Therion - Sitra Ahra

New album from the Swedish Therion “Sitra Ahra” is the finished touch to the quadrilogy they started 6 years ago with the release of “Lemuria”/”Serius B” albums followed by “Gothic Kabbalah” (2007). As with their previous releases the musical pursuits of the mastermind Christofer Johnsson emerge from a dark vortex of sounds that compose “Sitra Ahra”.
\r\nWhat makes Therion really special in the genre they serve, is the fact that though their compositions are brimming with symphonic parts they are not at all boring, on the contraty they tent to evolve through the experimentations to unique soundscapes.
\r\n“Sitra Ahra” is an extraordinary album that contains a variety of musical fruit. By listening to it, someone will surely discover elements from “ethnic” music to black metal outbreaks (especially on the vocals) while the children’s choir on “Children Of The Stone” adds just another stepping stone to their music path.
\r\nThere are some tracks like the amazing “Hellequin” in which the “Metal” element is more than obvious given of course through a more operatic way. I won’t bother commenting on each track separately, that would be meaningless as I think that the album consists of harmonically related, evolving creations. Like any other Therion album “Sitra Ahra” needs time in order to initiate the listener to its mystic atmosphere, an atmosphere that’s partly created by the cryptic lyrics of the Magistrate of the order of “Dragon Rouge” Mr. Thomas Karlsson   
\r\nReaching the end of this release and also the end of the quadrilogy, we’ve come to the apparent conclusion that Therion have passed irrevocably to a different music dimension, way beyond the borders of the term “Metal” that once labeled them.
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\r\nDimitris Karantounias – Decemberfae\r\n