Therion:
Wiki Entry:
Therion is a Swedish heavy metal band founded by Christofer Johnsson in 1987. The word "therion" comes from the Greek therion (θηρίον
, meaning "Beast," i.e., that of the Christian Book of Revelation. However, the band's name is a homage to the Celtic Frost album To Mega Therion.
Beginning as a death metal band, they later turned to combining orchestral elements with their metal music, employing heavy use of choirs and classical musicians, not only as additions to but also as integral parts of the composition. Therion is the first metal band with fully live orchestra featured. It is also the band which originated, popularised and influenced the symphonic metal genre, cited as "the most adventurous metal band at present". Due to these extents they take in conducting their music, they have been dubbed as "Opera Metal".
Therion's music takes its themes from different mythologies and is based on concepts ranging from occultism, magic and ancient traditions and writings. The majority of their lyrics are written by Thomas Karlsson, head and founder of the magical order Dragon Rouge, of which Johnsson is a member. The band has seen many changes in line-up and style throughout its history.
Personal take:
I've been listening to these guys since 1998 and this is one of the few bands where I would borderline on fanboy. Believing that I would never get to see them, I was elated at the PP6 announcement years ago. Enough to jump around my house for a good 10 minutes screaming. At the time, there were only a few of us clamoring for them to play. Pellaz, Hoyt, and myself being pretty vocal about it.
Anyhow, I know I speak for the three of us when I say we're even more excited at the prospect at seeing them again because they will not play North America anymore after suffering through 2 really bad tours. I don't blame them considering the cost of bringing their show on the road.
Sounds like:
Fairly unique actually. Lots of Classical and Operatic bits mixed in with heavy early metal influence (Celtic Frost, Old Scorps, etc etc). I would think most here would have heard at least a few songs by them at this point in time.
One key thing to note is that there is no real lineup. It's Christofer and a bunch of people he pulls on. Similar to Ayreon in that respect but it's not as 'projecty' as Ayreon is.
Discography at a glance:
There are two fairly distinct periods. Pre-Theli and then Theli and onwards. It's highly unlikely that they will play anything pre-Theli so you will want to concentrate your listening on Theli and everything past that point. I would say to look at the tracklisting on the Gothic Kabbalah live set that was released a few years ago as they will play something similar UNLESS somehow Glenn has convinced them to do the Theli album in its entirety (they did this about a year or two ago to celebrate it's anniversary).
Theli remains my personal favourite and the track "Nightside of Eden" is one of my favourite songs ever. I would kill to hear this song live. KILL!
However, the production on Theli might turn some people off, so I would recommend hitting up the album after that, Vovin. This is really where they took the sound they were aiming for on Theli and brought it to a new level. Vovin is where you'll hear what modern Therion sounds like all through to the newest album.
Quick song hitlist:
To Mega Therion (Theli)
Cults of the Shadow (Theli)
In Remembrance (A'arab Zaraq Lucid Dreaming)
The Rise of Sodom and Gomorrah (Vovin)
Birth of Venus Illegitima (Vovin)
The Crowning of Atlantis (The Crowning of Atlantis)
Seven Secrets of the Sphinx (Deggial)
Enter Vril-ya (Deggial)
The Invincible (Deggial)
Flesh of the Gods (Deggial) :: Hansi Kursch (Blind Guardian) on Guest Vox
Asgard (Secret of the Runes)
Schwarzalbenheim (Secret of the Runes)
Secret of the Runes (Secret of the Runes)
Uthark Runa (Lemuria)
Lemuria (Lemuria)
The Dreams of Swedenborg (Lemuria)
An Arrow from the Sun (Lemuria)
Abraxas (Lemuria)
Son of the Sun (Sirius B)
Call of Dagon (Sirius B)
The Perennial Sophia (Gothic Kabbalah)
Son of the Staves of Time (Gothic Kabbalah)
Tuna 1613 (Gothic Kabbalah) :: LOL Scorpions riff.
The Wand of Abaris (Gothic Kabbalah)
Three Treasures (Gothic Kabbalah)
T.O.F. - The Trinity (Gothic Kabbalah)
If you're just starting off on your Therion experience, I would say go with Vovin (even though I'm way more of a fan of Theli, I recognize that a lot of people might not dig it initially). After that, hit up Lemuria/Sirius B. Work your way through the catalogue after that. Definitely listen to Theli though if you get through Vovin.
Some tube links:
And last but not least:
They will most definitely play this song!
I know this is a lot to go through, but considering how many albums they have and how overwhelmed people might be (so much that it might turn them off). I thought I consolidated the information pretty well.
These guys put on one hell of a show at PP6 so I'm looking forward to them doing a proper headlining session.
Stay tuned for more!
