Therion shreds every which way in 2007

By Greg Manning
Collegian Staff
February 21, 2007

Those who have been familiar with Sweden’s Therion throughout the band’s 16-year career should not be surprised that Christofer Johnsson and company have chosen to pursue a new musical direction on their latest double-album, Gothic Kabbalah. Emerging as one of the more solid death metal acts to grace the Swedish scene in the early ’90s, the group slowly came into their own by incorporating choir sections and symphonic arrangements into their music, eventually leaving their death metal days behind them.

Evolving into something akin to a heavier, more aggressive sounding Tran-Siberian Orchestra, Johnsson and his bandmates were at their best and most complex on 2000’s Deggial and 2001’s Secret of the Runes albums, which featured a unique mix of heavy metal riffing with layered choir vocals and the use of a full orchestra. The band went back to the glory days a bit in 2004 with the double release of Lemuria and Sirius B, bringing the guitars back up to the forefront and letting the orchestra play more of a supporting role. Gothic Kabbalah, taking these two albums into account, seems like a natural progression.

The first thing seasoned listeners will elicit from the first track off of the album, “Der Mitternachtslowe,” is that the group is beginning to rely once again upon different solo singers to flush out their sound, rather than relying on the choir most of the time. In fact, the choir rarely makes an appearance over the course of the two-disc album. The opener alternates from a delightful female soprano voice, to more rock-oriented male vocals, and back to a poppy sounding female singer.

Also, the band has opted to rely on a computer program called Vsl for the larger orchestrations, instead of shelling out the money to record with a full orchestra.

If the fact that the orchestra and choir play less of a role on Gothic Kabbalah sounds simply dreadful to you, don’t worry; the performances of the individual band members and solo singers, as well as the sheer variety of the songs on the album, more than make up for what initially could be seen as a downgrade in musical integrity. Gothic Kabbalah comes across as a more personal sounding and collaborative effort for the band.

The solos by lead guitarist Kristian Niemann are simply breathtaking throughout, and the drums of Petter Karlsson lend a solid backbone to the music while giving the other instruments adequate breathing room. Johnsson himself gives a fine performance on guitar and keyboards.

The more collaborative songwriting on the album (all past albums were penned almost exclusively by Johnsson) makes Gothic Kabbalah the most varied Therion album to date. The title track sounds like a modern version of Jethro Tull, with its use of ’70s style keyboard effects and delightful interplay between guitar and solo flute.

Meanwhile, “Tuna 1613” and “T.O.F. - The Trinity” are pure speed driven power metal bombast, the latter track featuring one of the most powerful riffs the band has written in their career. For those who appreciate the band’s more atmospheric, somewhat goth-oriented side, the Egyptian-sounding “Wand of Abaris” and the deep baritone vocals on the “The Perennial Sophia” should do just the trick. Furthermore, “Chain of Minerva,” with its interplay between choir and solo female vocals, seems like it could have come off of 1998’s Vovin – one of the band’s more atmospheric offerings.

Finally, those who like to revel in the dense orchestrations and choir vocals of the Deggial days aren’t completely forgotten, as the 13- minute album closer “Adulruna Rediviva” ends the album on a truly epic note.

It has become readily apparent to me, having listened to Gothic Kabbalah ad infinitum for the past week, that Therion is one of those musical forces that exist simply to make other musicians feel inadequate. No matter what they choose to do, whether it be death metal, choir music, prog-rock or something in between, it seems the band can do no wrong. Gothic Kabbalah is a brilliant offering from a brilliant band and deserves your attention if you like music.

manningg1@lasalle.edu