Label : Nuclear Blast Records
Review by Tony Cannella
The band Therion has been in existence since 1987. In that time they have continued to evolve and progress into one of the leading Avant-Garde, Symphonic metal bands ever. The band has gone through a myriad of line-ups with the one constant force being Christopher Johnsson. Therion return with their newest symphonic metal experience, “Sitra Ahra”, and the band continues their evolution and growth on their new output. Where to begin? There is a lot to sift through on “Sitra Ahra”, which is the case on most Therion albums. I suppose the thing that always fascinated me about Therion, is just the hugeness of their sound, and that absolutely holds true on “Sitra Ahra”. Joining Mr. Johnsson for this album are three singers, Snowy Shaw and Thomas Vikström provide the male vocals, while Aesma Daeva singer Lori Lewis is the female vocalist. There is no denying that the scope on “Sitra Ahra” is simply huge. Songs like “Sitra Ahra”, “Kings of Edom”, the 10-minute “Land of Canaan”, the all-out metal fury of “Din” and the 7-minute closer, “After the Inquisition: Children of the Stone” all represent where Therion is headed in 2010 and beyond. Female vocalist Lori Lewis provides an operatic style to the songs, while the male vocals alternate between traditional metal singing and a more extreme, gothic style. Featuring a playing time of an hour, Therion always manage to keep things interesting and moving along at a rapid pace. It is amazing to me how Therion continually are able to produce such good quality material after all these years. With “Sitra Ahra”, Therion has delivered quite an epic piece of work and a worthy addition to their legacy.
Rating – 90/100
Tracklist
- Sitra Ahra
- Kings of Edom
- Unguentum Sabbati
- Land of Canaan
- Hellequin
- 2012
- Cu Chulain
- Kali Yoga III
- The Shells Are Open
- Din
- After the Inquisition: Children of the Stone
Line Up
- Christofer Johnsson – Guitars, Keyboards
- Thomas Vikström – Vocals
- Snowy Shaw – Vocals (Session Member)
- Lori Lewis – Vocals (Session Member)
- Christian Vidal – Guitars
- Nalle “Grizzly” Påhlsson – Bass
- Johan Koleberg – Drums
Links