When people ask me what's the best live concert I've ever been to, they are almost always surprised by my reply. Therion in 2001 is what comes to my mind instantly. Of course, one is only surprised if he wasn't there. Thinking of that day still sends shivers up my spine and has become the standard to which I compare my feelings for a live show since then. So, you can guess why I was very anxious for their return, with songs from two amazing albums added to the set-list.
The gig started about a quarter earlier with the support band, "Order of the Ebon Hand" coming out. A bassist_vocalist wearing a chain mail, a guitarist with "black tears" make up and leather armor and a drummer wearing a white mask. Exchanged puzzled glances between the crowd showed that no one seemed to be familiar with the Greek band and everyone was curious about what would follow.
Without any intro, they got straight to business. Scandinavian Black Metal with a dose of Greek spirit added to it. I was impressed by the full sound that the three-member band provided. I've heard five-member bands that failed to deliver half the sound these guys did. Grunting was excellent, drumming was excellent and the guitars were faster than the chain-gun destroying half the Amazon forest in Predator. Don't ask me which songs they played, it all sounds "blergh-bluargh" to me. I liked it and I am sure that they would have ravaged the innocents if they were playing before Immortal. But alas, this was a crowd waiting for Therion and the response was in-between claps and cheers and five people head banging. Still, very impressive. Fans of that particular genre should definitely check them out.
At last, it was time for Therion. An impressive cast of characters took over the stage, as expected. Using theatrical terms for a metal event? Indeed, considering that everyone had a role that added up to the whole performance. Christopher Johnsson waving his hands towards the choir and the crowd like a maestro, Kristian and Johan Niemann having the time of their lives, Petter Karlsson hidden behind his drum set fighting off the little goblins (inside joke), and the new addition Mats Levin amazing everyone with his exceptional vocals when he was not trying to rip his head off while head banging. The choir was awe-inspiring as always, consisting of two tenors_baritones and three sopranos. Sarah Jezebel Deva was in the front as the main soprano and she delivered a hair rising performance.
The sold-out gig started with "The Blood of Kingu", "Typhon" and "Son of the Sun". Needless to say, anyone who believed that a Therion concert is a bunch of people staring at a choir soon was surprised to say the least. People went mad and that went on for more than two hours, with the height of madness reaching its top at "To MegaTherion", "Invocation of Naamah" and "The Rise of Sodom and Gomorrah". In this tour, Therion have decided to include some songs that were played live for the first time; "In Remembrance", "The Invincible", "Crowning of Atlantis" and a song that sends the shivers up my spine every time I listen to it, "Siren of the Woods". Even though people were shouting "The Wings of the Hydra" all the time, "Medez" gave the chance for Christopher to scream his lungs out and give a taste of the old Therion to new fans.
Speaking of Chris screaming, no Demonoid songs came up, unfortunately. He just played the intro riff from "End of Our Times" which managed to turn me and Thodoris into a bloody frenzy while we were screaming "Demonoid, bluargh". They should do a tour for that album alone or add a couple of songs to the Therion set list, that's my humble opinion. This is a masterpiece that any band would be proud to have in their discography; it's a shame to go unnoticed.
Anyway, back to Therion. "The Wild Hunt" and "Flesh of the Gods" were originally sung by Ralf Scheppers and Hansi Kursch respectively. That was an excellent chance for Mats to unfold his talent. The "Draconian Trilogy", "Ginnungagap" and "Black Diamonds", "Asgard" were some more songs played from the Therion discography and needless to say that the chances to rest our necks were extremely few. Now if I forgot any songs you should excuse me, but I suspect that they played most of the set list they have followed so far.
The gig closed with two cover songs. First was Mercyful Fate's "Black Funeral". Excellent performance, I was starting to believe that this guy can sing anything. That belief was sealed when for the next cover, Motorhead's "Iron Fist", Mats imitated Lemmy's voice. It was so good, that had the place erupted in laughter instantly. The laughter turned into carnage when the song started and a large mosh pit started in the middle. It was so sudden that I count some bruises added to my sore neck and my closed throat. Once again, if I closed my eyes I could swear that God (Lemmy) was there and was giving the performance that was taken away from the fans when the real Motorhead were here and the sea was short-circuiting the cables and speakers.
Speaking of cables and speakers, the sound was close to perfect. At first there were some problems with the sound levels but that soon improved. There was a "pop" sound coming from a speaker from time to time, which probably meant it was a stage before blowing up, but nothing particularly annoying. The crowd was excellent, everyone was participating in his own way, head banging, jumping around and singing. I am sure that this was a night that people will remember for years to come, I know I will.
Can't wait for a live DVD, even though no matter how good the production will be, it won't be able to show but a fragment of the greatness that is Therion.
A note on promoters: A certain Greek promoting company thinks that online media are just for porn seeking acne covered teenagers. After four years of existence they still like to treat online magazines as if we are annoying groupie pests. It seems that even in 2004, some people with extended foreheads prefer to live in the age of stone. Unfortunately, things like these are bound to happen when there's no competition. So, we got in thanks to a certain record label located in Germany (!!!), but unfortunately no pictures could be taken since we had no photo-pass. A big thanks to that company for succeeding where our certain countrymen fail miserably: professionalism.
[Dedicated to my best friend who's serving his tour of duty at the Army and missed this great show.]
