Therion - Beyond Sanctorum - guest review

Therion - Beyond Sanctorum - guest review

Cover image of the reviewed item
Band
Therion
Release date
1992
Reviewer
9.0
7.2
Tracklist
01. Future Consciousness
02. Pandemonic Outbreak
03. Cthulhu
04. Symphony Of The Dead
05. Beyond Sanctorum
06. Enter The Depths Of Eternal Darkness
07. Illusions Of Life
08. The Way
09. Paths
10. Tyrants Of The Damned [bonus]
11. Cthulhu [Demo Version] [Re-issued 2000 bonus]
12. Future Consciousness [Demo Version] [Re-issued 2000 bonus]
13. Symphony Of The Damned [Demo Version] [Re-issued 2000 bonus]
14. Beyond Sanctorum [Demo Version] [Re-issued 2000 bonus]
Guest review by
metalhead3
January 18, 2009
Therion is one of the oldest Swedish death metal bands. Although they have totally changed their sound after 5-6 years their old work should not be underestimated. I actually prefer their older albums.

Beyond Sanctorum is the second full-length by Therion and the first thing that can be noticed when listening to the album is that they have changed their sound a bit. Thrash metal elements are less present than in their debut and there are more melodic death characteristics. It is also important to notice that the songs greatly differ in length, some songs like "Beyond Sanctorum" are shorter than 3 minutes while the longest "The Way" is longer than 10 minutes. With that they proved that they are capable of creating very progressive songs.

In the album the guys from Therion really proved that they are great musicians and that they have great songwriting skills. The longer songs are my favourites, especially the "Symphony of the Dead", which starts with a 3-minute intro (which is also available on "A'arab Zaraq Lucid Dreaming") and then turns into a great death metal song. "The Way" is also a very good song, although it is longer than 10 minutes it never becomes boring. Another thing worth mentioning is that the production is poor for a death metal album, but since the album has been released in 1992 I can understand it.

To sum up, this album is great for any old-school death metal fan, I would also like to add that it is also accessible to death metal newbies. I swear that you won't be sorry if you buy it!
Rating breakdown
Performance: 9
Songwriting: 9
Originality: 9
Production: 8
Written by metalhead3 | January 18, 2009
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.

Comments

Comments: 4 Visited by 109 users
Dominus
The Shooter

Posts: 375


Permalink
30.03.2009 - 01:40
Rating: 8
Dominus
The Shooter

Posts: 375


Great album!!!
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Dangerboner
Lactation Cnslt

Posts: 7263


Permalink
14.04.2009 - 22:29
Rating: 8
Dangerboner
Lactation Cnslt

Posts: 7263


I love The Way. Therion has almost all of my favorite instrumentals. I still would give this an 8 at the most though.
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Uirapuru
Liver Failure

Posts: 2955


Permalink
16.06.2009 - 16:56
Uirapuru
Liver Failure

Posts: 2955


Written by Dominus on 30.03.2009 at 01:40

Great album!!!

Only two words, but define very well what this album is.
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member of the true crusade against old school heavy metal, early 80s thrash, NWOBHM, traditional doom, first and second wave black metal, old school death metal, US power metal, 70s prog rock and atmospheric doomsludgestoner. o/
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ylside
Staff

Posts: 4792


Permalink
30.12.2009 - 14:27
Rating: 9
ylside
Staff

Posts: 4792


One of the best Swedish death metal albums out there, and Therion albums as a matter of fact.
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