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


Over-rated....   November 23, 2004
 10 out of 22 found this review helpful

I guess I better brace for the inevitable 'negative feedback', because I'm gonna go out on a limb and rip this album to shreds. I'm not doing this just for the hell of it, I honestly cannot comprehend why so many people like this album. I feel like I SHOULD like it, after all, I like other albums in this genre. But nothing on this album does it for me.

Firstly, don't be fooled by other reviews that claim it is some sort of neo-classical masterpiece. Christopher Johnsson is not the messiah, and this album is not sophisticated. On the contrary, it is incredibly simplistic and filled with ham-fisted and clumsy musicianship. Classical music, in theory, relies on different melodies being intertwined in order to create a work that is greater than the sum of its parts. Theli is basically a stodgy rock album, each song based on a repetitive simplistic melody, and has the odd classical-style gimmick thrown in. Comapare this to real neo-classical artists like Elend, or symphonic metal artists like Opeth, or operatic metal artists like Nightwish.

But having said that, I have nothing against 'simplistic' tunes, provided they have emotion, atmosphere, energy, etc. Theli does not. It is incredibly cheesy and the vocals are awful. Dan Swano's vocals are much better on his own albums with Edge of Sanity and Nightingale, when he's not trying to sound like Pavarotti. And don't get me started on the 'solos', which even I, with my meagre skills, could play upside down and blindfolded.

PS. Mr D - you need to go back to metal school. Tristania, After Forever and Sins of Thy Beloved are not 'death metal', they are not even close. Nor was Therion in the early days. Just because a band has growled vocals, doesn't mean it is death metal.


5 STARS BECAUSE THEY DON'T ALLOW 6 STARS   January 18, 2003
 8 out of 9 found this review helpful

Therion's, Theli hardly needs the help, review wise, with thirteen out of thirteen 5 star reviews, but I like Therion so much that I decided to make it fourteen straight.
Therion is a group that started out recording heavy death metal. I know because I didn't realize this and I ended up with one of those cds. It wasnt' 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 alost 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 perverbial child in a candy store, five or six (I thought it was more since I didn't know they switched styles) glorious albums to aquire without the usual one to three years wait in between.
Well enough background. What is Therion? I don't know. They really defy classification because they are in a catagory 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 ghastly 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.
Like Haggard, 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 ingrediants. I have never heard anything quite like it, although some of the power metal bands are starting to use orchestras and choirs with good effct. Well, if you're familiar with Therion you probably agree with me and if not order all of their albums since Theli. They're all 5 Stars except A'arab Zaraq and Secret of the runes which drop to 41/2 Stars. You've got fourteen 5 Stars going for you.


Beautiful   July 17, 2003
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

Simply put, this is a perfect album. My first introduction to Therion was via "Secret of the Runes" (another great album), and I've enjoyed stepping back in time to "Theli," an album full of songs that bridge the gap between death metal and opera.

I have to say that, after listening to this CD several times, I love all of the songs. "To Mega Therion" is incredible, and I would agree with others that it is probably the best song on the album. But they're all so good! And don't tell me that a grin -evil or no - doesn't creep across your face during the solo at the end of "Nightside of Eden!"

Get it. Get it now.


The ultimate in operatic metal   March 12, 2003
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Therion has been around for a long time, originally as an unremarkable death metal band, but they really hit the pinnacle of their career with Theli, the operatic metal masterpiece. Therion's later albums feature a perfect fusion of operatic elements with heavy metal. In addition to the traditional metal instruments, they have a large symphony section, and a choir of operatic vocalists. The result is something unlike anything else you've ever heard, and it's all orchestrated by Christofer Johnsson, a man with no formal music education. Now that's impressive.

If you're new to Therion, this is an excellent place to start. Every track on this album is strong, but "To Mega Therion" is my favorite, not only on this album but in their entire catalogue. Be prepared to have it stuck in your head for a long time. Other favorites are "Nightside of Eden" and the very cool "Invocation of Naamah," and the end track, "Grand Finale/Postludium," which closes things off on a real high note. Quite simply, if you want to know what operatic metal sounds like at its very best, this album is essential. The only criticism I have is that Johnsson's vocals could be better, but it's such a minor thing on a record of this calibre.

From here, I'd recommend going to "Secret of the Runes," which is my second favorite of Therion's. It's a little different in that the operatic elements are more pronounced, and Johnsson's vocals are completely absent in favor of the choir, but still first-class work. If you're curious about their older, death metal stuff, you might want to check out "Live In Midgard" to get an overview of their whole catalogue, though I don't think it's been released in North America as of the time of this writing, so you may have to get an import.