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Therion - Leviathan review



Reviewer:
N/A

243 users:
7.06
Band: Therion
Album: Leviathan
Release date: January 2021


01. The Leaf On The Oak Of Far
02. Tuonela
03. Leviathan
04. Die Wellen Der Zeit
05. Aži Dahāka
06. Eye Of Algol
07. Nocturnal Light
08. Great Marquis Of Hell
09. Psalm Of Retribution
10. El Primer Sol
11. Ten Courts Of Diyu

With Leviathan, Therion give you exactly what you want.

Therion's 2010s have been a bit rougher than their 90s and 00s. Their career has always seen them shift from one album to the next, more or less, but starting as a death metal band, slowly developing symphonic metal, taking on various concepts, has given rise to plenty of well received albums through those decades. 2010's Sitra Ahra, though pretty stylistically similar to the albums that came before it, proved to be pretty forgettable in the long run. 2012's Les Fleurs Du Mal saw Therion covering old French pop songs, that was a pretty controversial move. Though not as controversial as 2018's Beloved Antichrist, a 3-hour 3-part opera. An operatic metal band doing an opera, a shocker indeed. And this is where we are today, a world where both Therion and symphonic metal in general feel like they've reached a tipping point.

So, where else to go? Another controversial concept album? Well, Leviathan might prove to be pretty controversial regardless, but its intent is pretty straight-forward. Leviathan is an album that is very self-conscious about being a sell-out album. Though not overtly, it basically a "hit" album, where every part of what has been challenging about Therion's music has been stripped in favor of just 45 minutes of balls-to-the-walls symphonic metal. It isn't "sell-out" in the same way that Metallica releasing The Black Album was, but akin to a hypothetical in which Opeth just say "fuck it" and come out with a new album with growls and big riffs. Beloved Antichrist felt like the music that Christofer Johnsson wanted to make, but his fans didn't. I'm not sure yet if this is the opposite.

The album has a really artificial feeling, like it grabs you and yells "Isn't this exciting?" in your face. The trick is both that Therion are still one of if not the prime symphonic metal band, and that the album is a bit tongue-in-cheek about its nature. I'm not sure if the same trick would work if Nightwish pulled it. Therion have some tricks up its sleeve. For one, they borrowed Nightwish' (ex now, but he was still in the band when this was done) Marco Hietala for one track, also bringing back Snowy Show and Mats Leven, the former on drums and the latter on vocals, while bringing some new vocalists in the fold (Scardust' Noa Gruman, The Loudest Silence's Taida Nazraić, and Rosalía Sairem), with Chiara Malvestiti also returning. As far as the songs go, they're about as great as you can expect from Therion willingly writing only arena rockers. The timing might be a bit off for those, but each of these would be an absolute blast to hear live. But would I rather listen to this than anything from Live Gothic's setlist? Maybe just "Tuonela". Maybe.

I guess one's enjoyability of this, granted that they're already a symphonic metal fan, relies a lot on whether they buy into the authenticity of this. But then again, Therion has released a lot of authentic stuff in the past decade that wasn't so well received, so maybe there's something else. I'm sure some people will not be pleased until Therion artificially recreate Of Darkness... instead of Gothic Kabbalah, so if even this fails to rekindle some flames, maybe that is the last resort.

But regardless on your feelings about the album's authenticity, no one can deny that this album's biggest crime is the font used for the album title.





Written on 19.01.2021 by Doesn't matter that much to me if you agree with me, as long as you checked the album out.


Comments

Comments: 17   Visited by: 341 users
20.01.2021 - 00:05
nikarg

Quote:
I'm sure some people will not be pleased until Therion artificially recreate Of Darkness...

This is me right there.
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20.01.2021 - 00:22
JoHn Doe

"Quote:
I'm sure some people will not be pleased until Therion artificially recreate Of Darkness..."

that's funny
----
I thought the two primary purposes for the internet were cat memes and overreactions.
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20.01.2021 - 16:56
Ellrohir
Heaven Knight
I want Therion to re-create stuff like "Kings Of Edom" or "Voyage Of Gurdjieff"
----
My rest seems now calm and deep
Finally I got my dead man sleep


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20.01.2021 - 17:51
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Radu i am suprised you know Scardust
----
Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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20.01.2021 - 17:53
Rating: 6
RaduP
CertifiedHipster
Written by Bad English on 20.01.2021 at 17:51

Radu i am suprised you know Scardust

I know their singer is on this record and that's about it.
----
Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking
One day there will be no heart at all?
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20.01.2021 - 17:54
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Written by nikarg on 20.01.2021 at 00:05

Quote:
I'm sure some people will not be pleased until Therion artificially recreate Of Darkness...

This is me right there.

