A Return to the Group's Dynamic, Entertaining and Spontaneous Side - A Review of Therion's Leviathan (2021)

Three years after the ambitious triple album Beloved Antichrist that came around with three discs, forty-six songs and a running time of one hundred eighty-three minutes, symphonic metal pioneers Therion have decided to go back to their critically acclaimed Lemuria and Sirius B records with their new album Leviathan that includes eleven tracks clocking in at forty-six minutes.

The band starts without any overtures, introductions or build-ups in form of the rocking ''The Leaf on the Oak of Far'' that focuses on cool riffs, energetic drums and variable vocals meandering between distorted female vocals, energetic male clean vocals and mysterious choirs. The track summarizes numerous band trademarks such as powerful heavy metal instrumentation, epic choirs with cinematic atmosphere and creative songwriting ideas intertwining multiple genres from power metal over operatic passages to symphonic metal. This song alone features more ideas in three and a half minutes than other symphonic metal bands include on entire full length efforts. The greatest thing however is that the songwriting sounds coherent, fluid and focused instead of ambitious, complicated and overloaded. Fans of old date will immediately realize that the band has returned to its style from the middle years as this album is certainly easier to digest than its immediate predecessors.

The band continues on a strong note with uplifting album highlight ''Tuonela'' that shines with Marco Hietala's passionate vocal performance that makes him sound at least ten years younger than he actually is. The irresistible, melodic and playful chorus offers support from heavenly choirs that invite to dance along to this dynamic tune. This song should have been the record's lead single as it easily qualifies as the most addictive tune right from the start.

The group explores more atmospheric, mysterious and sinister territory with title track ''Leviathan'' in which Lori Lewis builds as strong contrast to the gloomy instrumentation with her perfectly executed soprano.

Therion continues to offer diversified songwriting recalling atmospheric, energetic and uplifting soundscapes of its middle years but the album's middle section takes a few more spins to open up than the excellent opening trio.

Leviathan however concludes with an excellent trio that makes this great release come full circle. The dramatic, gloomy and plodding ''Psalm of Retribution'' that can be considered the album's most progressive tune and needs a few spins to open up features contributor of old date Mats Levén who immediately shines with his gritty rocking vocals that complement Lori Lewis' elegant soprano and the atmospheric choirs.

Therion offers another rather uplifting tune with the galloping ''El Primer Sol'' where Thomas Vikström's passionate vocals shine along Spanish newcomer Rosalía Sairem. Both of them are supported by dramatic choirs in creative verses leading to an energizing chorus you won't get out of your mind upon first listening to it.

The record concludes with a stunning highlight in form of ''Ten Courts of Diyu'' that intertwines elegant Chinese folk music with slow-paced doom and heavy metal while angelic female vocals performed by Israeli singer Noa Gruman are once more supported by dramatic choirs that carry the cinematic closer through five and a half minutes that grow with every spin.

In the end, Leviathan should please to fans who have enjoyed the band's streak of excellent records from Theli to Lemuria and Sirius B. Especially those who thought that Beloved Antichrist was overloaded and Les Fleurs du Mal an odd experiment could certainly call this a resonant return to form. For those who consider Therion one of the most creative, entertaining and unique bands in the world like myself, Leviathan qualifies as above average output that underlines the group's stunning legacy.

Final rating: 85%

Mythological Mysteries Inviting to Dream Oneself Far Away - A Review of Therion's Leviathan II (2022)

This is the second instalment in Therion's Leviathan trilogy consisting of thirty-three songs released in three consecutive years in total. In retrospective, it was certainly a logical idea to release a whopping one hundred fifty minutes of new music on three separate outputs after the creatively ambitious but commercially underperforming triple album Beloved Antichrist that broke the three hour-mark with forty-six songs. All three entries in the Leviathan trilogy offer very good to excellent symphonic metal but the second output is the one that is the weakest of the three in my opinion.

When listening to the eleven songs presented here, they blend overall in with the music of the predecessor and the successor. The musicianship is on the thin line between orchestral arrangements with atmospheric choirs and melodic heavy metal passages with classically trained female and male lead vocalists. The variation between shorter songs such as energetic, rhythmic and urgent opener "Aeon of Maat" and longer tunes such as dreamy, enchating and mysterious album highlight "Lunar Coloured Fields" is flawlessly balanced. Songs such as melodious hidden gem "Cavern Cold as Ice" and joyful closer "Pazuzu" combine dreamy classical music with catchy pop vocals that remind positively of a revamped version of ABBA. The production fits marvelously as it's smooth rather than bombastic and invites patient listeners to dream themselves far away.

