Theli

Theli

Track Listings

1. Preludium

2. To Mega Therion

3. Cults of the Shadow

4. In the Desert of Set

5. Interludium

6. Nightside of Eden

7. Opus Eclipse

8. Invocation of Naamah

9. Siren of the Woods

10. Grand Finale/Postludium

Tracks:

Preludium
To Mega Therion
Cults of the Shadow
In the Desert of Set
Interludium
Nightside of Eden
Opus Eclipse
Invocation of Naamah
Siren of the Woods
Grand Finale/Postludium

Customer Reviews:

Brilliant.......2007-05-03

I was never a fan of gothic or death metal but this album totally changed my mind. I had no idea music by "that kind of band" could be so complex and lovely. The main instruments that you will hear on this album are the violin, piano, drums and guitar with a touch of operatic elements every now and then. There are also some sexy female vocals. Don't expect much from the lyrics, though. It's probably a mix of English, Latin and the extinct Akkadian language. The lyrics sound satanic and they probably are but who cares? I don't believe in stuff like that. All I know is that these guys sound great and make me feel good. I recently purchased the limited edition CD with two extra live bonus tracks (To Mega Therion and Black Sun). Unfortunately, I accidentally got rid of my old one some years back which is why I had to buy it again. That one did not include the bonus tracks but came in a jewel case unlike this one which has a cardboard i.e. digipack case instead. I prefer the jewel case but it's not a big deal. I haven't really gotten into Therion's more recent stuff but I hear nothing before or after compares to this album. It's a keeper.

Over rated but Good.......2006-09-26

Most outsiders don't understand why this album is so praised. It was the first big album by therion. The first one that got them popular, and the first one to experiment heavily with opera and classical arrangements.

The music and recording itself was done rather early in the bands career and is rough around the edges so to speak. If you are a person that only listens to mainstream bands you may have a hard time liking this. On the other hand most of the album is pretty enjoyable and interesting just for the fact that it is something different.

If you are a first time Therion listener, I would suggest buying a more recent album first.

A Very Unique Sound.......2006-07-20

I really like Therion, but some of their albums don't interest me too much; especially the later ones. But this one really is a masterpiece, I love it...the recording is cool, the vocals are excellent (like on wings of the hydra, thats really perfect), and the songs are very distinguishable and unique. The production is great, a lot of cool songs, I would highly recommend this album.

Therion is a VERY unique band, really trying something cool, and I admire that. Some people might find it a little cheesy or nonstandard, but the songwriting quality is excellent.

Classical music meets classic metal.......2006-01-02

This album combines the best aspects of classical music, lush choirs and strings with the best aspects of heavy metal, crunchy guitars and searing solos.

Some people might think that Classical music and metal are polar opposites but I would beg to difer. Firstly, classical music like metal has most often dealt with the heavier, darker side of life like most metal. Death and war. Ride of the valkyries aint about sunshine and happiness. Secondly, all of the best classic music has had 'riffs' just like metal. For example, the hall of the mountain king. Or the imperial march from Star Wars (granted that isn't exactly classical music but it might as well be) They just used strings and horns instead of electric guitars. Lastly, both music forms share a sense of grandiosity that other styles don't. Many metal songs end with dramatic drum flourishes much like classical music. They both have a tendecy to produce 'epics', big beefy songs that burn into the double digits in minutes occasionally. Anyway, the only point I bring all this up is to emphasise that although this is a very unique album it is not as bizarre as it sounds on paper.

Back to the actual album, this is maybe the best combination of metal and choir I have heard. Each song is a classic, worthy of a listen. Although some songs are better than others there is not a one to dismiss out of hand. Of course I have my favorites. 'To Mega Therion' might be the best metal song I have heard in some time. Very epic. Nightside of Eden is epic as well and has a cool guitar solo. The only downside of the album may be the cover. As my bro once said "that's the worst cover I've ever seen." Indeed, the cover is so lame it is almost funny. It's a dog headed demon thing standing by a wall with a very bored, disinterested expression, like "yep, I'm a demon." But covers don't make albums and this is no exception.
Buy it and believe.

Hate to agree with the naysayers, but..........2005-10-28

This album is not bad, in fact I think it's actually quite good. However I personally did not find it to be the grand masterpiece that others believe it is.

My tastes probably differ to most reviewers here. I'm a classic heavy metal fan, and my favourite bands are Iron Maiden, In Flames, Dio, Megadeth, 80s Metallica, Rainbow, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin... all bands that are certainly more mainstream than Therion. I just really enjoy exploring new music and thought I'd offer a different perspective for those that might also be looking for something new.

If you're a fan of Nightwish, have a very open mind, or happen to like both classical/opera and heavy metal then I think you'll like this. However for the average heavy rock/metal fan such as myself it's a hard listen, and I found the operatic vocals to be a bit overpowering.

I enjoyed Lemuria/Sirius B and Secret of the Runes more, and if you're really interested in Therion, Secret of the Runes is as good a place as any to start.

