done here is take elements of classical music (orchestras, choirs, etc.) and slam them right into the middle of an extreme metal album. The classical bits aren't merely embellishments (like they were on S&M by Metallica), but they're all integral elements of the songs. I don't know what you think, but I think that's pretty damn cool. One of the main reasons that I think it's so cool is because it actually WORKS! Extreme metal and classical are on opposite ends of the musical spectrum, but they gel perfectly here.
There are several completely outstanding cuts on this record. The opening "To Mega Therion" sets the mood absolutely perfectly, with a choir singing a descending line directly against a hard metal riff, soon joined by STRINGS! Soon after that, head honcho Christoffer Johnsson screams a couple of lines, followed by some slick vocals from black metal big man Dan Swano. The piece plows ahead, never losing its energy. Great cut. "Cults Of The Shadow" is really dark, with the an arrangement augmenting all of the right parts. Even extremely heavy tunes like "Invocation Of Naamah" get a great arrangement. The choir sounds right at home over the pounding backing. Awesome.
In my opinion, though, as awesome as most of this album is, nothing comes up to the standards set by what I consider to be the centerpieces of the album. "In The Desert Of Set" is amazing. It features a great, distorted, slow eastern-tinged riff, soon joined by choirs, who sing beautifully. The piece slows down until it stops, then explodes into a fiery fast section, keeping that awesome riff intact. Powerful metal writing at its best. My favorite tune here, though, doesn't have much to do with metal at all. "The Siren Of The Woods" is one of my all time favorite songs. It starts off slowly and beautifully, with a simple acoustic guitar line played against a synth background. When the choir joins in, singing in Akkadic, the effect is stunning. As the tune moves through slightly louder parts, the mood is never lost, and the tune completely earns its nearly 10 minute length.
The album has a couple of elements I'm not quite as crazy about, though. The 4 instrumental links here are nice, but aren't really all that necessary to the album. I wouldn't miss them. Plus, a couple of these tunes are about a minute too long (especially "Nightside Of Eden", which drags a little). Still, the good far outweighs the bad on this album, and I highly recommend it. It's hard to find (at least around where I live), so you'll probably have to mail order it. It's worth it, though.
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