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| Live Gothic (2 CDS + DVD) | 
 enlarge | Artist: Therion
Label: Nuclear Blast Americ
Category: Music
List Price: $19.98
Buy New: $12.47
You Save: $7.51 (38%)
New (25) Used (10) from $9.75
Avg. Customer Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 34678
Format: Live
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 3
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 12162
UPC: 727361216221
EAN: 0727361216221
ASIN: B0017LWPAO
Release Date: August 5, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Has a remainder mark.
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| Tracks:
Disc 1
| • | Der Mitternachtsloewe | | • | Schwarzalbenheim | | • | The Blood of Kingu | | • | The Falling Stone | | • | An Arrow from the Sun | | • | Deggial | | • | Wine of Aluqah | | • | The Perennial Sophia | | • | The Son of the Sun | | • | Son of the Staves of Time | | • | Birth of Venus Illegitima | | • | Tuna 1963 | | • | Drum Solo | | • | Muspelheim |
Disc 2
| • | Rise of Sodom and Gomorrah | | • | Ginnungagap | | • | Grand Finale | | • | Lemuria | | • | The Wand of Abaris | | • | Nightside of Eden | | • | To Mega Therion | | • | Thor (The Powerhead) |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Album Description
Two CD set includes DVD. With the success of 2007's Gothic Kaballah and 2004's Lemuria/Sirius B, Sweden's Therion brought its enchanting and majestic live show throughout the world with stops in the U.S., many successful European festival gigs and a full European tour, including a concert in Poland which was professionally filmed for the Live Gothic. Nuclear Blast presents Live Gothic (2CD+DVD) which was recorded in Warsaw, Poland on February 14, 2007 and it features the touring band of mainman Christofer Johnsson and Kristian Niemann on guitars, Johann Niemann on bass and Petter Karlsson on drums. Live vocals were handled by Snowy Shaw (King Diamond, Mercyful Fate), Mats Leven, Lori Lewis and Katarina Lilja.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 Second Opinion October 12, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Originally I gave this 2 stars, I jumped the gun, based on videos I saw on Youtube. I also flamed Snowy Shaw. for that I apologize. He is a very good singer, just not quite Therion. Though he can hit some of the low notes, he can't get low as some of the songs require. That said, let's move on.
This DVD is great, a good mix of songs. The only thing that really might be considered a downside(though not that big of a deal)is the performance of Wine of Aluqah. I was also happy to see some my favorites, An arrow from the sun, Lemuria, Nightside of Eden and the list goes on. Overall it is a very solid performance, much better than Celebrators of Becoming where the vocalists were pretty much stone statues during the whole show.
Therion's Live Gothic is Great October 4, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The 2-CD set plus DVD is a great buy. Although their music live is not quite as good as the studio music, I enjoyed it. The DVD was the best part, 2 hours long of great gothic presented music.
 Excepcional "gothic" live CD & DVD September 27, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This 2XCD+DVD combo covers the most recent tour of Therion presenting the double CD "Gothic Kabbalah". There are many good things and a few minor things that could be improved, but the overall feeling is extraordinary, and it is highly recommended. Furthermore, even though I am reluctant to recommend a live album as a starting point for the novice, this is an exception to that rule, for it portraits the band at a creative peak, both in singing and performance.
As a Therion aficionado, the first thing I noticed was a production improvement. Both "Live in Midgard" and "Celebrators of becoming" had so-so production values. Midgard sounded a bit sterile and distant, whereas Celebrators was busy and somewhat fuzzy. The production here is crystal clear, highlighting each instrument at the right time. Volume is high, but without clipping, which is refreshing after, for example, Metallica's fiasco.
As for the show itself, it's really really good. Whereas the instrumental body of the band retains the same structure of the last three tours, vocal arrangements have changed and improved. Following the layout of Gothic Kabbalah, two female voices are now present, one lyrical, or "opera-like" (Lori Lewis, not the singer in Kabbalah) and one lighter, more rock-oriented (Katarina Lilja, same as in Kabbalah). The male singers are Snowy Shaw and Mats Leven. The female singers in particular are really interesting, and have great chemistry on the stage. They push each other and, because they have different vocal registries, they do not compete for the spotlight and they make the show interesting and fun to watch, adding to the music values.
The DVD show portraits more of the trademark gothic "props" fans enjoy, such as heavy makeup, renn/medieval/gothic outfits (particularly good-looking in the ladies) and an excellent idea flawed in execution, that is, inclusion of a belly dancer in the show. The idea is excellent, for Therion's harmonics are adaptable to Middle Eastern dances, but the dancer herself is pretty unremarkable. She feels uncomfortable on the stage and her dancing is forgettable at best. It doesn't help either that the female singers are so poised and comfortable, making one feel the dancer is a belly dancer student in a pros' show. As I said, it's a good idea that I hope the band executes it in the future with a more able dancer.
