Your analysis and reaction videos are the best, man. I'm happy now after watching you doing this song because is my favorite one. Thanks a lot for your work, and I hope you can react to "Land of Canaan" (from Therion too) in the future. I love this band and you are the best as well!
I have been a fan of Therion on and off since the nineties. Gothic Kabbalah is one of those albums that I loved all the way through. Just been listening to their latest EP of three songs that are all amazing. Really kickstarted me listening to them again.
My stepfather first bought me a couple albums of this band, way before this album was released, and being a rebellious teenager I first opposed this direction of music that they took on this album, but then I saw this exact song performed live at Arena Moscow, and by gods it took me altogether. Therion is just the fathers of the symphonic metal, and they earned it. Love to see someone discovering them too.
@@rolsen1304 Though it seems to me that being an early adopter of Apple products is more a "hipster geek" thing while 1337speak is a "gamer nerd" thing. But there's an overlap of course. I want to believe it's on purpose because I'm more in the second category and I would find it cool. Probably less likely that the NW thing is on purpose though, I don't see Tuomas as the type tbh.
Hey Bryan, thanks for putting out a nice long reaction despite your illness. You're right about the bass being too low in the mix on this song. While it's very prominent elsewhere on the album, it's quite tough to pick out here. I've looked up tabs for this song online and the guitar and drums seem very complete, but the tabbed bass parts are extremely basic without any of the amazing fills because I guess the tabber couldn't hear them (or maybe they just discriminate against bass in general). If you listen to some of the preceding Therion albums, I think you'd agree that the drums here are a major step up. IMO Therion songs tend towards a mid-tempo plod, and Petterson really manages to inject the extra energy that type of music needs to keep your interest, especially in a longer song like this.
So I very specifically had you listen to the album version rather than watch the official video, mostly because the video stitches on some extra music to cover the intro and outro credits. But I'm curious what you would have thought the story was if you had watched the video, because there's some strange background to that. There was no music video around this song's release, but years later a board game company made a game based on Therion, and filmed the music video for this song to accompany and promote the game. I could never quite fit the video's story to the song until I learned this and realized it was the story of the game instead. Anyway, I didn't want to throw you off in the same way by having you watch it, but I do wonder how the imagery would have affected your interpretation of the music.
That's wild! I was out of board gaming in 2018-ish when this appears to have come out but I think it still would have slipped under my radar as it isn't on BoardGameGeek, which is intriguing all on it's own.
This album would've been right around the point where I went through Therion's discography, but I can't remember if I heard this album/song or not. Either way, this is another solid symphonic metal track. A bit cheesy at points and a bit disjointed in some of the transitions that don't flow smoothly from one idea to the next, but it's full of inspired ideas and excellent playing that manage to be technically/compositionally interesting and real fun/catchy to listen to. Definitely among the best I've heard from them. Orpheus was a Greek hero that had superhuman musical abilities. He's often used as THE symbol for ideal/great artist/composer/musician. The most well-known story involves Orpheus travelling to Hades to rescue his wife Eurydice. Orpheus's music charmed the demon dog Cerberus, and then so charmed Hades and Persephone that he was allowed to take Eurydice back to the living on the condition that he not look back to gaze on her until they were out of Hades, but at the last moment Orpheus looks back and loses Eurydice forever. The story was the basis for among the earliest surviving operas in Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, as well as Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice that was a huge influence on Mozart. Orpheus's death is also pretty gruesome in that he was torn apart by the Maenads and his head was sent floating down the Hebrus continually singing songs. Euripides wrote one of his best plays based on this called Bachae. Always thought the Orpheus story was a great metaphor for the power of art in the face of death, for both the art and those remembered in the art to live on.
This was from the last Therion album that I liked, the stuff afterwards just didn't quite work for me. I'm more a fan of the clumsy plodding metal + orchestra stuff from a few earlier albums, but Gothic Kabbalah's dive into more prog-rocky elements, and using more pop/rock vocals, not just operatic choirs, really did sound like something evolving. Sad they didn't really manage to deliver on the albums afterwards (at least not for me)
Great reaction video, as usual! There's so much of Therion I wanna show you and the world... Sirens of the woods, Clavigula knox, Ginnungagap, Asgard, Lemuria, Via nocturna and many more. If you want to see them perform live (on video) I could recommend Live gothic (Budapest) 2007, Miskolc experience, Wacken 2007.