A few minor details make this album a little bit less exceptional than the other two in the beautiful trilogy in my opinion. First of all, several songs on this output recall many compositions from Therion's very own past. This record is a little bit too self-referential at times. Especially the records from about twenty years ago such as Vovin, Deggial as well as the double album Lemuria and Sirius B come to mind on more than one occasion. It's not a big issue in general when a band connects with its own past but the compositions on this new album rarely sound as creative, energetic and progressive as the ones that were still completely unique two decades earlier.

Another noteworthy issue is that while the new album sounds fluid and can be enjoyed from start to finish in one sitting without any issues, this release has neither remarkable highs nor disappointing lows. This release sounds a little bit as if Therion were on auto-pilot, as if the group were keeping things relatively safe or as if an artificial intelligence had been fed with all of Therion's releases to date in order to generate a completely new output. Now, don't get me wrong, even Therion on auto-pilot still sounds better than the vast majority of past and present symphonic metal bands but this new release doesn't offer much to come back to at the end of the day.

Therion has at times connected more to classical music than to heavy metal but this new release is certainly one of the mellowest in its long and respectable career. That isn't a big issue for me as I appreciate classical music, operas and the symphonic metal genre but a few grittier songs would certainly have rated this release up. One might however argue that such a lack of heaviness manages to make the record stand out in the trilogy and provides this effort its very own identity. While I'm still more intrigued by the massive heavy metal scene than by classical music in genreal and thus find Leviathan II a little bit less convincing than its predecessor and follower, listeners with a greater interest in and passion for classical music might perhaps appreciate this release most.

At the end of the day, Therion's Leviathan II is a dreamy, melodic and smooth symphonic metal record best enjoyed in one sitting that invites to escape reality and dream yourself far away. It's best enjoyed when lying on your bed alone at night with your headphones on while you are closing your eyes. This album certainly develops a precious type of magic in the right setting. At the cold light of day however, this output is a little bit less diversified, energetic and surprising than its predecessor and successor. Therion's Leviathan II is thus recommended to fans of symphonic music and faithful fans of the group while occasional listeners or those who identify themselves as hardened metal heads should approach this release with enough patience, time and tolerance to let it grow.

Final Rating: 80%

In the Key of a Creative Compilation - A Review of Therion's Leviathan III (2023)

Leviathan III concludes Therion's mythological symphonic metal trilogy consisting of three separate full length efforts released in three consecutive years and featuring a total of thirty-three songs clocking in at one hundred fifty minutes. If compared to its two predecessors, the third entry has the most diversified songwriting, the most epic tracks and also the heaviest cuts. It however lacks the catchy high-quality anthems of the first entry that have stood the test of time and the dreamy, enchanting and smooth vibes that served as guidelines for the sophomore output.

The record opens with dynamic, fast and rhytmic "Ninkigal" that features some intense death metal growls and gets to the point in three thunderous minutes as it makes fans of the band's early years and albums such as Symphony Masses: Ho Drakon Ho Megas and Lepaca Kliffoth want to press the repeat button right away.

Up next, "Ruler of Tamag" explores completely different territories. This song focuses on soaring female clean vocals, smoothly hypnotizing classical orchestrations and sluggish guitar rhythms as the mid-paced song is more than twice as long as the opener. The song offers intellectual songwriting that deserves to be discovered time and again and grows with every spin. This song reminds strongly of the band's material on Lemuria and Sirius B two decades ago.

A song such as "Duende" explores entirely new territory. It opens with playful acoustic guitar sounds reminding of flamenco music. The additions of vivid trumpets further recalls Latin American folklore. The combination between elegant female vocals, charmingly low male vocals and overlapping backing vocals offer almost too much to digest in only four minutes. This song nonetheless qualifies as one of the most courageous ones from the entire trilogy as it certainly walks off the beaten path.

My personal favourite song on this output remains however "An Unsung Lament" that combines progressive and psychedelic rock keyboard sounds, catchy mid-paced female and male vocals recalling commercially successful pop music from the seventies and fluidly meandering heavy metal soundscapes supported by versatile drums and percussions. All three parts have been executed with much professionalism. The songwriting is coherent and fluid enough to make an ambitious concept brilliant reality. The song recalls trademarks from several eras of the band while still incorporating new and rarely used elements. This song sounds adventurous, creative and fresh.

