Leviathan (Therion album)

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Leviathan
Image of a sea monster and the text 'Leviathan'
Studio album by
Therion
Released22 January 2021 (2021-01-22)
GenreSymphonic metal[1][2][3]
Length45:32
LabelNuclear Blast
Therion chronology
Beloved Antichrist
(2018) 		Leviathan
(2021) 		Leviathan II
(2022)

Leviathan is the seventeenth full-length album by Swedish symphonic metal band Therion. It was released on 22 January 2021 by Nuclear Blast Records.[4] It is the first part in the planned Leviathan trilogy, its sequels Leviathan II and Leviathan III are scheduled for 2022 and 2023 respectively.[5]

Two music videos were released for the album: Die Wellen der Zeit and Tuonela; also a lyric video was released for the song Leviathan. A few months after the release of the album, a third music video was made for Eye of Algol.

Track listing[]

No.TitleMusicLength
1."The Leaf on the Oak of Far"Christofer Johnsson, Thomas Vikström3:38
2."Tuonela"Christofer Johnsson4:37
3."Leviathan"Christofer Johnsson4:01
4."Die Wellen der Zeit"Nalle Påhlsson3:46
5."Aži Dahāka"Christofer Johnsson3:06
6."Eye of Algol"Christofer Johnsson, Thomas Vikström4:03
7."Nocturnal Light"Thomas Vikström5:37
8."Great Marquis of Hell"Christofer Johnsson, Thomas Vikström2:36
9."Psalm of Retribution"Christofer Johnsson, Thomas Vikström5:02
10."El Primer Sol"Christofer Johnsson, Thomas Vikström3:37
11."Ten Courts of Diyu"Thomas Vikström5:29

Personnel[]

Guest vocalists:[6]

  • lead vocals on 1,6,10, mezzosoprano on 6
  • soprano on 3,5,7
  • lead vocals on 2,4,11
  • Noa Gruman lead vocals on 11
  • Marko Hietala lead vocals on 2
  • Mats Levén lead vocals on 9
  • Hellscore - choir

Guest instrumentalists:

  • Jonas Öijvall - Hammond Organ on 5 and 6
  • Snowy Shaw - Drums on 4,5,7,10,11
  • - Drums om 1,2,3,6,8,9
  • Ally Storch - solo violin on 2
  • Fabio Amurri - keyboards and programming

Lyrical themes[]

As with most Therion albums, all songs are based on various mythology. All lyrics are written by Per Albinsson.

  • The Leaf on the Oak of Far is about Camulus, a Gaelic god of war.
  • Tuonela is the underworld of dead in Finnish mythology.
  • Leviathan is the enormous sea serpent from the Old Testament.
  • Die Wellen der Zeit ("The Waves of Time" in German) is about Nerthus, goddess of peace and prosperity.
  • Aži Dahāka is a monstrous snake-man in Iranian mythology.
  • Eye of Algol is about star in Perseus constellation. In Greek mythology it is associated with the head of Medusa the Gorgon.
  • Nocturnal Light is about Inanna (known better by some as Ishtar), Sumerian goddess of love, similar to Venus.
  • Great Marquis of Hell is about demon Aamon, a Marquis of Hell in Ars Goetia.
  • Psalm of Retribution is based on Kaballah and references A'arab Zaraq and Qliphoth.
  • El Primer Sol ("The first Sun" in Spanish) is about creator god Tezcatlipoca, as well as the Five Suns Myth in Aztec mythology.
  • Ten Courts of Diyu is about the afterworld judgement in Chinese mythology.

Reception[]

Critical reception of Leviathan was mostly positive; many critics compared the album to Therion's albums of 2000s and considered it a band's "return" after two softer and more complex concept albums.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13] Vocalist Thomas Vikström confirmed that the band indeed aimed to make a more "normal" album again.[14]

Charts[]

Chart performance for Leviathan
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[15] 45
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[16] 173
French Albums (SNEP)[17] 162
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18] 11
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[19] 15
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[20] 25
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[21] 12

References[]

  1. ^ CD Reviews - Leviathan Therion - Blabbermouth
  2. ^ Therion - Leviathan (Album Review)
  3. ^ ALBUM REVIEW: Leviathan - Therion - Distorted Sound Magazine
  4. ^ "THERION - Release Single And Music Video "Tuonela", New Album Leviathan Out Today!". www.nuclearblast.de. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  5. ^ "Leviathan 2 and 3". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  6. ^ Therion - Leviathan (2021, Digipak, CD) | Discogs
  7. ^ Therion — Leviathan — Album Review
  8. ^ CD Reviews — Leviathan Therion — Blabbermouth.net
  9. ^ Therion: Leviathan album review | Louder
  10. ^ Review: Therion «Leviathan» (Nuclear Blast) | ANTICHRIST Magazine
  11. ^ Therion — Leviathan (Album Review)
  12. ^ ALBUM REVIEW: Leviathan — Therion — Distorted Sound Magazine
  13. ^ Therion — Leviathan • GRIMM Gent
  14. ^ Therion Prove That Even In Symphonic Metal, Less Can Mean More — Knotfest
  15. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Therion – Leviathan" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  16. ^ "Ultratop.be – Therion – Leviathan" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  17. ^ "Lescharts.com – Therion – Leviathan". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  18. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Therion – Leviathan" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  19. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2021. 4. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  20. ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  21. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Therion – Leviathan". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
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