Justin
ps. Please incessantly chant for "Nightside of Eden" for my sanity.
pss. They closed with this at PP6:
Though I was hoping for:
Wiki Entry:
Therion is a Swedish heavy metal band founded by Christofer Johnsson in 1987. The word "therion" comes from the Greek therion (θηρίον
, meaning "Beast," i.e., that of the Christian Book of Revelation. However, the band's name is a homage to the Celtic Frost album To Mega Therion.Beginning as a death metal band, they later turned to combining orchestral elements with their metal music, employing heavy use of choirs and classical musicians, not only as additions to but also as integral parts of the composition. Therion is the first metal band with fully live orchestra featured. It is also the band which originated, popularised and influenced the symphonic metal genre, cited as "the most adventurous metal band at present". Due to these extents they take in conducting their music, they have been dubbed as "Opera Metal".
Therion's music takes its themes from different mythologies and is based on concepts ranging from occultism, magic and ancient traditions and writings. The majority of their lyrics are written by Thomas Karlsson, head and founder of the magical order Dragon Rouge, of which Johnsson is a member. The band has seen many changes in line-up and style throughout its history.
Personal take:
I've been listening to these guys since 1998 and this is one of the few bands where I would borderline on fanboy. Believing that I would never get to see them, I was elated at the PP6 announcement years ago. Enough to jump around my house for a good 10 minutes screaming. At the time, there were only a few of us clamoring for them to play. Pellaz, Hoyt, and myself being pretty vocal about it.
Anyhow, I know I speak for the three of us when I say we're even more excited at the prospect at seeing them again because they will not play North America anymore after suffering through 2 really bad tours. I don't blame them considering the cost of bringing their show on the road.
Sounds like:
Fairly unique actually. Lots of Classical and Operatic bits mixed in with heavy early metal influence (Celtic Frost, Old Scorps, etc etc). I would think most here would have heard at least a few songs by them at this point in time.
One key thing to note is that there is no real lineup. It's Christofer and a bunch of people he pulls on. Similar to Ayreon in that respect but it's not as 'projecty' as Ayreon is.
Discography at a glance:
There are two fairly distinct periods. Pre-Theli and then Theli and onwards. It's highly unlikely that they will play anything pre-Theli so you will want to concentrate your listening on Theli and everything past that point. I would say to look at the tracklisting on the Gothic Kabbalah live set that was released a few years ago as they will play something similar UNLESS somehow Glenn has convinced them to do the Theli album in its entirety (they did this about a year or two ago to celebrate it's anniversary).
Theli remains my personal favourite and the track "Nightside of Eden" is one of my favourite songs ever. I would kill to hear this song live. KILL!
However, the production on Theli might turn some people off, so I would recommend hitting up the album after that, Vovin. This is really where they took the sound they were aiming for on Theli and brought it to a new level. Vovin is where you'll hear what modern Therion sounds like all through to the newest album.
Quick song hitlist:
To Mega Therion (Theli)
Cults of the Shadow (Theli)
In Remembrance (A'arab Zaraq Lucid Dreaming)
The Rise of Sodom and Gomorrah (Vovin)
Birth of Venus Illegitima (Vovin)
The Crowning of Atlantis (The Crowning of Atlantis)
Seven Secrets of the Sphinx (Deggial)
Enter Vril-ya (Deggial)
The Invincible (Deggial)
Flesh of the Gods (Deggial) :: Hansi Kursch (Blind Guardian) on Guest Vox
Asgard (Secret of the Runes)
Schwarzalbenheim (Secret of the Runes)
Secret of the Runes (Secret of the Runes)
Uthark Runa (Lemuria)
Lemuria (Lemuria)
The Dreams of Swedenborg (Lemuria)
An Arrow from the Sun (Lemuria)
Abraxas (Lemuria)
Son of the Sun (Sirius B)
Call of Dagon (Sirius B)
The Perennial Sophia (Gothic Kabbalah)
Son of the Staves of Time (Gothic Kabbalah)
Tuna 1613 (Gothic Kabbalah) :: LOL Scorpions riff.
The Wand of Abaris (Gothic Kabbalah)
Three Treasures (Gothic Kabbalah)
T.O.F. - The Trinity (Gothic Kabbalah)
If you're just starting off on your Therion experience, I would say go with Vovin (even though I'm way more of a fan of Theli, I recognize that a lot of people might not dig it initially). After that, hit up Lemuria/Sirius B. Work your way through the catalogue after that. Definitely listen to Theli though if you get through Vovin.
Some tube links:
And last but not least:
They will most definitely play this song!
I know this is a lot to go through, but considering how many albums they have and how overwhelmed people might be (so much that it might turn them off). I thought I consolidated the information pretty well.
These guys put on one hell of a show at PP6 so I'm looking forward to them doing a proper headlining session.
Stay tuned for more!
Justin
ps. Please incessantly chant for "Nightside of Eden" for my sanity.
pss. They closed with this at PP6:
Though I was hoping for:
Last edited by a moderator:
