Reigning from Sweden, legendary symphonic metal pioneers, Therion, trumpet their way back to the fans with four colossal reissues of their critically acclaimed albums released twenty years ago. With Napalm Records, get ready to grab limited edition vinyl copies of 2001’s Secrets Of The Runes, 2004’s double release of Lemuria and Sirius B, and 2007’s concept double album Gothic Kabbalah, all releasing on October 28.
Each one of Therion's full-length offerings feature symphonic metal glory that combines the heavy death metal influences from the band’s early days and a rich presence of orchestral elements with lyrical focus on occultism, magic, and ancient traditions – finally available on LP again.
Pre-order your Therion reissues here.
More than 20 years after the release of Therion’s legendary tenth album, Secrets Of The Runes, the album will be available on LP once again via Napalm Records on October 28, 2022. Secrets Of The Runes is a concept album inspired by Norse mythology, with its tracks centered around the nine worlds. Sonically, the ancient stories are wrapped in the band’s signature mix of their deep metal sound combined with bombastic classical arrangements and choir.
Compared to other albums by the Swedes, the sound Secret Of The Runes is more raw and brutal, and offers a high variety of sounds. On the one hand, acoustic, quiet tones dominate like on “Ljusalfheim", while “Muspelheim”offers a splendid hard guitar explosion. At the same time, classical influences overlay it all and are complemented by Celtic and often even oriental melody lines. Secret Of The Runes is a perfect example of how Therion deftly blur the boundaries of metal and classical music.
Secrets Of The Runes tracklisting:
"Ginnungagap - The Black Hole"
"Midgård - Olo Midgård"
"Asgård - The Bifrost Bridge"
"Jotunheim - Call Of Jotunheim"
"Schwarzalbenheim - Gold Der Underwelt"
"Ljusalfheim - The Shining Ones"
"Muspelheim - Gudaskymning"
"Nifelheim - Dimmornas Värld"
"Vanaheim - Seed Of Ing"
"Helheim - Den Dimhöljda"
"Secret Of The Runes"
More than 15 years after its simultaneous original release with fellow catalog favorite Sirius B back in 2004, Symphonic Metal originators Therion re-release their album Lemuria in LP format on October 28, 2022 via Napalm Records. Both Sirius B and Lemuria - the latter of which references the mysterious sunken island Lemuria - feature over 170 musicians throughout the two recordings, positioning them as the most elaborate albums of their career. The styles range from gothic parts to melodic death metal and neo-classical elements to power metal in a complex and versatile way. This becomes particularly clear in the opener “Typhon”, which is introduced by some riffs, later transitioning into an orchestral, but not yet opulent passage. A wide range of feeling is also presented largely due to diverse vocals, including soprano and alto singers, tenor and bass singers, solo pieces and even atmospheric choirs. With “Uthark Runa”, the album veers back into heavy metal territory, but with a good portion of orchestral bombast added. Lemuria plays its way gently, melancholically and dreamily into our hearts, only to rock properly in the next moment with rhythmic melody and the ever-present bombast in the sound.
Lemuria tracklisting:
"Typhon"
"Uthark Runa"
"Three Ships Of Berik, Part 1: Calling to Arms And Fighting The Battle"
"Three Ships Of Berik, Part 2: Victory"
"Lemuria"
"Quetzalcoatl"
"The Dreams Of Swedenborg"
"An Arrow From The Sun"
"Abraxas"
"Feuer Overtüre/Prometheus Entfesselt"
Sirius B offers a high variety of musical styles, not only due the incredible talent of Christopher Johnsson, but the 170+ musicians involved in its recording process. The album picks up seamlessly where part one, Lemuria, left off, as opener “Blood Of Kingu” begins as a traditional heavy metal song before evolving into an extremely catchy operatic metal composition in the chorus, characterized by a great female vocal. The following “Son Of The Sun” is also dominated by these female vocals against classic metal riffs combined with catchy melodies. On “The Khlysti Evangelist”, singer Mats Leven takes center stage again and is supported by various male choir backings, giving the song a rather theatrical touch, but nevertheless making it one of the many highlights of this double album. With “Call Of Dagon”, Therion fully unleash all the bombastic elements that were available for this album. Therion convince on Sirius B with finest bombast - versatile yet heavy.
Sirius B tracklisting:
"The Blood Of Kingu"
"Son Of The Sun"
"The Khlysti Evangelist"
"Dark Venus Persephone"
"Kali Yuga, Part 1"
"Kali Yuga, Part 2"
"The Wondrous World Of Punt"
"Melek Taus"
"Call Of Dagon"
"Sirius B"
"Voyage Of Gurdjieff (The Fourth Way)"
Originally released in 2007, Gothic Kabbalah is a concept album based on the book ‘Adulrunan och den götiska kabbalan’ by Thomas Karlsson. This book tells story of Johannes Bureus, who mixed the magic, astrology and alchemy of the 17th century with runes and old Norse gods in order to create his philosophy called ‘Gothic Kabbalah’. Musically, Gothic Kabbalah differs significantly from its two predecessors Lemuria and Sirius B, as Therion offer a more progressive approach, and due to the increased use of female lead vocals, the album is wrapped in a gothic touch. The operatic elements have been slightly reduced, though they are still omnipresent. Pieces like opener "Mitternachtslöwe", the title track or "Son Of The Staves Of Time" show Christofer Johnsson's gifted songwriting talents and reveal new facts with each listen. "Chain Of Minerva" surprises with a very unusual groove, but just like "Three Treasures", it is an absolute highlight of Gothic Kabbalah.
Gothic Kabbalah tracklisting:
Disc One
"Der Mitternachtslöwe"
"Gothic Kabbalah"
"The Perennial Sophia"
"Wisdom And The Cage"
"Son Of The Staves of Time"
"Tuna 1613"
"Trul"
"Close Up The Streams"
Disc Two
"The Wand Of Abaris"
"Three Treasures"
"Path To Arcady"
"The Trinity"
"Chain Of Minerva"
"The Falling Stone"
"Adulruna Rediviva"
Therion is:
Christofer Johnsson – guitars and keyboards
Sami Karppinen - drums
Nalle “Grizzly” Påhlsson - bass
Thomas Vikström – lead vocals
Christian Vidal – guitar
Lori Lewis - vocals
(Photo - Mina Karadzic)
