Therion guitarist / founder Christofer Johnsson has checked in with the following update:
"So, the Leviathan albums have been released and we did our very best to give the fans what they wanted with those. Many of you liked all of them and hopefully those who didn’t found at least one Leviathan which was for them. Or if not, at least being able to put together one Best Of Leviathan I - III that do the trick for you. The only thing we can can not do is to give you your youth back and recreate that special feeling that one has at that age discovering new music.
Given the commercial success of the first two albums and the less than usual senseless whining by the internet complaint mafia, one must say it was been a mission complete with the trilogy.
Fans in Latin America have also been asking for a show with orchestra for 15 years after we did it in Europe. So finally, I gave in (after being offered tons of cash admittebly). The result was a sold out arena show with over 11,000 tickets and an orchestra and choir that did a much better job than in Europe. That mission complete went totally through the roof!
So what now? Well, we still have a world tour 2024 to promote the trilogy in Europe/China, and a tour to promote Leviathan III in Latin America on our to-do-list before the future starts kicking in. And what does the future hold after that?
Well, there will be some changes. When it comes to recordings, I’m not entirely sure how the next Therion album will be like. I only know that there will be many more Therion albums to come. What I do know for sure is also that after completing three complex Therion albums in three years, I now need a creative break from the band for a while and will be doing not one, but two new albums with my '70s sounding side project, Luciferian Light Orchestra, next. Fact is that those two albums are not only fully written, but even partially recorded (all drums, bass and guitars). They just need the keyboards and vocals nailed before I can mix and release them. Aside from some musical differences from the debut album, I would also say a difference is that LLO is now a Therion side-project rather than my personal side project. Everything has been recorded by Therion and Therion-related members this time. And Thomas has teamed up for the songwriting.
Then I also want to make a classic sounding '80s heavy metal album. I feel that I owe that to the 11 year old Chris that was dreaming about playing metal back in 1983 - without his dreams I wouldn’t be here. I just need to touch a guitar and '80s heavy metal riffs start flowing. There has always been a lot of heavy metal hidden in Therion (and will always be), but now it’s time to go pure and together with Thomas, I have already written a kick ass '80s heavy metal album that will show the kids of today how it’s done. Also for this album we have already recorded drums, bass and guitars. And yes, it’s also an official Therion side project. No need to go over the river to fetch water.
Then we have the question of touring. And here there will be some changes. I still love being on stage and would never retire totally from touring as long as I have the health and can still perform well. For sure another 20 years of playing live. But, I have started to grow tired of everything else on tour aside from being on stage. All the travel, all the waiting... so we will be raising the bar a notch and start cherry-picking a bit when it comes to concerts. Which means that the places where we either pull the least people, get least paid or have the most unfavourable rules for artists to perform will be excluded after the coming tours. This of course means that from previously being highly unlikely we ever tour the US again, you can now pretty much take for granted we will never play there again. And in Europe it means we will be cutting down a lot in the future as well. No show in the UK and only one show in France on the upcoming tour is an indicator, but I would also say that without France on the way, it may not be worth it to have 4 travel days to get down and back up to Spain and Portugal either. It may also happen that we will not tour on Balkan to the same extent like before. In 2018, we did a stunning 57 shows in Europe. This time we do 30. I would expect maybe 15-20 next time.
So what I am saying is that you can’t take the band for granted in Europe in the future (unless you live in Poland or Netherlands possibly). For some places this tour will be a goodbye concert, for other it may mean we will at least not return for a very long time. I already said no to offers from three very famous festivals in Europe for this summer and we will only do one festival in Europe this year. I’d expect we do 1-2 festivals a year for future summers as well. We will always play Europe, but we can’t be taken for granted in all countries there anymore.
For Latin America and the rest of the world I’d expect it to be like it always has been. Some countries we always play, some we play occasionally when the offer is good enough. With other words, if you live in Mexico you don’t have to worry (we may even do more shows there than last time) and Chile + Colombia can be pretty sure we will always come around as well. The rest will be depending on the offers and general conditions.
LLO and the heavy metal project won't be playing live at all."
The newest opus from Swedish symphonic metal legends, Therion, was released on December 15th, 2023 via Napalm Records. With Leviathan III, mastermind Christofer Johnsson finalizes the Leviathan trilogy, continuing the band’s 30 year-plus string of success after its predecessor Leviathan peaked at #11 on the German Album Charts.
Along with their new studio album, Therion delivers another astonishing single. “Nummo” is a speedy track delivering splendid hard guitar explosions and the finest classic vocals and choirs. Check out the track and its accompanying video below.
Christofer Johnsson on “Nummo”: "’Nummo’ is a song about the amphibious fish-like entities in the Dogon religion. We already touched the Dogon religion with the Sirius B title track in 2004, but as it wasn't much lyrics in that song, it felt the time was right for a revisist and a proper lyric. In the video clip we try to give an introduction to Dogon ceremonies. We couldn’t afford to pay Nummo in person to appear in the video clip, so we had to make an animation for that.”
Leviathan III sets off with the powerful “Ninkigal”, catapulting the listener directly into the dramatic universe of Therion with skillfully crafted compositions and operatic female vocals by Lori Lewis, alternating with grim growling and pleasing melodies. It’s followed by “Ruler of Tamag”, enchanting with a gentle acoustic guitar intro and lingering female vocals that open up to a fairytale-like scenario of old times. This then bursts into a heavy track with gloomy parts, building up to a fascinating score-like symphony. Therion once more draw charm from the courage to mix styles ranging from gothic parts to melodic death metal and neo-classical elements to power metal in a complex and versatile way, thus challenging their listeners. The songs are quickly engaging and skillfully employ catchy melodies, as witnessed on uplifting tracks like “An Unsung Lament” and “Baccanale”. Advancing melodies are combined with rock elements, captivating lyrics and choir parts, while lively “Maleficium” is structured around a duet between Thomas Vikström and Lori Lewis. Stomping “Ayahuasca” is a true musical journey featuring a male choir and psychedelic elements, while speedy “Nummo” offers splendid hard guitar explosions and the finest classic vocals and choirs.
Overall, the compositions lean towards the magnificent and theatrical, offering a high variety of musical styles while deftly blurring the boundaries of metal and classical music. With their newest opus, Leviathan III, mastermind Christofer Johnsson proves his incredible talent once more, and that Therion have perfected their very own combination of versatile styles - resulting in the creation of a symphonic league of their own.
Leviathan III is available in the following formats:
- 6-Page Digipak CD
- 2LP Gatefold in Black
- 2LP Gatefold Silver LTD to 500 copies
- Die Hard Deluxe Edition Gold / Black Marbled Album Cover Slipmat, Covert Artprint & Alternative Album Cover Artprint LTD to 300copies
- Digipak Bundle Pendant, Cotton Bag, Patch
- Digipak & Shirt Bundle Shirt
Order here.
Leviathan III tracklisting:
"Ninkigal"
"Ruler Of Tamag"
"An Unsung Lament"
"Maleficium"
"Ayahuasca"
"Baccanale"
"Midsommarblot"
"What Was Lost Shall Be Lost No More"
"Duende"
"Nummo"
"Twilight Of The Gods"
"Ruler Of Tamag" lyric video:
"Ayahuasca" video:
"Twilight Of The Gods" video:
Therion are:
Christofer Johnsson - guitars and keyboards
Sami Karppinen - drums
Nalle “Grizzly” Påhlsson - bass
Thomas Vikström - lead vocals
Christian Vidal - guitar
Lori Lewis - vocals
