GOTHIC KABBALAH

Therion's 2007 release has the same great large mix of vocalists we've come to expect from the band, with plenty of metal, rock, and opera styles. The music falls a little bit short from their 2004 releases--it's not as cohesive, and not as interesting. It's heavier--less orchestration, heavier guitars, more bass; it's darker, both music-wise and lyric-wise. It's still bombastic, still progressive, and still a good listen. The best songs, unsurprisingly, are those that sound a lot like Therion's earlier works. Songwriter Christofer Johnsson takes a less prominent role in writing, which is unfortunate, as the best songs here are the ones he helped to write. That being said, there's not a bad song on the album. Disc 2 is quite a bit better than Disc 1. The version I have includes a couple of live songs.

Those new to the band shouldn't start here, but Therion fans will still find plenty to enjoy. 3.5 stars.