Originally written by Erik Thomas.
Though I’m far from a Therion fan, I yet again find myself signed up to review yet another two disc offering from Christofer Johnsson and the overblown musical manifestations of his ego. And while I thought Lemuria/Sirus B was okay for the genre, I find Gothic Kabbalah to be incredibly dull.
My first question is why this had to be on two discs. It’s only 14 tracks (granted long tracks), 16 if you get the Japanese import (why do the Japanese get so much bonus track preferential treatment? Hiroshima was over 40 years ago, stop subconsciously apologizing already). My second question is, who actually listens to and buys enough Therion albums (other than Germans), that they get the greenlight for two disc albums? Oh, and while we are asking questions, why is the press shot of the band of one of the female singers clad in S and M gear playing GOLF?
Anyhow, onto the music, or lack thereof in this case. Even in my brief exposure to Therion, having only heard ..Of Darkness (which no longer counts), Secrets of The Runes, and Lemuria/Sirius B, I’m almost certain Gothic Kabbalah is the weakest and most accessible of the bands discography. Never mind it’s on two discs, that’s mere window dressing meant to distract you from the superfluous, empty and forgetfully overdrawn symphonic goth/power metal on display. The usual array of guest musicians, orchestras, choirs and singers can’t bring the album into more memorable territory, though “The Wisdom and The Cage” comes close.
Even by Therion’s standards, much of the 83-minutes of over wrought material is truly sugary, lightweight, and dare I say, commercial. Even though “Tuna 1613” has some balls, they are raisin sized and only barely into puberty. Otherwise, tracks like “Der Mitternachtlöwe”, “Son of the Staves of Time”, “Close Up the Streams” and the title track are simply fluffed up versions of Nightwish or any other premier goth metal band that just bored the crap out of me, and I’m pretty tolerant of most forms of metal. Otherwise that would be fine, as I generally don’t mind female fronted goth metal, but with Therion, I just get the sense Christofer Johnsson and Co. are simply trying too hard to be dramatic and over the top and out do other bands.. Adding four hundred musicians and a full orchestra to your music simply makes you music sound like … well, crappy music with four hundred musicians and a full orchestra. Take “Trul” for example, on its own early merit a solid track, but the choirs added to the chorus just seem ‘too much’. It’s like musical window dressing.
Anyway-believe it or not that’s just my rant about the first disc. It’s pretty much the same fare (a couple of tolerable, lavish, female fronted tracks, but generally overblown codswallop like the 13-minute closer “Adulruna Redivivia”) and I’m not trying to short you readers on my review, but A) I don’t want to rant too much as my fingers already have cramped up and B) it’s really not worth the words I’ll waste; fans of Therion will buy this CD and lash me to kingdom come, and non-fans will simply nod in agreement-no need to further expand on my personal opinion.
Good production though.
