Secret of the Runes (album)
Secret of the Runes | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 8 October 2001[1] | |||
Recorded | May − June 2001[2] | |||
Studio | Modern Art Studio (Stockholm, Sweden) | |||
Genre | Symphonic metal | |||
Length | 57:18 | |||
Label | Nuclear Blast NB 625-2 Digipack: NB 683-2 | |||
Producer | Therion, Christofer Johnsson | |||
Therion chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [3] |
Secret of the Runes is the tenth full-length musical album by Swedish symphonic metal band Therion. It's a concept album based on Norse mythology, where each song describes one of the nine worlds. Cover artwork was made by , it features nine Scandinavian runes, each corresponding to a certain mythological world.
Album also includes two cover versions as bonus tracks. A music video was filmed for the Summer Night City cover.
Track listing[]
All songs written by Christofer Johnsson.
- "Ginnungagap" - 6:10
- "Midgård" - 5:04
- "Asgård" - 4:07 sample (help·info)
- "Jotunheim" - 3:43
- "Schwarzalbenheim" - 5:18
- "Ljusalfheim" - 3:53
- "Muspelheim" - 2:13
- "Nifelheim" - 4:33
- "Vanaheim" - 4:02
- "Helheim" - 3:18
- "Secret of the Runes" - 4:30
Digipak edition[]
Digipak contains two bonus tracks:
- "Crying Days" (Scorpions cover) - 4:32
- "Summer Night City" (ABBA cover) - 4:55
Limited edition[]
Limited edition also contains two bonus tracks:
- "The Wings of the Hydra (live)"
- "Black Sun (live)".
Runes[]
Runes shown on the front cover (and also in the booklet) are Nordic runes with the Elder Futhark alphabet. On the back cover every song has its own rune character:
- "Ginnungagap (Prologue)"
- "Midgård"
- "Asgård"
- "Jotunheim"
- "Schwarzalbenheim"
- "Ljusalfheim"
- "Muspelheim"
- "Nifelheim"
- "Vanaheim"
- "Helheim"
- "Secret of the Runes (Epilogue)"
Secret of the Runes title is written in the Elder Futhark alphabet on the front cover as:
· · ·
and it is transliterated as: "sekret of þe runes".
Credits[]
- Christofer Johnsson - rhythm guitar, keyboards, percussion, additional choir and orchestra arrangement on Bonus Tracks
- Kristian Niemann - lead and rhythm guitar
- Johan Niemann - bass guitar
- Sami Karppinen - drums, percussion
- Piotr Wawrzeniuk - lead vocals on "Crying Days" and "Summernight City"
Vocal and 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 "Ljusalfheim"
Choir[]
- Kristina Hansson - coloratura soprano
- Anna-Maria Krawe - soprano
- Anna Artursson - alto
- Marika Schonberg - alto
- Henrik Holmberg - tenor
- Patrik Forsman - tenor
- Carl Rahmqvist - tenor-baritone
- Joakim Berg - bass-baritone
String ensemble[]
- Anna Rodell - first violin
- Josef Cabrales-Alin - first violin
- Malin Samuelsson - second violin
- Johan Moren - second violin
- Linda Svedrup - viola
- Niklas Sjunesson - viola
- Asa Akerberg - cello
- Monica Jonsson - cello
Woodwinds (solo and ensemble)[]
- Fareidah Hildebrand - flute, alt flute, piccolo
- Erik Rodell - oboe, English horn
- Henrik Blixt - bassoon, contrabassoon
Brass ensemble[]
- Mikael Sorensen - trumpet, fluegelhorn
- Ayman Al Fakir - horn, Wagner tuba
- Kristina Borg - horn
- Rune Bodin - trombone
Choir and orchestra on Bonus Tracks[]
- Anna Rodell - first violin
- Elisabeth Lagergren - second violin
- Petter Axelsson - viola
- Erik Rodell - oboe
- Ingela Bolin - soprano (ensemble and solo), alto
- Anna Artursson - soprano, alto
- Henrik Holmberg - tenor, baritone
- Pierre Pettersson - tenor (ensemble and solo), baritone
Charts[]
Chart (2001) | Peak position |
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Polish Albums Chart | 38[4] |
References[]
- ^ "News on October 8th, 2001". megatherion.com. October 8, 2001. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- ^ "About recording of "Secret of the runes"". megatherion.com. May 11, 2001. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- ^ O'Neill, Brian (2001-11-13). "Allmusic review". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
- ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. 2001-10-14. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
External links[]
- 2001 albums
- Therion (band) albums
- Concept albums
- Nuclear Blast albums
- Norse mythology in music