ALBUM REVIEW: Leviathan – Therion

After decades of one of the most illustrious careers in symphonic metal, Sweden’s THERION have seemingly conquered every mountain there is to climb. They’ve covered a gamut of themes in their sixteen albums thus far, from esoteric magick to Norse Mythology. In 2018, guitarist and band creator Christofer Johnsson released his most ambitious record to date: Beloved Antichrist, a full scale rock opera that stretched over three hours. That left him and his collaborators with only one natural challenge, which turned out to be the exact opposite direction: create an album of pure THERION ‘hits’.

With the aim to distil the band down to its essence, Johnsson created a massive number of songs to be split across three albums, all under the main project name of Leviathan. The first of these, also titled Leviathan, proves that Johnsson was more than up to the task, as the record proves to be mostly full of hits, and only a few misses, that perfectly capture what makes THERION an enduring act in a compact and brisk format.

Opening track The Leaf on the Oak of Far sets the stage perfectly with a catchy, chugging riff right away. There’s strong vocals on both sides from male vocalist Thomas Vikstrom and Lori Lewis, the band’s stalwart soprano. It’s a pretty straightforward symphonic metal track with solid choral work and a nice melody that lifts and ascends with each phrase. It’s a dependable starter that leads to a song that really hits the mark. Tuonela is perhaps the catchiest song on the record, starting right away once again with chug and moving to an absolutely lovely vocal melody and performance from Lewis that feels lifted straight from the woods of Mirkwood or Rivendell. Soaring and swooping strings bolster a powerful chorus made all the more strong from the addition of former NIGHTWISH vocalist Marko Hietala. The song really spotlights every element perfectly with great performances across the board.

The album’s title track unfortunately follows this up as a bit of a dud, with a plodding tempo and an actual overuse of the trademark chorus elements the band employs. Despite some really strong vocals at the end, this track falls flat. However, Die Wellen Der Zeit is the exact opposite. Aching strings form the backbone of the track, with Lewis’ vocals at their most ethereal. The chorus here is epic and large, and combined with the orchestra they are goosebump inducing. This track will most certainly conjure images of a Viking rowing crew moving across stormy tempest. A huge swell and a triumphant finish cap another of the strongest songs on the record. And then the record takes another unfortunate dip with Azi Dahaka, a track full on with the Egyptian/Middle Eastern influence. There’s a lot of vocal prowess, but nothing that really stands out and is catching to the ear. It feels a bit filler, but luckily there’s a great run of tracks ahead.

Eye of Algol is the best track on the record. It’s shrouded in swirling darkness and sounds as if it would soundtrack a Lovecraftian god rising out of the sea to ensure humanity’s ruin. The vocals actually take a more poppy approach, but the riffs are heavy and would sound even better if they were raised up in the mix a bit more. The Middle Eastern influence is back, but it works so much better here. The bass on this track is really prominent, especially during the solo, which lends it extra heft. The male vocals that respond to the female vocals sound amazing, with a definite cultish feel, and as they finish the song, the eldritch ritual is complete.

Nocturnal Light keeps the ball rolling with a lovely pastoral orchestra that calls to mind green fields and soft winds before launching into another triumphant passage of voice and orchestra to start the song. The track feels like a composition from the Soul Calibur video game franchise, and that’s a great thing, because the swinging, slow tempo and powerful chorus harmony make this another epic track. This track has a lot of spice, as the contrast in male and female vocals in each verse add depth and texture, and the Egyptian melodies come back around again before a crowning key change and some absolute monster drums close it out. This is followed up by the short and sweet Great Marquis of Hell, with choral passages that definitely evoke the title. Vikstrom takes the lead here and sounds solid. It’s another straightforward rager that adds another flavour to the record. Despite its length, it does a great job showing off all the THERION elements, and it certainly fits in the ‘hit’ category.

The album dips down again with Psalm of Retribution and El Primer Sol, two songs that fill out the runtime but don’t stick much at all. The former has a great marching tempo that feels like a death march with its dark chanting, but aside from that part’s repetition, nothing much stands out. The same can be said with the latter with the vocals as well, and it’s the weakest instrumental song on the album as well. However, the album closes on a high note with Ten Courts of Diyu, which pulls influence from Chinese and Asian textures. Lewis‘ vocals are sultry and mysterious, but transition to a soft, lilting chorus with a sweet feel. But they only get more powerful as the song continues. The best guitar solo on the record appears on this track as well, and the highlight of the song is when all instruments drop out except the orchestra, before one last sing to the heavens chorus to end the record.

If THERION wanted to capture what fans loved about them in one record, they succeeded pretty handily. Not every song is a hit, but every element is, of course, technically on point and instrumentally excellent. With more punches that land than miss, fans of symphonic metal and of THERION in general should be extremely pleased with this record on the whole, and even more excited that there are two more Leviathan records on the way in the near future.

Rating: 7/10

Leviathan is set for release on January 22nd via Nuclear Blast Records. 

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