Therion
Gothic Kabbalah

THE REVIEW

In the boundless metal landscape, there are some bands in continuous change and revolution, bands capable of radiating genius in every album and exploring the most fascinating and hidden boundaries of metal, blending various subgenres into a perfect mix: such bands are more unique than rare: Cradle Of Filth, Amorphis, Bal-Sagoth and the Swedish Therion, the alchemists of metal par excellence, children and followers of that Sign of the Southern Cross traced long ago by Tony Iommi and the Bard Ronnie James Dio. A perfect example of such sublime capabilities is given by their thirteenth studio album, the double "Gothic Kabbalah", a golden album, which shines with a cold, arcane, and terribly fascinating mystical light, fifteen songs like the fifteen runic symbols extensively illustrated in the booklet.

The first disc is masterfully opened by the blazing stellar alchemy of "Der Mitternachtslowe", where bright female voices blend perfectly with dark and theatrical male voices, in an ascending current of rare charm, followed closely by "Gothic Kabbalah", perhaps the most power track on the album, endowed with a catchy and engaging chorus and a flutey line that accompanies the melody and reaffirms the band's progressive vein. A third masterpiece in three is the sinuous and serpentine "The Perennial Sophia", relaxing and unsettling at the same time, with that deep and evocative chorus of distorted paradisiacal visions, over which dominates the fire of eternal wisdom. Thematically linked to the previous track but decidedly more metal in sound, and at the same time theatrical and grandiloquent is instead "The Wisdom And The Cage", which paves the way for two pearls that start as symphonic ballads to then flow into a very particular and captivating Therion-Power Metal, namely the powerful "Son Of The Staves Of Time" and the visionary "Tuna 1613". The first part of the masterpiece closes with "Trul", with a rather slowed-down metal impetus, where the band showcases its technical skills in extended solos, and the cryptic and dark "Close Up The Streams".

The second disc begins with the best auspices: "The Wand Of Abaris" is a musical journey condensed into just 5:51 that transports us in a breath from the scorching Egyptian deserts to the majestic landscapes of the Great North "earthly foretaste of Walhalla...", followed by yet another gem, "Three Treasures", where almost doom-like verses, a melancholic and visionary chorus, and the final guitar solo, powerful and technically perfect, mix. "Path To Arcady", on the other hand, is quite anonymous and interlocutory, opening the doors to the wonderful astral ride "Thor Odin Frey - The Trinity", which sublimates the very concept of cosmic and hallucinatory metal, "Chain Of Minerva" is instead appreciated for its enigmatic bass lines and the somnolent and sulfurous progression, which leads to the suggestive and tense intro of "The Falling Stone", yet another example of this extraordinary band's artistic caliber, which closes its golden concept album with the majestic and fascinating suite "Adulruna Rediviva", which boasts a Symphonic Progressive vein and continuous time changes that are always surprising and never pointless.

In conclusion, Therion have once again produced a milestone, an album that knows how to transport to another dimension, terribly beautiful and devoid of any lapse in style, thus succeeding in the difficult task where Cradle Of Filth (with Damnation And A Day) and Dream Theater (with Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence) had partially faltered. An absolute masterpiece to have at all costs.