[心得] Therion - Secret of the Runes(英文版) - 精華區 RockMetal

作者Darkside18 (Blood,Fire,Death)

看板RockMetal

標題[心得] Therion - Secret of the Runes(英文版)

時間Tue Jun 2 12:04:22 2009

One of their finest, beautiful Nordic epic anthem Therion - Secret of the Runes Release date: October, 8th, 2001 Track list: 1. Ginnungagap (The Black Hole) (Prologue) 2. (Old) Midgard 3. Asgard (The Bifrost Bridge) 4. (Call Of) Jotunheim 5. Schwarzalbenheim (Svartalfheim) (Gold der Unterwelt) 6. Ljusalfheim (The Shining Ones) 7. Muspelheim (Gudaskymning) 8. Nifelheim (Dimmornas Varld) 9. Vanaheim (Seed of Ing) 10.Helheim (Den dimholjda) 11.Secret of the Runes (Epilogue) 12.Crying Days (bonus track) 13.Summernight City (bonus track) Therion is back! Only one year after the release of weaker Deggial, they soon came back with an incredible new album: Secret of the Runes. This time, Therion challenged to make a concept album which concept is based on Norse mythology. In this album, each song gets one of the names and concepts of nine worlds. Secret of the Runes sounds very different from any other albums of Therion, and it’s also one of the best albums Therion have ever made. In Secret of the Runes, Therion’s music style becomes more various than their previous albums. Aside from the operatic choruses and symphony orchestra, they add many Scandinavian sounds such as black and Viking metal. More surprisingly, the music fits with concept perfectly. When I listen to it, it just likes to take an unforgettable journey through nine worlds of Norse mythology. The bombastic epic prolog “Ginnungagap” tells the birth of the universe, it sounds like symphonic black metal with heavenly vocals. It also contains apparent progressive and classical influences. In “Midgard”, we are entering the realm of men. The beautiful smooth acoustic guitars and peaceful choruses reveal the spirits of human. “Asgard” brings us to the realm of gods, it much like symphonic progressive metal build in Nordic form. The perfect harmonies of vocals and progressive guitar tones are just like sung and played by gods themselves. “Jotunheim” creates the scene of giants’ realm, the vocals are sung solemnly, the guitar riffs are played heavily. It’s a tremendous anthem of giants. “Schwarzalbenheim” sounds epic and dark. We are now into the realm of dwarves. The male vocals are magnificent, the female choruses are passionate . It also has epic symphonic background sound wall and beautiful string quartet performances. “Ljusalfheim” shows the peaceful realm of elves. This is the most beautiful song on the album. The melodic guitars and string quartet are simply fantastic. “Muspelheim” is the realm of fire Giants, and it’s the fastest song on the album. The headbanging thrash metal riffs combine with loud operatic vocal, which makes you feel on fire. In “Niefelheim” we are brought to the ice realm, the blacken guitar melodies shows the coldness of the northland. “Vanaheim” is the homeland of Vanir. It has wonderful performance of string instruments. The choruses are also glorious. This song ends with insanely progressive neo-classcial solo. “Helheim” describes the underworld. The sacred choirs are just like the voices of dead. At the end of the journey, we’ve got the majestic epilog title track “Secret of the Runes”. In this song, Odin has finally required the secret of the runes. It sounds thrashy and black, but also embraces classical music. Therion truly show their uncanny musical talent here. Secret of the Runes is not only a perfect combination of music and concept, but also a unique album in Therion’s career. This album is an extremeness of feeling. It contains epic, majesty, beauty, peace and passion. You can listen to this album in any kind of mood. This album also shows magnificent atmosphere of Scandinavian epic metal, which Therion have never composed before. Moreover, the musicianship in this album is better than all of their previous albums. The solos in “Midgard”, “Asgard”, and”Vanaheim” are amazing, the acoustic guitars in “Ljusalfheim” and “Vanaheim” are astonishing. The ability of operatic vocals using in this album is, in my opinion, their best work so far. It’s totally mind-blowing. In Secret of the Runes, the inspiring creativity of songwriting skill also appears once again. Therion is back to their standard, and they even above to higher level. Besides, in this album, Therion also give us two great bonus tracks: “Crying Days” and “Summernight City”. “Crying Days” is a Scorpions cover song, Summernight City is originally appeared at a tribute album to Swedish pop legend ABBA. Both songs are as good as the original. Therion rearrange two covers with symphonic and operatic sounds, and successfully turn them into their own. I usually don’t listen to bonus tracks. Because they are often tend to destroy the unity of the album. However, I highly recommend “Crying Days” and “Summernight City”. Whether you like bonus tracks or not, you should at least give them a chance. Secret of the Runes is another perfect masterpiece made by Therion. It’s a unique album full of musical genius, classical brilliance and fascinating Nordic tones. There is no other album which has similar sounds. With this album , Therion once again prove to the world that they are the true king of symphonic metal. Secret of the Runes is a beautiful epic anthem of the north, and a highly-recommended superb Therion classic. It sounds a little bit weird, but magnificent. 全專輯試聽: Ginnungagap http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtDF1zkU-do