It's about ancient Nordic tradition, and specifically talks about all the worlds in Nordic Mythology, such as Midgard, Asgard and Nifelheim. The mythological information one can get is tremendous, which is introduced to you through the most melodic music I've ever heard from a metal band.

The album starts with Ginnungagap, the old void from which everything came out and is destined to return. The music is wonderful, creating tension and awe. Then follows Midgard, the world of man, which is a soft song, that depicts the frailty of man and this world. And then comes Asgard, the land of the gods. The importance of this world and the power of the gods is shown to the listened through a majestic series of chords and Wagnerial singing by the choir. Then comes Jotunheim, home of the ancient giants, a powerfull song, that is succeded by Schwarzalbenheim, a dark song which talks about the dwarfin and Elfin blacksmiths. Ljusalfheim comes next, talking about the Elves of the light. Then is Muspelheim, a powerful song which talks about the firegiants. After that is Nifelheim, the land of the icegiants, a melodic song with nice choir orchestration. after that comes Vanaheim, talking about Frej and Freja, the gods of magic and fertility. Helheim, the land of Hel, the godess of Death, as well as of fulfillment is next, a dark song which depicts very accurately the darkness. Last comes the Secret of the Runes, the essence of the album. It talks about the 18 runes Othat were revealed to Odin, after he sacrificed his body to himself.

After the Secret of the Runes follow two cover songs, Summernight city by Abba and Crying days by the Scorpions.

The album made to me a very good impression and I highly recommend it to any potential fans of Therion or of truly melodic music.


The Metal Opera, Secret Of The Runes   August 27, 2005
 8 out of 10 found this review helpful

Therion's amazing & groundbreaking album Secret Of The Runes. A Masterpiece combining Power Metals heavy riffing and complex bass lines with operatic Choirs tends to mix's well with Melodic and Classical arrangements. The power of this album is unbeleviable, Its as if this were a score to an Opera depicting the gods of yester-year. As some of you know Therion started as a Death Metal band.. Well times have changed and they take to a more melodic approach very well! If you wish to get into Therion's entrancing music I would suggest picking up THIS album
first then later buy the others. To actually show you the man power that went into the making of this gem I will have to literally list those who were involved in the making of this album.. Here are ALL the musicians that take a part in Secret Of The Runes..

The Band:

Christopher Johnson - Rhythm Guitar, Keyboards & Percussion
Kristian Niemann - Lead & Rhythm Guitar
Johan Niemann - Bass Guitar
Sam Karppinen - Drums & Percussion

Vocal & String Soloists:

Marika Schonberg - Solo Soprano
Erika Andersson - Solo Alto
Carl Rahmqvist - Solo Tenor-Baritone

Anna Rodell - Solo Violin
Asa Akerberg - Solo Cello
Thomas Karlsson - Whispering Voice on "Liusalfheim"

Choir:

Kristina Hansson - Coloratura Soprano
Anna-Maria Krawe - Soprano
Ana Artursson - Alto
Marika Schonberg - Alto
Henrik Holmberg - Tenior
Patrik Forsman - Tenior
Carl Rahmqvist - Tenior-Baritone
Jorkim Berg - Bass-Baritone

String Ensemble:

Anna Rodell - Violin (1:st)
Josef Cabrales-Alin - Violin (1:st)
Malin Samuelson - Violin (2:nd)
Johan Moren - Violin (2:nd)
Linda Svedrup - Viola
Niklas Sjunnesson - Viola
Asa Akerberg - Cello
Monica Jonsson - Cello

Woodwinds (solo and ensemble):

Fareidah Hildebrand - Flute, Altflute & Piccolo
Erik Rodell - Oboe & English Horn
Henrik Blitx - Bassoon & Kontrabassoon

Brass Ensemble:

Mikael Sorensen - Trumpet & Fluegelhorn
Ayman Al Fakir - French Horn & Wagnertuba
Kristina Borg - French Horn
Rune Bodin - Trombone


Now imagine this type of force mixed with The Band's melodic and instrumental form of Power Metal. Note their are a lot of excellent Guitar solos on this album by Kristian Niemann and the band does not hold back. Numerous of the these songs are heavy & yet still very melodic as true Power Metal should be. The Choir work is some of the best i've heard blended with any metal band! and the Classical intrsumentals within the songs, Fit well with Therions powerful metal. This is a piece of Metal History to me, This album should be in your collection allready! If it is not you are missing out on a Masterpiece! Note the Booklet is beautifully done as well with both Text & Art that explain the meaning of the songs so you are not left in the dark! Now heres my rating of Secret Of The Runes tracks.

1. Ginnungagap ***** The Perfect Opener Depicting Both Therions Heavyness & Melodic Melody.

2. Midgard ***** Excellent Choir, More Melodic Guitar is used on this one! Guitar Solo!!

3. Asgard ***** This is a much more up tempo number, Very Powerful Rhythm Guitar. Guitar Solo!!

4. Jotunheim ***** Back Down Tempo, Some Good Drum Work seen here!

5. Schwarzalbenheim ****** Very Distinguished Rhythm and Ends with a beautiful classical ensemble.

6. Ljusalfheim ***** Acoustic Guitar Is Beautiful and eventually turns to one of my fav Guitar Solos on the album.

7. Muspelheim ****** The most fast paced guitar work on the album. Just a short outburst of power at 2:14 long.

8. Nifelheim ***** The Choir really shines on this one. Excellent Violin Solo!

9. Vanaheim ****** My fav track on the album. The guitar work here is masterful,Both Accoustic & Electric. Amazing Elec Guitar Solo!!

