I was AMAZED. I have been listening to the Swedish band, Therion, for nearly a year now, in an English Operatic, classically trained vocals, death metal guitar and bass, double bass drums, and darker lyrics (when not an ABBA cover, that is) for a year or two now. Never thought enough about them to search for their band history. Basically, to me, they sounded like a wimpy version of Cradle of Filth, but with a heightened female vocal structure suggesting more along the lines of Nightwish or Lacuna Coil. Last night, on my facebook account, I saw a photo update on Therion's page, and, being the steam punk aspiree that I am, I had to look through them all. That triggered a you tube look up of Therion.
Started with the usual "Summernight City", just based off of the Sepia toned beauty of the video itself. (Also, I might add, a great way of bringing the older generations into the metal scene, based off of their operatic trained vocals.) Quickly, I grew bored with the same old, same old, and started exploring more and more of their music, until stumbling upon "A Suburb To Hell" circa 1990. Could not believe my ears. I was hearing death metal. Death metal, no less, claiming to be the harmonic shizz of the Therion I know and, somewhat, adore.
Oh, my dear, Wiki! Your self sustaining (user altered) universe came into play here. I discovered, there and then, that the Music Genome Project failed me.
Fans of Symphonic Metal, check out, and please download (support?) the old Therion. We may be able to re-influence those bishes back to playing how they were at their experimental height, before they fell into this crap music that (let's face it) we men only really listen to and like cause it makes our women folk all hot and bothered, while sitting here wishing to listen to something demonic and abusive. Do you and your metal headed lady friend a favor. Buy the album (by Therion, I promise) 'Ho Drakon Ho Megas'. Neither of you will realize, listening to how they are now, that this truly was what Therion was, shortly after changing their name from the Celtic Frost homage "To Mega Therion." In fact, their albums pre-1996 are death and CoF style symphonic metal eargasms.
Truly, this is an example of where the Music Genome Project failed me. The closest it came to comparing Therion to death metal, on my station, was bringing me full circle, back to Opeth, one of my favorite bands shortly after High School (sadly). That station then lead me back to Meshuggah. Truth is, regardless how faultless you may assume a system to be, it takes corroboration and testing. That is the heart of my experiment here.
Now, if you will excuse me, I have just enough malt liquor to (barely) feel drunk, and I promote you and I both have our favorite drink, alcoholic or not, and explore these forgotten bands, who only got to where they were, by having been experimental and epic, once, in the past.
Rock on, my friends. Rock on.
