September 3rd, 2005
Therion
in Vancouver
Nancy,
my pal Andrew and I went to see Therion in
concert last Wednesday at the Red Room,
in Vancouver. Man, that was an awesome
show!
I've
been a huge fan of Therion for many
years. I even used one of their song
as a "temp track" for one
of my proposed animation project. One
of my "pet dream" has been
to use their music / or have them score
one of my project. I couldn't believe
when I heard they were touring North
America. I immediately made plans to
go see them.
I
was intrigued to see how they would
manage to convey the sheer grandeur
and scope of their album (their last
double CD, Sirius
B/Lemuria, uses a total
of 171 musicians) in a small live setting.
Well, manage they did and in spades!
With a 12 musician ensemble, they rendered
an impressive sets of songs with such
power and conviction, it sent shivers
down your spine. Every one in the audience
was mesmerized.
After
the show, we went backstage and hung
out with the band. It was great to
see how humble and cool these guys
were. I ended up chatting with Christofer
Johnsson (the mastermind behind Therion)
and the other band members for about
an hour. I asked questions about their
music and we even discussed the notion
of a future collaboration.
Therion
truly defies description. They combine
Heavy Metal with Opera, pounding electric
guitar riffs with symphony orchestra.
Their sound is majestic, powerful and
epic. If Wagner was a heavy metal composer,
that's what he might sound like.
If
you like good live shows, don't miss
these guys. Click
here for tour dates.