Same, i am not against this band, but I remember how good Therion, Sentenced, Haggard, Crematory, Atrocity once was playing death metal in that time when old school was just that time... That swedish band what had where river of maness scream cant remember name. From style change i only like Sentenced a lot.
----
Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
Loading...
20.01.2021 - 22:26
MarlKarx

If you add a viking to this album cover it's exactly Twilight of the Thunder God by Amon Amarth.
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20.01.2021 - 23:30
CWA

Written by MarlKarx on 20.01.2021 at 22:26

If you add a viking to this album cover it's exactly Twilight of the Thunder God by Amon Amarth.

my thoughts exactly
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21.01.2021 - 12:07
AnGina--
Dark Phoenix
I'm really looking forward to this one. CJ has revealed a lot about the album and songs so far, also that there are Leviathan II and III in the works. Honestly, I'm all up for a good Therion release, for me Gothic Kabbalah was their last good attempt. I'm not one od those "Of Darkness..." fans, more of a Vovin/Deggial era sympathizer, probably one of rare who prefers Arab Zaraq to many other Therion albums as well. Well, just have to wait a bit and hear for myself.
----
You think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it. Molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was a man. But it was nothing to me but blinding.
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21.01.2021 - 14:56
Rating: 6
Stalker
Lone wanderer
Written by AnGina-- on 21.01.2021 at 12:07

I'm really looking forward to this one. CJ has revealed a lot about the album and songs so far, also that there are Leviathan II and III in the works. Honestly, I'm all up for a good Therion release, for me Gothic Kabbalah was their last good attempt. I'm not one od those "Of Darkness..." fans, more of a Vovin/Deggial era sympathizer, probably one of rare who prefers Arab Zaraq to many other Therion albums as well. Well, just have to wait a bit and hear for myself.
I was really looking forward to it as well, even preordered the CD, but I cannot say I am pleased with it, and it does not really remind me of the Sirius B/Sitra Ahra/Gothic Kabbalah era much, even less so of Vovin/Deggial. But I guess they pulled a really good marketing trick by advertising the album as such. All songs are kind of OK, but nothing really stands out for me (except 2 small Gamma Ray rip offs I heard).
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21.01.2021 - 18:20
AnGina--
Dark Phoenix
Written by Stalker on 21.01.2021 at 14:56
But I guess they pulled a really good marketing trick by advertising the album as such.


Well, I'll wait to hear it myself, but honestly, I'm not surprised by what you're saying there. All the fuss and "songs countdown" really created an overall hype. I was actually wondering how much can CJ's words impact reviews and overall fan acceptance of the album, I mean - if you read a song is suppose to "sound like this and that" you can easily find that sound, even though it's not there.

I'm genuinely always interested in any Therion release, but the last few just weren't my cup of tea. Having something in the vein of L/S-B would be wonderful, but utopic in a way I guess, considering how much Therion has changed over the years. I guess the album will be all over the place tomorrow, so I'll get back.
----
You think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it. Molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was a man. But it was nothing to me but blinding.
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22.01.2021 - 04:03
Rating: 10
FELIX42

I really enjoyed thealbum...for me leviathan its better than sithra ahra and its in a same level of lemuria/sirius b
tuonela and eye of algol are my favs.. rosalia its fantastic in this song.....azi dahaka,leviathan,the leaf on the oak of far,psalm of retribution are fantastic songs too
im follow therion since lepaca kliffoth era,very happy with leviathan
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22.01.2021 - 08:00
Rating: 7
Lord Slothrop

Listening to it now. So much better than that bloated behemoth they released a few years ago.
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22.01.2021 - 11:07
AnGina--
Dark Phoenix
Written by Lord Slothrop on 22.01.2021 at 08:00
bloated behemoth


:lol: I'm sorry dude, but this is just to much
----
You think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it. Molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was a man. But it was nothing to me but blinding.
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23.01.2021 - 13:24
Ivor
Staff
Radu, what we want is an album with a feeling. This has all the signature elements starting from Vovin to Gothic Kabbalah but it's not a living thing. It lacks the rug that ties the room together, if you will. That said, Leviathan is a considerable improvement over what was referred to as behemoth.

I.
----
No friends for playing games
No foes who scorn my name
Computerized machines of steel and rust
/---/
No friends in my house on Mars
No foes in my house on Mars
I was born in my house on Mars
I will die in my house on Mars
-- Ayreon - My House on Mars
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02.06.2021 - 22:20
Rating: 10
damnfool

I'm familiar with THERION since Ho Drakon Ho Megas. At first I was not sure what to think of this last album. But now I'm certain that Leviathan is Therion's best album ever. Killer songs: EYE OF ALGOL, EL PRIMER SOL, TUONELA, LEVIATHAN, AZI DAHAKA, GREATE MARQUIS OF HELL, TEN COURTS of DIYU.... Damn, only the "Die Wellen Der Zeit" seems lagging behind a bit. I guess this is the first Therion album where almost all songs are best hits. But seriously, try listen to it on HQ equipment, not on shaity youtube, where 50% of sounds are not there.
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21.10.2022 - 21:01
Rating: 6
tintinb

Quote:

"Isn't this exciting?

It's really not!!
----
Leeches everywhere.
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