Therion - Lepaca Kliffoth

Truly gothic Death Metal here, as Therion go one step forward from Symphony Masses to fuse orchestration, keyboards strings/woods and choir vocals together in one big ball. There's something catchy here though, because every time I think of playing it, all I remember are the choir voicings, which I don't particularly care for. The music, however, is magnificent. Johnsson does a really good job of putting everything together, and while it does go overboard at times, it also works very effectively. Death metal for the extended family? The guitar lines are sweeping, and the whole album is very classical and emotional. An additional positive note is that there enough variation over the album, and even through each song, that if one piece irratates you, it'll be gone in a minute. Therion also keeps enough of the heaviness to keep old time listeners. A truly unique album from one of the more adventurous bands today.