I didn't find out about it until after making the analysis but I'm kinda glad I didn't use it since it was made long after the album and was done to promote a board game. Every aspect of it seems to have been crafted from outside the band rather than within it.
IIRC all members of Therion are quite big on Left Hand Path mysticism and if their lyrics are not about some old dead mythology (IE Secret Of The Runes album is about Viking religion) then they are about some old esoteric arcane writings. Interesting stuff but mostly goes over your head 90% of the time. 😅
By far the best I've heard from them! (Fairly aquainted but far from well versed) There's a recurring riff featured the first time at 5.30 into the video. That's more or less borrowed from Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar! Thoroughly enjoyed this reaction and analysis!
I wonder if it's a coincidence that a song off of their one attempt at a prog album was what worked best for you. I'm so glad that Johnsson allowed this incarnation of the band to indulge their natural progressive tendencies before splitting up because it produced some of my favorite music in the Therion discography.
@@dampersand It's true that they have prog tendencies overall while this is full on! Are you btw familiar with the "prog rock opera" Jesus Christ Superstar and can hear the resemblance in that riff?
@@dampersand Really recommend it! A true masterpiece! (Not religious at all lyrically, but rather examining the "human side" of "being Jesus", Judas Iscariot etc)
The video was actually made yeeeaaarrs later to promote a board game based on the band members. I've heard a lot of good things about the music video but the song itself was never designed with the video in mind so I opted to not use the music video for this reaction.
Your analysis and reaction videos are the best, man. I'm happy now after watching you doing this song because is my favorite one. Thanks a lot for your work, and I hope you can react to "Land of Canaan" (from Therion too) in the future. I love this band and you are the best as well!
how could I miss this
I have been a fan of Therion on and off since the nineties. Gothic Kabbalah is one of those albums that I loved all the way through. Just been listening to their latest EP of three songs that are all amazing. Really kickstarted me listening to them again.
My stepfather first bought me a couple albums of this band, way before this album was released, and being a rebellious teenager I first opposed this direction of music that they took on this album, but then I saw this exact song performed live at Arena Moscow, and by gods it took me altogether. Therion is just the fathers of the symphonic metal, and they earned it. Love to see someone discovering them too.
I noticed the 13:37 thing too :D and how Nightwish's "Song of Myself" is exactly the same length. Always stands out to me.
What's more, the composer earned his fortune in Apple stocks, he was a early geek. 1337 is 100% on purpose.
@@rolsen1304 Though it seems to me that being an early adopter of Apple products is more a "hipster geek" thing while 1337speak is a "gamer nerd" thing. But there's an overlap of course. I want to believe it's on purpose because I'm more in the second category and I would find it cool. Probably less likely that the NW thing is on purpose though, I don't see Tuomas as the type tbh.
Hey Bryan, thanks for putting out a nice long reaction despite your illness.
You're right about the bass being too low in the mix on this song. While it's very prominent elsewhere on the album, it's quite tough to pick out here. I've looked up tabs for this song online and the guitar and drums seem very complete, but the tabbed bass parts are extremely basic without any of the amazing fills because I guess the tabber couldn't hear them (or maybe they just discriminate against bass in general).
If you listen to some of the preceding Therion albums, I think you'd agree that the drums here are a major step up. IMO Therion songs tend towards a mid-tempo plod, and Petterson really manages to inject the extra energy that type of music needs to keep your interest, especially in a longer song like this.
So I very specifically had you listen to the album version rather than watch the official video, mostly because the video stitches on some extra music to cover the intro and outro credits. But I'm curious what you would have thought the story was if you had watched the video, because there's some strange background to that. There was no music video around this song's release, but years later a board game company made a game based on Therion, and filmed the music video for this song to accompany and promote the game. I could never quite fit the video's story to the song until I learned this and realized it was the story of the game instead. Anyway, I didn't want to throw you off in the same way by having you watch it, but I do wonder how the imagery would have affected your interpretation of the music.
That's wild! I was out of board gaming in 2018-ish when this appears to have come out but I think it still would have slipped under my radar as it isn't on BoardGameGeek, which is intriguing all on it's own.
