In 2021 Swedish metallers Therion released Leviathan, an album that focused on the hit-sound of the band. To be honest, Therion never had any hits per se but I guess they mean the more direct and catchy arranged numbers and less of the progressive stuff. Leviathan was, if my information wasn’t totally up the wall, meant to be a double album at first but was split into two parts. A great move as far as I’m concerned as 22 songs in one bite is a bit too much to be digested at once. More artists should follow that. Leviathan was a damn fine record and now when part 2 is out, I’m just as interested in whether the musical style will follow part one or if it will take another turn as if the songs are as good or will come across as leftovers. You know like Re-Load was to Load by Metallica.
Opener “Aeon Of Maat” is a short – only three minutes – and concise straight forward hard-rocker, punchy and in-your-face. The grounds of the song is pretty plain but it’s Therion after all so the operatic vocals and symphonic twists are never far away. The lush orchestration brings more of a spice than taking over. The chorus-hook is sharp which makes it memorable. Good shit this. The leading single “Litany Of The Fallen” is a dramatic and cinematic mid-paced number that brings on a slight musical-theatre vibe where I can spot both latter-day Nightwish and Savatage’s more pomp-laden moments. It’s heavy and bombastic with a crunchy riff, muscular rhythms and a grandiose refrain that feels both uplifting and ominous. This is awesome, in my humble opinion.
“Alchemy Of The Soul” starts out slow, dramatic and smooth as a semi-ballad yet with a moody darkness which contrasts to the prog-laden, bumpy rhythms which contrasts even more to the metal-injected guitar riffs. We also get the operatic vocals, violins, cello, flute and orchestrated synths where the chorus brings on a distinct catchiness. Very good. “Lunar Coloured Fields” is a slow and bombastic slightly orchestrated pop-rocker with opera-vibes. It’s symphonic laden but it also holds crunchy riffing guitars and a Jon Lord influenced organ which gives it a 70’s Classic Rock touch. The vocal-lines are smooth yet beautifully arranged, very memorable. The song alternates between the slow and down-beat and more upbeat straight forward rhythms which brings on a dynamic contrast. Good one.
The harder and rougher “Lucifuge Rofocale” looks back at the 80’s and the Metal/Hard Rock from that decade with a riff obviously influenced by Dio’s “We Rock”. As a whole it’s more of an in-your-face and straight ahead hard-rocker with rawer vocals that rubs shoulders with the operatic voices they’re known for. A good, beefy and concise number. The single “Marijin Min Sar” is an upbeat, uptempo and straight-forward hard-rocker that throws out bouncy rhythms, crunchy guitars and some oriental flavours. The more “normal” hard rock voices blends again together with operatic ones. It’s a heavy, distinct and direct tune yet with very melodic melodies and an instant chorus-hook.
On a grand ballad note “Hades And Elysium” comes on slow, deep and cinematic with a darker and subtly creepy tone that gives a flare of Alice Cooper’s spookiest moments. It’s a big and bombastic tune that rests inside a massive soundscape with a glance towards musical theatre and some string orchestration. It’s mellow and melancholic, ominous yet beautiful with lovely melodies throughout the song. Brilliant. On a very live-friendly note, “Midnight Star” comes on strong, punchy and hard-hitting on a muscular Hard Rock stomp. It’s also quite pompous with the orchestrated keys and the blending of operatic female vocals and Hard Rock male ones makes for some cool dynamics. It’s a good tune albeit not as strong as the previous ones.
“Cavern Cold As Ice” is a full-on Melodic Rock transformed into a Therion tune. Big on chunky, 80’s flirting Hard Rock guitars, slick keyboards, orchestration and clean vocals, quite straight forward with a catchy main riff and a memorable main-melody. The vocal melodies are catchy as hell with a Ghost meets ABBA Pop twist. The chorus is smooth and hit-friendly and sticks from go. Conservative Therion fans might hate this but I love it. “Codex Gigas”, also a single, blends Heavy Metal with Classic Rock and holds a beefy riff and a raucous groove. It opens on a doomy vibe but takes on an energetic and vigorous vibe – heavy, dark and punchy in a slower tempo. The chorus holds some direct vocal-melodies, really hooky with some more traditional Hard Rock singing. Very good.
Erik Mårtensson (Eclipse, W.E.T, Nordic Union, Ammunition) guests on lead vocals on “Pazuzu”, released as a the second single. It’s a more traditional rocker with big Melodic Rock melodies, Metal riffage and distinct hooks on a straight forward and plain structure. That being said, the song also brings gothic, symphonic passages and gloomy atmospheres and huge choirs. It’s a melodic track but there are aggressive parts of the verse-vocals as well. The chorus is brilliantly catchy. The album closes with “Pazuzu” once again, this time in an AOR-version. At least that’s what it says on the cover. In reality, the two versions doesn’t differ that much at all and this has little to do with AOR. Hardly anything. The vocals on the latter is smoother and that’s pretty much it.
Had both Leviathan albums been released as a double-album it would have made perfect sense as they are similar in sound and structure. The similarities are a damn good reason for the albums to be released separately with some time apart as a double album would’ve been a bit too much to digest. Quality wise I’m glad that they did release two albums because just like the first one, this one is great. Which album is the better is impossible to say. It’s a tie. They’re equal. What stands clear though is that Therion hasn’t lost the ability to write good songs, songs that manage to stick without being overly commercial. If you’re a fan of the band from Gothic Kabbalah and forward, I can’t see how this record could disappoint.
8/10
More Therion reviews:
Sitra Ahra
Les Fleurs Du Mal
Leviathan
Tracklist:
1. Aeon Of Maat
2. Litany Of The Fallen
3. Alchemy Of The Soul
4. Lunar Coloured Fields
5. Lucifuge Rofocale
6. Marijin Min Nar
7. Hades And Elysium
8. Midnight Star
9. Cavern Cold As Ice
10. Codex Gigas
11. Pazuzu
12. Pazuzu (AOR version)
CD & Festival reviews 