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THERION ‘Lemuria/Serius B’ (Nuclear Blast) (2004)
Do you believe in destiny? Do you believe that if you want something very
much, all the forces in the universe will side with you in order for you to
achieve your goals? I don’t know about you people, but I believe that if
there is one person in the world that should have this belief, that should
definitely be Christofer Johnsson - Therion’s guitarist.
The band went through many difficulties since it was formed back in 1987, in
a suburb of Stockholm. Even back in 1991, when the debut album "Of Darkness"
was released, you could tell that Therion were meant for bigger things, but
the road to recognition was long and hard. It wasn’t before the release of
the band’s second album "Beyond Sanctorum" that Christofer started to have
doubts about the future of the band, mainly because of the many different
changes in Therion’s line up, as well as the inability to have a contract
with a label which would promote the band as much as it deserved.
The first important moment in the history of the band was when they released their
third studio album"Symphony Masses: Ho Drakon Ho Megas". It was the first
time that the band displayed a variety of different influences, such as
Persian scales and what they many times refer to as "religious chanting".
The strength of the recordings was such that made Megarock Records (their
label at the time) release them from their contract in order to be able to
sign with the giant called Nuclear Blast records.
The band managed to establish themselves by releasing albums such as "Lepaca
Kliffoth","Theli"(rumours say that the manager of Nuclear Blast had to even
sell his own car in order to raise the budget that the band needed so as to
record the album), "Vovin","Deggial", "Secret Of the Runes", and their first
ever live album "Live in Midgard" in 2002.
Two years later, and with fifty five (!!!) songs up their sleeve, the band
decided to release two albums at the same time, "Lemuria" and "Serius B".
The promo I received from Nuclear Blast contains thirteen songs in total,
and I can honestly say that there is not a single moment on this sixty
four-minute album that I didn’t enjoy. Christofer Johnsson once again
managed to create an album that the music world will be using as a reference
in years to come. This album has all the elements that made the band loved
by the Metal (and not only) crowds in the first place. Songs are more
straightforward this time, but the compositions in now way lack of
creativity.
The first album, Lemuria, is represented by six tracks (the final product
will have 10 songs), the first of which is "Typhon", a really heavy
composition with a nice catchy riff and the use of Death Metal vocals that I
gladly welcome. Of course the choirs and the amazing operatic male/female
vocals are still here, better that ever - an excellent start for the
album.
"Uthark Runa" is a majestic mid tempo song where vocals take the
leading role - excellent! "Lemuria" starts with an acoustic guitar and
beautiful female vocals, which is soon followed by a choir. This is what I
call a ballad. "The Dreams Of Swedenborg" is very difficult to categorise as
a song, but I would say that it’s a typical Therion song with Power Metal
aesthetics.
When the intro of "An Arrow From The Sun" and the melodic guitar
decided to show up, I knew that I would simply have to listen to this song
over and over again, and that’s exactly what I did. You cannot write songs
like this one every day, but then of course, how many Christofer Johnsons do
you know that play this kind of music? The last composition representing
"Lemuria" in this promo is the masterpiece called "Feuer Overture /
Prometheus Entfesselt".
All the worries that I had, whether Sirius B would be as good as
"Lemuria", went out of window after I listened to the first notes of "Blood
Of Kingu". What a great song, and also what a satisfaction to know that
there are no fillers in these two albums. The orchestral parts at the end of
the song reminded me of the legendary Greek composer Vassilis Poledouris,
who wrote the music for the Epic "Conan The Barbarian" - simply magnificent!
I didn’t have enough time to catch my breath before "Son Of The Sun" decided
to honour me with its presence. Christofer knows better than anyone else
that the secret formula for a successful song is a nice catchy riff, and
that’s exactly what you have here, with the addition of course of operatic
and choral vocals. "The Khlysti Evangelist" is a present to all the Russian
fans of the band. The song talks about Rasputin, and the introduction in the
Russian language creates the ideal atmosphere that such a great composition
requires. Heavy guitars, atmospheric keyboard parts and excellent male
vocals make this one of the most interesting compositions of the album.
Up to this point all the compositions were quite straightforward. For all of
you, though, who loved the experimentations of the band in albums such as
"Vovin" and "Deggial", "Kali Yuga Part 1" is the one that you will enjoy the
most. There are no doubts as to the technical abilities of the musicians who
participate in this band, but even if there were any, this composition will
make sure that they disappear once and for all.
The next song of the album "Kali Yuga Part 2" is more melodic than it’s predecessor, but these two
songs should be treated as one, especially since they are mixed in such a
way that they are presented as one. Things slow dramatically with "Call of
Dagon", a mid tempo composition which sounds like the perfect soundtrack for
a mediaeval fairytale.The last song which is presented on this promo, and
also as part of "Sirius B", is the self-titled composition, an atmospheric
ballad based on acoustic guitars - the perfect way to end this magic
journey. Again I need to mention that the final product of "Serius B" will
contain four additional tracks.
How often do you get to listen to thirteen songs that are equally good from
start to finish? Well, I’ve been seriously listening to this music for the
last seventeen years, and I can honestly say that it’s not that often!
These two albums were not created by any ordinary band. I have always claimed that
Heavy Metal is the classical music of the 20th Century and Therion are the
band that can, beyond any doubt, prove my point! I feel honoured and very
privileged to have listened to these two albums, and I cannot wait to get my
hands on both the final products!
I would urge you to go and see them live if they’re coming to your town. There’s nothing more impressive than seeing
guys in tuxedos in the audience standing next to Metalheads, both enjoying
the amazing music of the Swedish masters.
Absolute perfection!
*****
Review by John Stefanis
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