Leviathan III

Following 2018s three-disc rock opera Beloved Antichrist, Therion sought to return to its roots. Founder Christofer Johnsson announced the Leviathan trilogy in 2020. He explained it would serve as a kind of retrospective of various styles and sonics employed across the bands history -- with all new material. 2021s Leviathan flashed back to the earliest death and doom metal incarnation of Therion. 2022s Leviathan II showcased their embrace of prog, keyboards, operatic choirs, and symphonic charts. Johnsson predicted Leviathan III would likely not be received as well as its predecessors, as its songs were "leftovers" from the marathon recording sessions and didnt fit either of the first two volumes. Opener "Ninkigal," a charging, sinister, operatic prog metal jam, is a highlight. Its overdriven guitar riffs, galloping drums, layered keyboards, chorales, and strings frame Lori Lewis glorious, dramatic soprano. "Ruler of Tanag" commences with an acoustic guitar introducing Lewis. The band joins her on the second verse with a chugging twin guitar vamp from Johnsson, dissonant lead from Christian Vidal, and a layered male vocal chorus led by Thomas Vikstrom as Lewis soars, weaving in and out of the lyric melody. "Maleficium" showcases Therions command of symphonic metal with clashing sonorities and dynamics moving from lush to menacing, with contrapuntal chorales, blastbeats, and soaring lead vocals from Lewis and Vikstrom; they either dialogue in call-and-response or entwine like battling angels. Shockingly, its only three-and-a-half minutes long. "Ayahuasca," the sets longest cut at over seven minutes, lands as the albums centerpiece. Piotr Wawrzeniuk, the bands former drummer, joins the vocalists, adding a recitative framed by a massive choir. The track encompasses two distinct halves. The first is grounded by jagged midtempo guitar riffs and swinging drums before it transitions with a nearly gauzy bassline; first Lewis, then Wawrzeniuk alternate croon in what almost amounts to a ceremonial chant. A church organ and Mellotron dominate the tunes body atop the drum kit; time signatures and backdrops shift and change before droning to a close. "Baccanale," a charging prog metal jam, contains glorious singing from Lewis and guest Susanne Sundfor. "Midsommarblot" is almost anthemic, with a speedy guitar chug tempered under choral vocals and drums before Vidal delivers a stinging solo and the mellifluous choir carries it out over Johnssons jagged guitar fills. "Duende" is introduced, appropriately, with a nuevo flamenco guitar intro before the classically trained Spanish flamenco singer (and recent Therion member) Rosalia Sairem rises above the crunchy two-chord vamp to deliver her show-stopping cante flamenco vocal performance supported by Vikstrom. Closer "Twilight of the Gods" offers the bounty of Therions dramatic tension with its dark, gloomy, and even Gothic elements as Vikstrom growls and Lewis soars above stirring choirs before orchestration, a dueling lead guitar break, and stop-and-start exchanges with the orchestral elements rise above to create a breathtaking finale. Leviathan III may take another listen to fully grasp its ambitious scope, but the listener would be rewarded as this is easily one of Therions most diverse, dramatic, and dynamic recordings yet. ~ Thom Jurek