Therion- Gothic Kabbalah: Album of the Year

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Therion: Gothic Kabbalah


I look forward to Therion recordings the way that many metalheads anticipate the next release by Opeth. Both bands are among metal’s aristocracy, for their dedication in furthering their art through continuous improvement in songwriting and technical musicianship. Incidentally, both bands are closely linked to the Swedish death metal scene of the early 1990’s that helped to revolutionize metal before the uprise of Norway in international metal.

Both bands have sought acclaim with the mindset that metal, even extreme metal, is a legitimate art form that is worthy of pursuit with excellence and expertise, and deserving of eclectic appreciation. Opeth is a relative newcomer, but has close ties with Dan Swano and the now disbanded pioneer act Edge of Sanity. Therion, meanwhile, was among the founders, but like Edge of Sanity, grew bored with the death metal simply trying to outdo itself when its musical edge was already ahead of extreme metal in the United States and the United Kingdom.

A detailed history of Therion can be found at Wikipedia, and I’ll comment only briefly on the early albums. Of Darkness was the first effort in which Therion made its mark, and death metal it was. Today, it’s less than run-of-the-mill, and more Florida-style than Swedish. Therion’s first classic was Symphony Masses: Ho Draken Ho Megas, which was very progressive for its day, among the early death metal albums to incorporate jazz elements and comparable to progressive death from Canada and Australia. The followup effort, Lepacca Kliffoth didn’t quite work for me, but it inaugurated Therion’s direction toward darker and more melodic music.

The world of heavy metal was in the process of complete upheaval by a group of American jazz musicians who took a huge step by challenging the intelligence and sophistication of a fan base that was still considered stupid and low-brow by the rest of the music industry. Longtime metalheads know exactly of whom I speak, and I’m envious of those of you who got to see this act live. For you younger metalheads, this was Cynic, and the album was called “Focus,” and it is as essential as “Paranoid” or “Master of Puppets.” If, nearly fifteen years later, “Focus” were to debut today, metal would be changed just as profoundly. That’s how brilliant “Focus” was, and how enormously it affected metal.

The impact of “Focus” should also give you an idea of the shadow in which other metal innovators existed. Among those was Therion. When “Theli” was released, Norway was in vogue, and Sweden was out. Many of today’s classics in the subgenres of black metal, Florida death metal, and grindcore were hitting, and many new international scenes (Greece, Switzerland, Germany, UK doomdeath) were getting a lot of attention.

In that flurry of context, Therion’s “Theli” still completely rocked my world, and changed my idea of what metal could be. Metal had for some time sought for legitimacy in classical influence, and even operatic influence, but so far the best examples were from UK-style doomdeath, which were accepted mostly by the people pretending to be vampires that inspired me to pretend to be a frankenstein. UK-style doomdeath produced some enduring metal classics (My Dying Bride: “Turn Loose the Swans,” Anethema: “Serenades,” and The Gathering: “Always”), but it never crossed the line to metal revolution.

“Theli” did. It was the first metal album that was full integrated with classical orchestrations and choral vocals, to the point that it was not simply metal adorned with classical elements. It was heavy, but it was both high-brow and legitimately beautiful, and it was unlike anything metal had heard before. The orchestration was largely sampled (from the London Philharmonic), but frontman Christopher Johanssen used two choirs and his visionary songwriting to produce a distinctly classical metal album of grandeur and majesty. Therion got a good amount of acclaim for the work, and what Johanssen thought would be his swan song and masterpiece ended up being a new beginning. A masterpiece it remains, and it is among my favorite metal albums of all time.

The followup was “Vovin,” and like future Therion albums, sought to further integrate the chorus and orchestration into the “symphonic metal” sound. More of the strings were live, and production improved. “Vovin,” was darn good, and I enjoyed it a great deal before my copy was stolen by anti-metal individuals who thought they were censoring some kind of “bad” music. Still, “Vovin” had lost a bit of the edge that “Theli” had established, and I adhered to the reviews of future Therion releases that sounded parallel. What can I say? I was destitute at the time.

A couple of weeks ago, though, I was perusing my local music shelves. I prefer to buy music on impulse, and a new double-CD by Therion certainly qualifies. The albums I really wanted (Ihsahn’s “Adversary,” and another copy of Nile’s “Black Seeds of Vengeance”) are notoriously difficult to find without giving out a credit card over the internet, and the impulse factor would not have led me to such jewels as Amon Amarth’s “With Oden By Our Side.” Or the new Therion, called “Gothic Kaballah,” which was a complete surprise.

With the troubles Therion has experienced, seeing a new and unrecognized CD on the shelves at Best Buy represented an immediate sale. Never mind that it’s a double CD, with no “bonus tracks,” live editions, remixes, or videos. Johanssen has simply put together something that required more space to accomplish. That might come as a shock to you guys, but that’s something I can appreciate.

“Gothic Kaballah” strikes a chord with me. The concept of the kaballah, of encrypted and symbolic knowledge the original subject, is one that speaks loudly to me. It is, to me, the story of life as a constant metaphor and parody of itself, and the idea of higher knowledge to those who seek it in solitude, for themselves, in the truly intended language of the author. I haven’t delved into the symbology, or potential cryptology of the album, but perhaps I might… once I’m done being blown away but the sheer music and impact.

“Gothic Kaballah” is better than “Theli” and “Vovin” combined. Where more recent Therion efforts focused on integrating the classical and choral elements, “Kaballah” is a proud expression of metal first. You won’t hear blast beats here, but at the same time you wouldn’t remotely expect simple strings hung upon stand-alone metal. I hate to say it, for fear of diminishing what “Theli” accomplished, but it makes that landmark album seem loose and disorganized in comparison. What you’ll hear is a colossus of structure that would make Samael envious, but not representing metal for its own sake. It’s all about the music, and it completely outdoes itself.

That means that the metal, while at the forefront, doesn’t drive the music beyond what it should. It’s heavy, but it’s beautiful. It’s fraught with Old-Testament symbolism upon which I’m not really qualified to comment. The music is composed with grandeur, but with aggression and confidence reflected in its preference for solo soprano, baritone, and tenor vocals, accompanied with rock vocals that sound all the world like Bruce Dickinson.

What I especially like about “Gothic Kaballah” is its use of a central musical theme, a majestic anthem invoking the recurring image of the lion, and recycled in variation repeatedly throughout the album. It cements “Kaballah” as a metal album, to challenge the listener of metal and non-metal alike, and solidifies its concept in a distinctly orderly and elegant Persian atmosphere beyond the Sumerian elements of earlier Therion. Metallic solos once again contribute, but they are engineered to feel and sound as if they were integral to the album. And thus they are.

What I see “Gothic Kaballah” contributing to the wider metal landscape is its immaculate use of multiple styles of vocals, and its rich writing and arrangements. No metal album in my memory has been so ambitious or successful in its vocals. The musical and academic pursuits that support this are no less brilliant.

In this effort by Therion, those endeavors are heavier, and more metal, than ever. Those who care to read this should know that I have found my official Album of the Year.

Sincerely, and with mighty hails,

Ghrankenstein