Published on Aug 26, 1999
I know I’ve been writing a lot about metal over the last few
weeks – hey, if that’s what the labels send me, that’s what I’ll
listen to. One conclusion I’ve come to, whether it’s correct or
not, is that a lot of the metal groups who come to us from overseas
(especially from Scandanavia) fall under the death metal genre.
Yes, that might be stereotyping, though it’s not meant to be a
negative. It’s just that they seem to focus on this particular kind
of metal and, in the case of some bands, have hammered it out into
their own artform.
So when I picked up
Crowning Of Atlantis, the latest release from Swedish
metallers Therion, what I was expecting to hear was definitely not
toned-down, more melodic (yet equally as intense) music. It threw
me for a loop – and I loved every minute of it.
This disc is very much a stop-gap album while the band puts the
finishing touches on their next studio album. The songs featured
cover a wide spectrum of the band’s personnel history – so much, in
fact, that to try and name some players on the album wouldn’t do
the band justice. So forgive me if I don’t provide a grocery list
of the band members; if you’re net-savvy, you’ll be able to find
detailed information on this album with a minimal amount of
searching.
Crowning Of Atlantis combines two worlds of music. The first
is a more classical style of metal, heard in the vocals and in the
guitar solos. Tracks like “Mark Of Cain” and the title track are
evidence of this, and are wonderful ways to kick this disc off. The
other world is that of cover tunes – a curious inclusion,
admittedly, but Therion pulls them off as if they were their own.
So, if you hear a song like “Crazy Nights” and you tell yourself,
“I’ve heard that before,” you’re not going crazy… you have heard
it (namely, you’ve heard Loudness perform it). Other cover tunes
from Manowar and Accept (“Thor (The Powerhead)” and “Seawinds”,
respectively) are included.
Okay, so now your mouth is watering for this disc, right? Well,
hang on, Bucky, ’cause Therion throws one more surprise curveball
into the mix. Closing out
Crowning Of Atlantis are three live tracks, all of which
seem to do a good job of capturing the power of a live Therion
performance to compact disc.
To the new listener,
Crowning Of Atlantis might be a cruel trick to play on them.
This disc leaves you wanting to hear more – much more – from this
band. I know that the disc barely whetted my appetite for their
music. If anything, this should keep people hanging on to the edge
of their chairs until the new studio album comes out. Until then,
unless you break down and buy the backcatalog of this group (which,
compared to some of the bands out there today, is quite extensive),
Crowning Of Atlantis will do just nicely.