Therion – Theli (Re-Issue)
Therion – Theli (Re-Issue)
Hammerheart Records
Release Date: 09/09/2022
Running Time: 51:27
Review by Simon Black
9/10
How have I never heard this before?!?!
As one of the few people across the sites I contribute too who actually and actively enjoys the more Power and Symphonic ends of the Euro Metal spectrum (to much snorted derision from some of my peers I might add) and yet I missed the granddaddy of them all! Now, I know most of you think Symphonic Metal started with (and probably in most cases ends with) Nightwish, but the reality is that Therion were actually the progenitors of the whole sub-genre before any journalist had come up with the tag line.
Their history is fascinating.
With a name inspired by one of Celtic Frost’s key 1980’s releases, Sweden’s Therion started life as a Death Metal act, admittedly one with a more polished technical style than was the norm in those Old School days and with a bent for more political lyrics more usually associated with Thrash. During those unstable years of the 90’s and after being handed around labels, the band initially started experimenting with 1993’s “Symphony Masses: Ho Drakon Ho Megas”, which spliced up Death, Doom, Heavy Metal, a bit of Industrial, with some Middle Eastern tinges and some all important classical and choral elements. Whilst hardly a massive hit, it was clearly interesting enough for Nuclear Blast and their very welcome budgets to pick them up. From the pot pourri of that release, they chose to take the choral and classical elements as the basis for the next experimental stab in the dark, for which Nightwish and everyone who came after is no doubt exceedingly grateful…
To be fair, the clear and distinct fusion of styles that Symphonic Metal became is a way off yet, making this more Classical Metal for me, as the former dominates. The structure of it, the clear classical rather than Rock or Metal based progressions and the fact that the guitars are not the dominant instrument in the mix make this a very different beast indeed. There’s also a huge slab of 1980’s Gothic Rock in the guitar sounds as well, which strongly utilise semi-acoustic sounds throughout, rather than relying on overdriven crunch throughout. Yes, there’s Metal in there, but it remains a key flavour in the mix, rather than the dominant element, which is what the genre developed into.
Then there’s the vocal work.
Band progenitor Christofer Johnsson takes the main more Metal solo vocal spots, but the true lead spot actually belongs to the two choirs who contribute to this record (the North German Radio Choir and the Siren Choir). They actually cover more of the vocal airtime than Johnsson and it’s why this record stands apart from anything that came afterwards. Nightwish (and every other imitator) famously like to balance with a male and female voice, and it’s the contribution of solo soprano Anja Krenz which lays the groundwork for this. It’s a trick that Therion themselves use to this day, but again, it starts here.
Then there’s the fact that the instrumental sections on here are so extensive and with the exception of the epic ‘The Siren Of The Woods’ aren’t doing so by dragging a conventional song structure out by several minutes by over-extending the solo or middle eight. Instead, these instrumentals are the backbone of each track and indeed the piece as a whole, as it’s the vocal sections that are there to break things up.
It’s a fascinating piece of work. Anything Metal normally distinguishes itself from almost every other form of music by the rhythmic domination of a deep and thunderous bass, and indeed double bass drum, but again this record throws that out, and Piotr Wawrzeniuk opts for placing the snare and high toms way higher in the patterns mix so as not to drown out the instrumentals.
It actually took me a good four or five spins before I could even attempt to put fingers to keyboards on this one, because it is so distinctively different and thoroughly unique. It may have started a whole sub-genre, but it’s also very different from what that genre became and clearly I’ve got some catching up to do.
Wow. Just wow…!
‘To Mega Therion’ Official Video
TRACKLISTING:
01. Preludium
02. To Mega Therion
03. Cults of the Shadows
04. In the Desert of Set
05. Interludium
06. Nightside of Eden
07. Opus Eclipse
08. Invocation of Naamah
09. The Siren of the Woods
10. Grande Finale / Postludium
LINE-UP:
Christofer Johnsson – guitar, vocals, keyboards
Piotr Wawrzeniuk – drums, vocals
Lars Rosenberg – bass guitar
Jonas Mellberg – guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards
LINKS:
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Simon Black and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.