Ohhn now you have to listen to "Land of Canaan" or "Kings of Edom". Both such dynamic in tempo, styles and influences
This album would've been right around the point where I went through Therion's discography, but I can't remember if I heard this album/song or not. Either way, this is another solid symphonic metal track. A bit cheesy at points and a bit disjointed in some of the transitions that don't flow smoothly from one idea to the next, but it's full of inspired ideas and excellent playing that manage to be technically/compositionally interesting and real fun/catchy to listen to. Definitely among the best I've heard from them.
Orpheus was a Greek hero that had superhuman musical abilities. He's often used as THE symbol for ideal/great artist/composer/musician. The most well-known story involves Orpheus travelling to Hades to rescue his wife Eurydice. Orpheus's music charmed the demon dog Cerberus, and then so charmed Hades and Persephone that he was allowed to take Eurydice back to the living on the condition that he not look back to gaze on her until they were out of Hades, but at the last moment Orpheus looks back and loses Eurydice forever. The story was the basis for among the earliest surviving operas in Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, as well as Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice that was a huge influence on Mozart. Orpheus's death is also pretty gruesome in that he was torn apart by the Maenads and his head was sent floating down the Hebrus continually singing songs. Euripides wrote one of his best plays based on this called Bachae. Always thought the Orpheus story was a great metaphor for the power of art in the face of death, for both the art and those remembered in the art to live on.
This was from the last Therion album that I liked, the stuff afterwards just didn't quite work for me. I'm more a fan of the clumsy plodding metal + orchestra stuff from a few earlier albums, but Gothic Kabbalah's dive into more prog-rocky elements, and using more pop/rock vocals, not just operatic choirs, really did sound like something evolving. Sad they didn't really manage to deliver on the albums afterwards (at least not for me)
I'm so happy to see a reaction to my favorite Therion song 💛 live long and prosper 🖖
Great reaction video, as usual!
There's so much of Therion I wanna show you and the world... Sirens of the woods, Clavigula knox, Ginnungagap, Asgard, Lemuria, Via nocturna and many more. If you want to see them perform live (on video) I could recommend Live gothic (Budapest) 2007, Miskolc experience, Wacken 2007.
a pity you didn't use the superb video that is shot for this epic song. The vid just makes it even more mysterious
I didn't find out about it until after making the analysis but I'm kinda glad I didn't use it since it was made long after the album and was done to promote a board game. Every aspect of it seems to have been crafted from outside the band rather than within it.
Good reaction John (frusciante) 😂
IIRC all members of Therion are quite big on Left Hand Path mysticism and if their lyrics are not about some old dead mythology (IE Secret Of The Runes album is about Viking religion) then they are about some old esoteric arcane writings. Interesting stuff but mostly goes over your head 90% of the time. 😅
By far the best I've heard from them! (Fairly aquainted but far from well versed)
There's a recurring riff featured the first time at 5.30 into the video. That's more or less borrowed from Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar!
Thoroughly enjoyed this reaction and analysis!
I wonder if it's a coincidence that a song off of their one attempt at a prog album was what worked best for you. I'm so glad that Johnsson allowed this incarnation of the band to indulge their natural progressive tendencies before splitting up because it produced some of my favorite music in the Therion discography.
@@dampersand It's true that they have prog tendencies overall while this is full on!
Are you btw familiar with the "prog rock opera" Jesus Christ Superstar and can hear the resemblance in that riff?
I'm afraid I have never heard/seen Jesus Christ Superstar, but it would not surprise me at all if it is an intentional reference.
@@dampersand Really recommend it! A true masterpiece! (Not religious at all lyrically, but rather examining the "human side" of "being Jesus", Judas Iscariot etc)
at the very beginning the "male" voice reminds me of Serj Tankian
No pensé ver una reacción a esta canción
Please react to Emmerald Crown by Therion. 🙏
This is Film music
They're a Video of this for the Imagine of the story
The video was actually made yeeeaaarrs later to promote a board game based on the band members. I've heard a lot of good things about the music video but the song itself was never designed with the video in mind so I opted to not use the music video for this reaction.
@@CriticalReactions There is a Video Clip of the the song. That's what I meant, sorry.
@@hendrikring3951 Oh ok. I wasn't aware of that one.
✌️