It’s safe to say that Therion are without doubt one of the pioneers of Symphonic Metal. Though Therion have never settled on just one sound, and this constantly progressive attitude (in the true sense of the word) has led band-leader Christofer Johnson to push the band’s boundaries in every direction possible, endlessly searching for what is Therion’s definitive sound with each album. Each consecutive release makes me think they might have peaked, reached their zenith, something I thought surely must be the case with the exhaustive 3 part single album trilogy “Beloved Antichrist” in 2018. Then when I heard Therion were doing a 3 ALBUM trilogy – “Leviathan” – I feared it might just push this inspirational band too far.
But this of course is Therion, never a band to do the obvious, and now, after more than 30 years, Christofer Johnsson seems to have zeroed in on what Therion’s sound actually is. Basically, it seems to be parts of every album since “Theli” in 1996. And when you think about it – it is. So to celebrate this, Johnsson has had the idea of creating three albums (of which this is the second, hence the ‘II’ in the title…) which are what he believes Therion fans want to hear. I reckon he’s probably right, there are different era’s of Therion that different people enjoy, this is the ethos of Therion and I’m sure he’s not saying that there are only three sides to Therion, there are multiple facets to this complex unit, all on display once more here. Likewise, they can’t be summed up by just one album, I doubt they can be summed up by three either, but this is the band’s plan and I got lucky, having ended up reviewing what is probably their most instant and accessible album to date containing all the aspects of Therion’s style that I personally really enjoy.
Therion sound like no-one else, though some bands sound a little like elements of Therion after the event, such is their influence. Therion have that big, epic, operatic bombasticity on display, no matter the length of the track. They are one of the few bands who can make a three-minute song an epic and this attitude is resplendent here, with only one track breaking the 5-minute barrier. This is very much a collection of individual songs, as with “Leviathan”, rather than a big, involved concept. Thomas Vikstrom and all his fabulous fellow vocalists once more deliver a stunning performance with all the drama that every Therion track always demands. The music is as symphonic, majestic and mighty as Therion fans would expect and hope for. However, it is not as simple as looking for an era of Therion to compare this album to, think more of some of the most instantly recognisable songs on every album since “Vovin” and you’re on your way there. Yes, of course there’s complexity, there’s intricacy, but equally there’s bucket-loads of melody – ‘Alchemy Of The Soul’ might just be the catchiest, most instant Therion track ever!
The whole “Leviathan” trilogy idea is something that only a band with Therion’s back catalogue could pull off. Almost like writing your own best-of, revisiting certain parts of your past sound and grouping all of those in a similar style onto three albums (OK, two so far…). Therion’s skill is actually very well illustrated right here on Ave Noctum. Our own Martin Harris wrote a very glowing, and as always superbly descriptive review of Leviathan part 1 (as well as a suitably epic and wonderfully in-depth analysis of “Beloved Antichrist” which is well worth a read!). Personally, it took a while for that album to gel with me and even now it’s not actually one of my favourites by the band. But this album? Now this album I really like. I liked it immediately, and it’s getting better with every listen. This has all the different moods of Therion that I’m personally drawn to – It’s more than likely that this will be my favourite album of the trilogy, but it won’t be everyone’s, and that’s the point I’m trying to illustrate. Just as everyone has their own personal favourite Therion album from the past, everyone will have their favourite album from the “Leviathan” trilogy. That’s Therion – you gotta love ’em for it.
(9/10 Andy Barker)
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