Most of the songs presented here belongs to Gothic Kabbalah, and they greatly benefit from the live treatment, particularly "Perennial", which results in an emotive onstage duet a la Roy Khan-Simone Simons in Kamelot's "Haunted". Some classics of the past, such as "Wine of Aluqah" and "Birth of Venus Illegitima" are also covered.
A minor flaw, the live DVD contains many more songs than the CDs (runs at >120 min), but the songs' names cannot be found except in the menu. A good idea for the future would be to overlay the names of the songs at the beginning of each segment. That greatly helps new fans to locate their favorites.
In summary, an almost perfect release. High quality values, good presentation, enhanced stage presence and live show, and most importantly, improved versions of excellent songs that provide new and interesting twists. A+
Oh so Good September 7, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The Therion cd/dvd combo Live Gothic is utterly amazing!! I was fortunate enough to see the band in Denver in 2007 and the dvd more than captures the experience. To anyone who is sitting on the fence about whether or not to try a Therion cd this combo is perfect it gives an excellent sampling of their material from Theli forward and has that wonderful dvd to give some idea as to the persona of the band live.
Overwhelming! September 3, 2008
WOW! Two female lead vocalists. Two male lead vocalists. Each with a great voice, unique personality and strong stage presence. Creative stage design with effective gothic lighting and props (candelabras, wrought iron fence, dark atmosphere.) Belly Dancing. And mind-numbingly creative and powerful gothic, symphonic, metallic music!!
This DVD has got to be one of the top concert videos of 2008, and of all time. The sonic quality of the music recording is astounding: you can clearly hear each instrument and each vocalist, with lucidity and precision. The energy the band exudes is infectious. The clarity of the video itself is amazing: I see no pixelation, noise or artifacts. And even in the low light environment, you can still see the details of the musicians and the stage. And of course, the music is spectacular: Christofer Johnsson's compositions never cease to thrill with mystery, imagination, and bombast; and the musicians bring it all about with exuberant passion, technical precision, and pure metal abandon!
What's really interesting to me is to see how Therion's stage show has evolved over the years. After Therion first went symphonic, they used a (formal, classical) choir for the vocal parts. You can see this in the Live at Wacken 2001 videos. The music is powerful then, but slightly impersonal. Then, in the live at Mexico City 2004 videos, Therion retains the choir plus adds a male metal vocalist, Mats Leven, who helps give a strong sense of personality and focal point to the Therion stage show. Finally, on this live DVD, for the 2007 tour, Therion dispensed with the formal choir altogether and instead utilizes four strong rock front people, the guys Mats Leven and Snowy Shaw, and the gals Lori Lewis (from the U.S.!) and Katarina Lilja. I personally like this incarnation of Therion best, as the music is infused with scads of warmth, personality, and focussed energy! It's especially awesome when the four of them stand together in the center of the stage for very strong ensemble singing, such as on Ginnungagap. In the past, the choir was always sort of lurking in the background. To me, it's much better to have these four passionate, energetic and attractive (OK Snowy, 'til the end of the concert when you don a mostly shirtless costume - NOT a good choice) individuals as a centerpiece for the band in concert.
If there were a criticism, it's probably that the vocalist Snowy Shaw (who looks like a blond Alice Cooper) is so over-the-top in his metal performance (and garb, see previous comment), that some viewers could, umm, snicker a bit and say something about Spinal Tap. I really don't want to be saying this, as I like Therion and this DVD very much, but I have to be honest here... However, the lovely and classy lady singers, easily make up for this small infraction. By the way, I have no qualms with Snowy's vocal performance: he really adds a lot here.
As a bonus, this DVD includes two CD's holding the entire concert's music, for playing in your car or your stereo (or for converting to MP3's for your iPod etc.) At the price this all is offered for, you can't go wrong! This is a package definitely worth buying. Cheers!
P.S. As a side note, I can kind of understand that some problems may have occurred with the band. Four strong vocalists could lead to jealousy and rivalry. I mean, Mats was the star of the show on the Mexico City part of the Celebrators of Becoming DVD, but now, Snowy kind of steals the show, even though Mats is still in it. I can only imagine the types of problems this sort of thing entailed. Well, it was a great lineup while it lasted, and I'm glad they preserved this Therion lineup by making this terrific concert DVD. Don't even hesitate to fork over the bucks for this one. (Unless you're really poor. I don't want to encourage fiscal irresponsibility!)
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