Therion – Leviathan III
Therion – Leviathan III
Napalm Records
Release Date: 15/12/2023
Running Time: 52:00
Review by Rory Bentley
8/10
Sorry this one’s late my friends but if you release an album in December you’re gonna have to wait till I’ve finished drinking and eating to near death over the festive period, but on with the review! Despite my favourite band being Nightwish and my partiality to a bit of Symphonic Metal (which as a tattooed skinhead is something that people find difficult to reconcile when they meet me), I’ve never properly gone in on the alleged ‘godfathers’ of the genre Therion. The truth is I’m very picky with my Symphonic Metal and you have to do something pretty special to get my attention while avoiding the things that annoy me about the genre. For one thing, your production value better be pretty top notch, anything that sounds like a casio keyboard can get in the bin – this ain’t Dungeon Synth. You also need to be very careful about introducing male vocals, as I can’t stand bad Death Metal vocals done by some European lad that has all the intimidation-factor of a puppy wearing boxing gloves. There’s also only a certain level of cheese which I’m willing to accept. I get that the genre itself is pompous and overblown, and cheese is a necessary part of the deal, but there’s an invisible line that once crossed I immediately tap out.
Therion, at least on this album, largely avoids all these tropes and can consider me a new convert. I knew I was in safe hands when ‘Ninkigal’ kicked things off with a top-notch production job that sounds ‘big time’. The combo of crunching riffs and a dramatic choir made up of singers with zero chill is exactly what I love about the genre and the tag team of commanding classical soprano vocals and properly gnarly guttural male vocals is a winner. The guitars are upfront in the mix and the whole thing sounds ballsy as hell.
‘Ruler of Tamag’ manages to best its predecessor, beginning with a lush, fantastical acoustic intro before taking everyone back to chug city with that mammoth guitar tone again. The song impressively builds momentum as each verse becomes a little more beefed-up as the song progresses and the orchestra sounds like a million bucks. All in all the perfect start to the record.
On ‘An Unsung Lament’ the band stretch their Prog wings with yet more success. Starting out as a crunchy mid-paced rocker with an eastern tinge, things pick up the pace and drama that stay just on the right side of Power Metal to stop me being mean again (sorry Veonity, hope we can be friends one day. You’d probably have to stop making music but a lad can dream), before powering into another strong, strident chorus and an unexpected and pretty freaking dope time signature change that ushers in operatic tenor singing and Queen-style harmonies that pack a serious punch.
It is this combination of aggression and grand Prog ambition that provides the majority of the record’s highlights. The brooding darkness of ‘Malefecium’ is another example of where the musical flavours are balanced to perfection, however the band do creep into some of the aforementioned Symphonic Metal tropes that make my bumhole tighten up like an intern on the This Morning set.
Despite having a robust, beefy foundation of riffage, ‘Ayahuasca’ is hampered by some really cheap-sounding keyboard motifs that took me out of the song and made things sound a little bit tin-pot. It feels like a real own-goal as the production value and budget on display for the rest of the album shows that this is clearly a case of a poor tonal choice rather than an unfortunate fiscal constraint that a less established band might have to put up with. I also do find the male melodic vocals a little hammy in places, but that’s more of a preference thing and they don’t detract from the overall songs.
Whether the band are chanting like a Pagan cult about to barbecue Florence Pugh’s boyfriend on ‘Midsommarblot’ or belting out air-grabbingly dramatic Flamenco lamentations on ‘Duende’, this is an ambitious, satisfying late addition to a catalogue I’ll definitely be delving into and I can’t see long term fans being dissatisfied with this fine record from a bunch of old dogs who are still full of new tricks.
TRACKLISTING:
01. Ninkigal
02. Ruler of Tamag
03. An Unsung Lament
04. Maleficium
05. Ayahuasca
06. Baccanale
07. Midsommarblot
08. What Was Lost Shall Be Lost No More
09. Duende
10. Nummo
11. Twilight of the Gods
LINE-UP:
Christofer Johnsson – guitars and keyboards
Sami Karppinen – drums
Nalle “Grizzly” Påhlsson – bass
Thomas Vikström – lead vocals
Christian Vidal – guitar
Lori Lewis – vocals
LINKS:
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