"Vovin," THERION's seventh album, is touted as the definitive symphonic metal album. I was previously unfamiliar with THERION's output until I was sent the promos of their latest batch of reissues. After hearing and reviewing their fifth album, "Theli," I had high hopes for this release.

"Vovin" is kicked off by "The Rise Of Sodom And Gomorrah." This song begins with strings and an authoritative drum sound. Later, the guitar joins the fray, but the strings and drums drown it out. The vocals are operatic, but the instrumentation lacks the intensity of most metal. The melody is catchy but ultimately too subdued for my liking.

The next major epic on the album is "Clavicula Nox." This track is also big on the symphonic and operatic but falls short with the more metal elements. The vast majority of the vocals are sung by women. There are male vocals as well, but there is a lack of balance like that displayed on their "Theli" album. It's not a slog to listen to; it's just not my usual thing.

After "Clavicula Nox" is the excellent, "The Wild Hunt." This one is a lot more aggressive and lively than anything else on this album. The vocals don't work with the more traditional metal instrumentation as well as I would have liked, but that doesn't spoil the song. There are also galloping triplets and a fantastic guitar solo to close the song.

Tracks eight through ten make up "The Draconian Trilogy," another epic composition. The first part, aptly titled "The Opening," is one big swell to prepare the listener for the climax in the second part. The guitar comes in with a cool riff, and the string instruments make up the brunt of the swell. My biggest complaint with this one is where the track is cut. It just stops in the middle of the music instead of flowing into the next part.

The second part, "Morning Star," features the same satisfying guitar riff from the previous part. There are alternating male and female vocal parts. The male parts have the same gothic sound as the vocals on "Theli," but the female parts don't reach the soaring high notes that work so well earlier in the album. Despite the cool guitar part, I still found the song to be quite dull.

The third and final part of "The Draconian Trilogy" is also pretty basic. The melody is fine, the gothic male vocals still sound interesting, and the epic finishes with a satisfying violin solo. I would like to have heard this trilogy as one contiguous song. I'm not sure why Johnsson wrote it that way when "Clavicula Nox" is roughly the same length.

I can see this album's influence all over the place in more modern metal. Perhaps this album just didn't age well. It pales in comparison to the works of KAMELOT, EPICA, NIGHTWISH, and many other symphonic metal bands. Maybe I need to check out some of THERION's more current work. That might change my mind about them, but as for this album, I found it quite dull and lacking in intensity.