Search - Therion :: Crowning of Atlantis

Absolutely amazing stuff....

armuinn | 05/07/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album sees Therion putting together something of a "smorgasbord" of the bands talents and personal tastes. The album starts with 4 tracks of the now famous melodic metal filled with soprano, alto, tenor and bass vocals by a variety of males & females, as well as the token choirs. Therion could not have possibly done this any better if they tried. The guitars are seamless, and the keys lend a certain mystical feeling to the music. The songs are fairly down-tempo, leaving the later songs to pick up the speed. "Clavicula Nox" is a nearly 9 minute long epic of varied instrumentation. It features a bass solo (bass meaning vocals), along with violins, violas and cellos (in there somewhere!). After this, we come to the worship section. Therion decide to pay homage to their favorite power/trad metal bands. For the first two, they have enlisted the extreme vocal talents of none other than Ralf Scheepers (Gamma Ray/Primal Fear among many!). The first song, "Crazy Nights" was originally done by Loudness and is a real anthemic mosh about "rocking and rolling" and "seeing the show" and "getting on your seat". This is a pretty good song, but pales in comparison to the next one. This is a song called Thor which was originally done by Manowar. This has got to be one of the most uplifting songs I have heard to date: it just makes you want to bang your head or do something else completely ridiculous. The choirs send up a soaring melody and Ralf's pants are extra extra tight to allow him to hit the "mega-high" notes. The drumming is one of the most intricate and unique patterns I've ever heard, and the guitar solo towards the end of the song done by Christoffer Johnsson is something made in heaven (in my opinion he outshines Trey Azagthoth). The final cover is entitled Seawinds and was originally done by Accept. It is a completely slow pace song entirely comprising of female vocals performed by none other than Sarah Jezibel Deva (ex-Cradle of Filth). This song belongs more on a Britney Spears (or something) album than a Therion one, but it is still brilliant! To round off the album there are three live tracks, one of which is the stunning To Mega Therion. They still manage to pull off the choir caper perfectly on stage. Full credit to them! This is an extremely well rounded album, and has allowed me to appreciate some more esoteric forms of metal. I cannot find a single thing wrong with it, thus I recommend highly."

Excellent "EP" to tide you over.

Enrique MV | 07/22/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This "EP" clocks in at over 50 minutes, making it well worth your money. The new songs are very well done, and return a bit more to the 'Theli' style, in that they are more guitar-oriented than 'Vovin' tunes. The covers are also well done, with Ralf Scheeper's doing a fine job handling the vocals. A great cover of Manowar's "Thor" is worth the price alone, to me. This "EP" is for definately for Therion fans, and I wouldn't recommend it as an introduction to the band. I can't wait for the new album."

Beautiful melodys and great vocals

purplexed | Bendigo, Victoria Australia | 10/14/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I got this CD on an impulse, though not expecting much and so I thought on the first play it was just ok but i noticed some beautiful melodys and great vocals by both male and female singers, but the songs didn`t grab me on first play. Well I returned to it after a few days and sparks started to fly ITS very good and different to anything else i own. I realy like this CD, it has a progressive edge and also rocks, I cant stop playing it and it keeps getting better and better. I must check out other THERION releases as I am turning into a fan
so if you like bands such as THE GATHERING or LACUNA COIL or even EDENBRIDGE or GREEN CARNATION or WINDS in fact any doom cross progressive natured bands you owe it to yourself to get
this CD."