Crowning of Atlantis

Crowning Of Atlantis is the second compilation that Therion considers a regular full length effort. While this release is more interesting than the pale A'arab Zaraq - Lucid Dreaming offering two years earlier, this compilation is still only interesting for collectors and die-hard fans and occasional listeners should simply go for the "Atlantis Lucid Dreaming" release that combined the best moments of both compilations.

What we get here are first of all two leftover tracks from the Vovin sessions plus a completely new recorded song. While the short and elegant but somewhat shy and therefor unimpressive "From The Dionsyian Days" and the solid mid-tempo track "Mark Of Cain" that adds some hard rock elements to the band's symphonic metal sound are decent but can't full convince, it's especially the title song "The Crowning Of Atlantis" that really stands out as best song on the compilation. Imagine a gloomier and more grounded version of the excellent "The Rise Of Sodom And Gomorrah" where the guitar play is overall more prominent than the string sections and you know what you will get here.

The second part of this compilation is composed of one darker and more grounded alternative version of the excellent "Clavicula Nox" from the last regular release as well as three well done cover songs. Ralf Scheepers of Primal Fear and Gamma Ray fame can fully convince on his attempts at covering Loudness' "Crazy Nights" and Manowar's "Thor (The Powerhead)". The first interpretation stays true to the original and is a rare excellent heavy metal rendition by Therion while the second track also includes a few ambitious and majestic choirs that fit to what Manowar attempts but continously fails to create. The last cover song is Accept's "Seawinds" which turns out to be an amazing calm and enchanting ballad with hypnotizing female vocals. Therion really reinvent this song and make it sound like a mixture of a pop song of the eighties and spiritual classical music.

The last third of this compilation offers three very well done live tracks. While the present versions of "The Wings Of The Hydra" and "Black Sun" are decent I must point out the incredibly energizing rendition of "To Mega Therion". I can't help but having massive goosebumps and banging my head with passion and pride to this explosive version of a milestone in metal history. This is maybe the best live version ever released of this song despite many great future live records of the band. Along with the stunning title song and the great Accept cover, this is by far the best track on this compilation.

While this compilation offers only a handful of interesting songs, it has a much better hit and miss rate than the previous A'arab Zaraq - Lucid Dreaming. Still, I would simply recommend you to purchase the Atlantis Lucid Dreaming version from 2005 or to simply focus on the excellent regular studio records of this unique band.

The Crowning of Atlantis EP is to Vovin what A’Arab Zarach Lucid Dreaming was to Theli, a compilation of extra material from the recording sessions, remixes, covers from old-school heavy metal bands and this time, instead of a misplaced avant-garde movie soundtrack, a couple of live songs. Now the musical qualities of both releases, which were to be later melt together on the Atlantis Lucid Dreaming compilation, couldn’t be more different. Crowning of Atlantis is more than a mere curio for the incurable fan; it’s a solid Therion output of which best moments could compete with anything on the full-lengths.

The title track alone is worth it. This isn’t a cut from Vovin but a song recorded specifically for this EP on a separate session as the presence of Sami Karppinen, who was to become the band’s official drummer for the two following albums, proves it. This lively, somehow joyful Therion classic may sound like a more incisive version of The Rise of Sodom of Gomorrah, with a lesser importance given to violins and thus an increased importance given to guitars, but it’s nonetheless a song with a soul of its own, with amongst others a punchy a cappella part which could be set up as an example for every opera metal band to come. A crowning achievement, indeed.

Now every observant owner of the original version of Vovin is likely to have noticed the presence of Mark of Cain on the artwork though the track has been cut off from the final mix. It’s no mystery lyricist and Dragon Rouge grandmaster Thomas Karlsson is regularly conversing with spirits, so I suppose this should account for the existence of such ghost songs, the other one being O Fortuna on the Deggial album. In a more serious vein whatever you may think of Christofer Johnsson it can’t be denied the man is a perfectionist, and the sole reason I might see for the eviction of this simple but killer piece is I can’t guess where exactly it could have fit on the mother album – perhaps between The Wild Hunt and Eye of Shiva. I mean, when you can come out with THIS RIFF... It’s just the kind of riff which could support any song, now add to it the soprano’s delicate voice as well as the choirs as tight as ever, and you’ll get the most underrated track in the whole Therion history. From Dionysian Days on the other hand isn’t very impressive I’ll admit, some bastard offspring from the Draconian Trilogy with violins and choirs all the way, quite a boring moment though again it isn’t especially worse than Eye of Shiva.

