Therion - Sitra Ahra

Operatic Metal
Nuclear Blast

2010

1. Introduction/Sitra Ahra
2. Kings Of Edom
3. Unguentum Sabbati
4. Land Of Canaan
5. Hellequin
6. 2012
7. Cú Chulainn
8. Kali Yuga, Pt. 3
9. The Shells Are Open
10. Din
11. After The Inquisition: Children Of The Stone

Therion are one of those bands among the heap who are pretty good, have their own sound, but have never quite amazed/impressed me. Their sound is decent and fairly ambitious with the band's larger than life operatics, but they've yet to do that one album for me... You know the one. The one that grabs you and never lets go. That being said I think they've put out some pretty decent music. The last one didn't do much for me, but you never know what a new album will bring.

On this one my complaint is almost the opposite of the last album. On Gothic Kabbalah I felt like Therion were going too traditional without rich soundscapes and letting the operatics flow. Strangely, on Sitra Ahra the opposite seems to be the case as the operatics are stepped up, but often in a meandering way that quite frankly bores me. The guitar never seems to drive these songs home and I find myself stuck in the middle of atmosphere that never really builds to anything. Rarely do both the operatic soundscapes and metal come together in a way that I find particularly appealing and they don't seem to compliment each other. Part of this could be the mix which seems to be dominated by vocals and operatics rather than metal guitar, but I cannot entirely fault that.

With this album it also becomes increasingly obvious to me that Thomas Vikstrom is not the right fit for this band. At times he pulls off a slightly operatic touch, but not with a lot of power in the delivery. When he comes through as a lead he just doesn't seem to have the sort of projection and dramatic feel that you'd think a singer for Therion would have or need. It's not that I don't like his singing, but it doesn't seem to work here and his voice never really soars above in the dramatic fashion I'd expect with this music. I can't help thinking he'd be best sticking with Dark Illusion (who are pretty great btw).

Basically, this album fails to grab me with metal hooks that keep me interested while expanding on that with operatic atmosphere. Instead I feel bogged down in songs meandering along most of the time. One notable exception is the title track which initially grabbed me and made me think I was in for a strong album. The song Sitra Atra is kind of what this album should have been with a good catchy metal roll, good lead vocal style (if not spectacular singing), and some nice choir use to back it up. This song is actually a winner and it's a shame the rest of the album fell flat after it. The only other bright spot is Din which succeeds in being a good straight forward ripper with some harsher vocals. Not exactly what I was looking for, but a good song is a good song.

In conclusion, the songs just don't seem to be here nor the sound coming together as a complete package. This is a miss coming off another somewhat poorly received album. I don't hate this album, but it does strike me as the definition of mediocre minus a couple bright spots. All in all, I'd call this one forgettable. Maybe bigger fans of Therion might find something more here, but I couldn't get into it much.

Highlights: Sitra Ahra, Din

Rating - 2.5/5

Therion - Gothic Kabbalah

Symphonic Metal
Nuclear Blast

2007

Disc 1

1. Der Mitternachtlöwe
2. The Gothic Kabbalah
3. The Perrennial Sophia
4. Wisdom And The Cage
5. Son Of The Staves Of Time
6. Tuna 1613
7. Trul
8. Close Up The Streams

Disc 2

1. Wand Of Abaris
2. Three Treasures
3. The Path To Arcady
4. TOF - The Trinity
5. Chain Of Minerva
6. The Falling Stone
7. Adulruna Rediviva

Gothic Kabbalah brings another 2 disc release on the heels of Therion's last release(s) Sirius B & Lemuria. Certainly the band doesn't skimp on the amount of material included as this 2 disc release spans around an hour and twenty minutes. I'm generally a quality over quantity man, but it is nice to have a long album, if the release can hold up for that much material.

The thing that strikes me immediately about Gothic Kabbalah is that it seems to be leaning in a more traditional direction than I'm used to out of Therion. Really a lot of the powerful operatics I like out of the band's later material are very much missing here. Most of the vocals opt for a much more direct/traditional metal approach or dark/gothic male & non-operatic female vocals. The operatic singing seems to be reserved to the extent of infrequent backups. While there is certainly still an epic/symphonic touch to the music, that too seems a bit more direct and guitar driven to me. I rarely get a very classically oriented feel from the music as it strays either toward the traditional or somber gothic. Few tracks really jump out at me as big stand outs either like the past. Most of the material here just can't compare to the larger than life majesty of past songs like Enter Vril-ya, Son Of The Sun, Midgard, etc and that is a disappointment to me. There are moments of this sort of larger than life, operatic sound but most of the material seems to lack that sort of power. One notable exception is the well done epic, Adulruna redivivia, which is signature symphonic Therion.

Overall, judged on it's own merit, this isn't a bad release, but it isn't a really noteworthy one either. I think the vocalist choice & usage is definitely off and the music isn't really as powerful as some of their past works. It succeeds at being a decent, somber to heavy metal album that may be an ok listen for fans of gothic metal, but it's not really what I want out of a Therion release. Certainly, this is not the place to start with this band if you're new to them.

Highlights: Adulruna redivivia, Gothic Kabbalah, The Wand Of Abaris

Rating - 2.5/5