Average customer rating:

Temple Of Theli
Heimdall
Manufacturer: Northwind
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000LX5FUQ

Average customer rating:

Amazing

Theli
Therion
Manufacturer: Nuclear Blast
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Death Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000LWSJT6

Customer Reviews:

Amazing.......2007-04-03

I have to assume that you are curious or at least mildly interested in Therion, or you wouldn't have pulled this review up. Therefore, I'd like to say some things before I get started. First I want you to have an open mind, not because Therion's music is weird but because it isn't weird. If you've got some preconceived idea that their music consists of brutal screaming, growling Death/Black metal, that couldn't be farther from the truth. What is this music? It is thoughtful, lush, exciting, melodious, unique, bombastic, grandiose and classical. If you like your music simple, move on, you won't like this. Therion's music is complex, almost as complex as all of the symphonies or operas you've most likely heard.

If you like or at least appreciate the classics, there's a good chance you'll like Theli. If you like your heavy metal with an edge and more progressive like Dream Theater or Yes, then you also might like Theli. If you like the classics and metal you can't miss, you'll love Theli. Theli and subsequent Therion releases combine Heavy Metal on one hand and Classic/Opera on the other perfectly by amalgamating these polar opposites into an amazing symbiosis.

Therion started out recording heavy death metal. I know because I didn't realize this and I ended up with one of those cds. It wasn't awful but it was close. Then in the early to mid 1990s Therion grew up, er, started to evolve and boy did they change. It was almost as if they were the object of divine intervention. Theli, I believe, was the first of the heavenly inspired albums, I'm not sure, it could have been A'arab Zaraq Lucid Dreaming. I wasn't exposed to Therion until late 2000 and then I was like the proverbial child in a candy store, five or six (I thought it was more since I didn't know they switched styles) glorious albums to acquire without the usual one to three years wait in between.

Therion's leader/creator and inspiration is Christofer Johnsson. "He started to play the bass at the age of 15 and changed to guitar a year later. Therion in one form or another (known earlier as Blitzkrieg, Megatherion and other names) is the main band that has occupied him ever since he started playing, but he also made 3 albums with a weird psycho-metal band called Carbonized as well as some vocal performances in bands, such as the Swiss band Messiah and the Swedish band Liers In Wait.
He has no formal music education and has never taken any kind of music lessons."

Well enough background. What is Therion? It's hard to say. They really defy classification because they are in a category by themselves, the unique representative of a sub-genre we will call, lets see, how about Romantic, neo-classical, symphonic, operatic metal. Pretty long but definitely descriptive. Only one other group seems to come close to Therion's style - Haggard whose 16 piece orchestra does have an operatic quality but unfortunately retains that questionable growling that is evident in "death metal groups" such as Sins of thy Beloved, Tristania and After Forever. I like all of the aforementioned groups but I love Therion.

Comments From Christofer Johnsson:
"Finally had the budget to do such an album I had been dreaming of doing for years! I used songs that I had written years earlier, but saved as there was no possibility to record them at those stages + wrote some new tunes to finish this album that was a long time dream of mine to do."

Like Haggar, Therion Also has a large orchestral presence, from which bombastic melodies arise from the musicians while choirs radiate enchantment with angelic voices. Interludes are carried by strings and and other magical ingredients. I have never heard anything quite like it, although some of the power metal bands are starting to use orchestras and choirs with good effect. A brief epitome of the songs of Theli can be seen below

Info from CD booklet:

Christofer Johnsson - guitars,vocals,keyboards
Piotr Wawrzeniuk - drums,vocals
Lars Rosenberg - bass
Jonas Mellberg - guitar,acoustic guitar,keyboards

Recorded January-March 1996 at Impuls Studio, Hamburg
Mastered at Central Sound Studio, Hamburg

Engineered by Gottfried Koch and Jan Peter Genkel.
Mixed by Jan Peter Genkel.
Produced by Jan Peter Genkel, Gottfried Koch and Therion.
Mastered by Jan Peter Genkel.

Cover Art, Layout, and graphic design by P. Gron.

Dan Swano - vocals
Anja Krenz - solo soprano
Axel Patz - solo bass baritone
Jan Peter Genkel - grand piano,keyboards & programming
Gottfried Koch - keyboards & programming

North German Radio Choir is:
Raphaela Mayhaus - soprano
Bettina Stumm - soprano
Ursula Ritters - alto
Ergin Onat - tenor
Joachim Gebhardt - bass
Klaus Bulow - bass

Siren Choir is:
Anja Krenz - soprano
Constanze Arens - soprano
Riekje Weber - alto
Stephan Gade - tenor
Axel Patz - bass baritone

The orchestration on this album was made by The Barmbek Symphony Orchestra, samples and keyboards.

In closing, I would like to point out that, the only thing extreme about this music is - IT IS EXTREMELY GOOD

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