The remix of the already gloomy epic Clavicula Nox managed to make this great song even gloomier, thanks to darker orchestral arrangements and above all the replacement of female singers (save from Sarah Jezebel Devah’s ending line) by their male counterparts. The bass singer sounds especially creepy, turning the ancestral Night and its occult mysteries into some desolated landscape from the last days of humanity. Let’s be clear though, the original version is undoubtedly better with its inherent majesty while this one, more intimate, is slightly sleep-inducing.

As for the covers, they’re overall better done than on AAZLD. Therion covering Manowar has always given me chuckles; indeed imagining Christofer Johnsson, a vegan for years and not exactly a bodybuilder, as some half-naked warrior proudly waving his sword in the air with a couple of bimbos crawling at his feet should be quite a sight. The song in itself is rather faithful to the original though Ralf Scheepers, who already did some guest vocals on Vovin, while being a better choice than Piotr W. as a singer, still lacks a bit of the power only Eric Adams could honour the God of Thunder with. He does a far better job on the highly rocking Crazy Nights, though I’m not familiar with the original song from the Japanese band Loudness so it’s hard to compare. Finally Accept’s ballad Seawinds has been covered in a totally different fashion, in the purest Therion way complete with soprano singers, turning it into a deeply melancholic piece of work; another highlight here.

Eventually I’ll admit the live tracks aren’t that indispensable. However it should be remembered at the time this EP was released there was still no Therion live album available, the first one being the 2002 Live in Midgård, so they did indeed make sense. Now with all the available live versions of To Mega Therion this one, of rather poor quality, is pretty much relegated to the status of fan-only material. The Wings of the Hydra and Black Sun are a tad more interesting as not so popular, especially the former which seems definitely banished from the band’s live performances now Johnsson has officially given up singing. You’ll find a better version on the Live in Midgård, though.

After all non-drone bands recording 50 minutes long EPs aren’t that numerous and Vovin’s little child is definitely worth the money. It may be argued with good reasons the Atlantis Lucid Dreaming compilation somehow made it obsolete, as the loss of two live tracks in the process is an anecdotal one. But the already mentioned incurable fan will always favour his original item...

Highlights: The Crowning of Atlantis, Mark of Cain, Seawinds

Crowning of Atlantis is quite an interesting little EP – or strange if you’re in that mood. Either way it’s diverse. Therion wanted to make their second EP short, just with new songs and maybe some cover to fill the gap before the next album was to be released. But Nuclear Blast more or less told them to add some more tracks to it, to make it full-length. Yet, everyone except for NB regard it as an EP.

The two first songs, especially the title song, are catchy reminding of later Therion sound, but a lot more guitar based than they have been for a long time. The magnificent orchestrations are more or less gone in favour of a heavier music than the Vovin album displayed. They only have two violins, one viola and one cello this time, and these instruments are more or less concentrated in the Clavicula Nox remix, which is a lighter version than the original and with not so apparent guitars. From The Dionysian Days, the last new song, is a rather thin song that has interesting violin implementation.

On the Loudness and Manowar covers Therion borrowed Ralf Scheepers’ (Gamma Ray, Primal Fear aso) vocals, and they copy the songs rather closely. Kick-ass songs and kick-ass covers… The cover of Accept’s Seawinds isn’t bad in any sense. The female vocalist isn’t perfect, yeah, but she does a pretty good job anyway. Then we have three live tracks of older songs with rather bad sound quality. All in all this is mostly an album for a fan, but most people should be able to enjoy it – or parts of it at least.