10. Helheim ***** Beautiful Vocal work. Yet again the Rhythm Guitars stand out.

11. Secret Of The Runes ***** The Title Track, This song is very balanced, The Rhythm & Lead playing against one another.

*being worst - *****Being Best - ******Being Personal Favorites

I can not stress enough how powerful,melodic and just.. Amazing this is!! If you are interested even slightly, You should buy this. I would pay well over 20$ for this album, And be extremly happy to have it! But this is all I can tell of the tales that Therion has laid before ye. For you.. Must decide what paths you will take. And whether you will ever learn.. The Secret Of The Runes.


Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable.   November 13, 2001
 6 out of 8 found this review helpful

Tristania. Theater of Tragedy. Cradle of Filth. And finally, Therion. Four separate music groups, although they're loosely similar as far as their musical styles. Out of these four, you'd think more than one would have a new album that didn't (...).

So what's the beef? Ever since Tristania lost Morten Veland, the genius behind the lyrics in Beyond the Veil, Tristania has literally crawled into a hole and died as far as intelligent lyrics go ('behold your nightmares are fulfilled/God just got his final will/the world stops spinning and death is all around'), although to their credit they retained their original music STYLE, or something like it at least.. unlike Theater of Tragedy, who went from crafting beautiful gothic masterpieces to MTV-ready generic garbage. I'd like to have an interview with Raymond Rohonyi and, although I still respect him, ask him whether this is the type of dreck he got into the music business to create. In the meantime, Cradle of Filth took a semi-worthwhile EP and (...) out a full-sized album with drudgerous remixes and a (well done yet goofy) cover of a Sisters of Mercy track.

So where does that leave Therion? Well, check the title. UNBELIEVABLE. This album, despite being a little more musically organized, rhythmic and predictable than their previous masterpiece Deggial, and also more guitar-driven, has expanded yet again upon the Therion 'formula' to produce a fresh, intelligent and damn near perfect album. Wagnerian influence shows through particularly here, not only in the topic and themes of the songs but also the aggressive vocals in the chorus, particularly evident in the terrifying masterpiece Helheim (if there's a radio single on the album it's this one), the blazing Muspelheim, and the uplifting and beautiful Midgard.

Metal in general has ties to classical music, no doubt (hell, even generic Metallica was once accused of using a Phrygian scale in a solo) but no group has or ever will execute a combination so thoroughly equal, so aggressive, so technical and beautiful as Therion has. Simple as that.


Excellent power metal, but less of what made them Therion   March 22, 2002
 5 out of 8 found this review helpful

It's solid, musically aggressive, and brilliantly written and conceived. With this album, Therion may actually develop a stronger power metal following.

Just be warned: if what drew you to Therion in the first place was the unique blend of the metallic and the symphonic, this release goes away from that quite a bit. I was one of those who, with Vovin and Deggial, when other reviewers were saying, "This is still good, but goes a little too far with the violins and stuff," was saying, "YES! More Violins! More Symphonic!" It used to feel daring, original, like they were into an opera-metal sound totally untapped by the mainstream, a sound that went much further into the classical than fluff euro-metal nonsense like Rhapsody.

If you're one of the people who LOVED that direction, and were looking for Therion to take the next step in that direction with this release, you'll be disappointed - they don't. But they do put together a very strong effort here all the same. It'll stay in my rotation for a while simply as a metal album, but falls from 5-star grace because they've come back to the field stylistically a little bit with this release.


EPIC! ULTIMATE CLASSIC!   January 8, 2002
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

I was hooked by the very first chord and couldn't say a word till the last fading riff off "Summernight City". This has been the most exciting music I've heard in a long time. Deggial was already near perfection, just surpassed by this latest opus "Secret of the Runes". Although it's a bit of a cliche, I must say there is not a single filler here, the whole album is pure bliss. One strong aspect which makes it so perfect is the storyline. "Secret of the Runes" is based in the nordic mythology and each song represents a world and a rune, besides the prologue, epilogue and the covers. Christofer describes in an interview perfectly the way it all works: the theme of each song is traduced in its atmosphere, besides the great lyrics. i.e. Muspelheim is the world of fire and the song is fast and heavy riff pounding. Nifelheim is the world of ice and the song is somber and "cold". Ljusalfheim is the world of light, faeries and elves and the song is so beautifully gentle. And so on. I highly disagree with the one who said the album is "predictable". Absurd!!! It is geniously well-balanced and highly technical, that's what it is. I was only skeptical about the covers before I heard them. ABBA????? Incredible! One who hasn't heard the originals would never guess where they came from. I would take them by Therion songs! As "Flesh of the Gods" off Deggial, a different song but this one an original Therion song.

All in all, this band's talent is undeniable. Secret of the Runes is DEFINITELY a must-have. DEFINITELY. By far my best CD.