DEGGIAL

One transitional album as a band evolves between styles is an acceptable indulgence; two in a row feels excessive. If you dug the preceding Vovin, Deggial offers up more of the same, but for me I felt that Therion still hadn't quite become comfortable with the more purely symphonic metal approach (with nary a trace of their death metal roots) they utilise here and on the preceding album. Still, Therion don't quite manage to exhaust my patience with them - in particular, Kristian Niemann shows this uncanny knack for coming in with a really interesting guitar solo just as my finger is wavering towards the "skip" button - but alas, that isn't quite good enough to stop me pressing it.