VOVIN

Further deepening their symphonic approach on the basis of musical structures that intertwine and superimpose the rough guitar riffs characteristic of the various sub-branches of the metal genre of great relevance in their early works, with majestic and atmospheric orchestrations full of epic sonority and an overwhelming preponderance of both female and male choirs, Therion released in 1998 "Vovin", their sixth album (or seventh actually, considering the previous and experimental "A'Arab Zaraq Lucid Dreaming", a patchwork of snippets, covers, and the soundtrack of the untraceable short film "The Golden Embrace").

"Vovin" obsessively delves into the dusty paths of ancestral mythologies, biblical episodes, and esotericism, extracting elements that refer to the constant gods/demons dichotomy to understand and explain them according to the particular vision of the band's multifaceted frontman Christofer Johnsson.

From the dramatic and orientalised chords of the string quartet Indigo in the dramatic and iconic "The Rise of Sodom and Gomorrah", the album moves between dense mid-tempos like the rough sensuality of "Birth of Venus Illegitima", the haunting and occultist "Clavicula Nox" with great participation of soprano Martina Astner, the peaceful beauty of the hypnotic "Eye of Shiva" featuring soprano Sarah Jezebel Deva (Cradle of Filth) and a great guitar delay solo by Johnsson, or the obscurantist "Black Sun", and combines them with aggressive metal developments such as the galloping "Wine of Aluqah" or the very fast "Wild Hunt" with the vocal contribution of Ralf Scheepers (Primal Fear) and the awakening double bass drum of Wolf Simon.

And for the final section, after the brief and symphonic "Overture" and the sacred choirs of "Black Diamonds", both included in the mini-suite "Draconian Trilogy", the steamy and disturbing mid-tempo "Raven of Dispersion", gives an epic closure to one of the best albums of the Swedes.

Very good.

4 stars

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