As you can read, Therion's Leviathan III has quite obvious flaws and strengths. The former is the chaotic lack of a clear guideline except for the lyrical concepts revolving around ancient mythologies and religions. The latter is the group's refreshing diversity that entertains from start to finish.

At the end of the day, Therion's third entry in the trilogy outclasses the timid predecessor but can't quite equal the first part's catchy anthems. Those who have been listening to and appreciating the two previous outputs should however most certainly give this album a chance as well and might even want to buy this satisfactory conclusion to another epic project by the group. Here's hope that the overall very good to excellent trilogy will be supported with concerts all around the world for the next few years, including a return to North America in particular.

Final Rating: 83%

Summer of Night is a 1991 horror novel by renowned American author Dan Simmons. It's the first novel in the four-part Seasons of Horror series. The great thing is that one can read Summer of Night without feeling the urge to explore the rest of the series. The novel has received much critical acclaim and was praised by American horror author Stephen King. This should be no coincidence since this novel recalls works such as Stephen King's It. Summer of Night offers nostalgic teenage horror that should indeed be appreciated by patient readers aged twelve and above.

The novel takes place in boring smalltown Elm Haven in Illinois throughout the summer of 1960. As the sinister building of Old Central School is about to close its doors forever, a student named Tubby Cooke vanishes mysteriously. A group of twelve year-old students start investigating the case and soon find information about an occult curse that could change their lives forever. This group of students transitions from the innocence of childhood to the seriousness of the teenage years while confronting an ancient evil that most adults are either unaware or afraid of.

Cordie Cooke is the sister of the boy who disappeared who is known as an outsider living in abject poverty as she is being abandoned by her own family. Duane McBride is the intellectual mind of the group of friends who conducts a thorough investigative research on the curse. Mike O'Rourke is a pious altar boy who is friends with the local priest but who also starts having feelings for the smalltown's most beautiful girl Michelle Staffney. Dale Stewart is courageous and protective of his little brother Lawrence Stewart who is impulsive and irrational. Kevin Grumbacher is a loyal friend coming from a middle-class family and is of German descent. Jim Harlen is a grumpy boy suffering from memory loss after falling from a window ledge.

This novel convinces on several levels. First of all, Dan Simmons' detailed descriptions and keen observations truly manage to bring the United States of America in the early sixties to life. Readers learn about specific details such as religious rites, presidential candidates, different types of guns, elementary school education and the difficult coexistence of poor, middle-class and rich families that all have their own flaws and strengths.

The characters in this novel are particularly detailed. Duane McBride impresses as intellectual leader from a broken family. Cordie Cooke convinces as one of the roughest female teenager characters you will ever come across. Mike O'Rourke leaves a mark with his balance between religious faith and daredevil courage. As the novel is told from different perspectives, readers might soon find their favourite characters and appreciate certain chapters more than others. The development of the characters from childhood to adulthood and everything in between is also profound.

The moments when the elements of horror take centre stage are particularly intense in this novel. This novel doesn't only describe an evil curse and mysterious figures wandering about but also doesn't shy away from depicting brutal kidnappings and even the pitiless deaths of teenagers. The novel however never exaggerates such passages as such horrific events are dosed very reasonably and never seek for simple shock value.

The novel however also has several flaws. While the story revolves around a group of young teenagers, an audience of the same age might have trouble reading this novel of about five hundred pages. Summer of Night has several significant lengths in the middle section. Dan Simmons is very descriptive in even the tiniest details which might be tiresome to explore for younger audiences. The vocabulary is quite advanced, complex and intellectual at times which makes the novel slightly complicated to read for a younger target audience. The story itself is comparable to other teenage horror novels such as Stephen King's It and fails to break new ground and surprise more experienced readers.

Making it through the entire novel is even a challenge for adult audiences. However, Dan Simmons' Summer of Night ultimately offers more positive elements than negative ones. His precise intellectual writing style remains unique, the locations are realistic and the characters have much depth. The story might not be particularly creative but is tense enough to make readers want to read until the very end. At the end of the day, I would recommend this teenage horror novel to older teenagers and young adults who truly like taking their time to sit down and read a novel from start to finish for the sake of entertainment. Impatient readers who don't have much time on their hands should however avoid this novel or anything else written by Dan Simmons for that matter.

Final Rating: 70%