Therion, who have just released a new album, Leviathan III, the last of the Leviathan trilogy, will perform in Bucharest, in Quantic Club, as part of the Leviathan Tour 2024. Therion is a band that enjoys great success among rock lovers in Romania. With a history of almost 40 years behind them, Therion has always tried to explore new territories and innovate, breaking the barriers of their original musical style (death metal) and creating atypical sounds that have made hundreds of fans fall in love with both the combination of symphonic music and metal, as well as various themes not often touched upon in music today, such as mythology, magic, occultism, traditions and ancient writings, characteristic of the Swedish band.
On the occasion of the event in Bucharest, the leader and founder of the Swedish symphonic metal band, Christofer Johnsson, gave an exclusive interview for Maximum Rock Romania.
Tickets for the Therion concert in Bucharest (04.02.2024) are now available on AmBilet.ro.
How did you come up with the idea to conceive the Leviathan Trilogy?
After over 30 years and 16 albums of just doing what ever I felt like, the idea was born to try to give the fans what they want for a change. It sounds easy; “just write some hit songs!”. But if it was easy, all bands would do it all the time. So it was both a thank you to the loyal fans who have supported our crazy journey over the years and a great challenge that we wanted/needed to proceed artistically at that time.
The trilogy spanning Leviathan I, II, and III showcases different thematic and sonic approaches for each installment. Could you elaborate on the creative process behind crafting the diverse soundscapes for Leviathan III, especially considering the intention to make it „adventurous or experimental” with „odd” influences?
The trilogy consists of various types of songs and musical styles that we have explored over the years. The difference is that we now tried to focus specifically on what different types of fans want. So each Leviathan got a flavor of its own.
The songs were all written in the same way, it doesn’t matter the style.
The album features a variety of musical styles, from the frantic and complex amalgamation in „Ninkigal” to the majorly beautiful and delicate classical/folk ballad „Ruler of Tamag.” How did you balance the more conventional symphonic death metal elements with these diverse musical influences, and what inspired the inclusion of such contrasting tracks within the same album?
If you study the music of Therion from older albums (we made 16 albums before the Leviathan trilogy), you will see that this is nothing new, we always blended and mixed heavily with styles. It’s just another day and another songwriting in the 36 year history of the band.
What do themes such as mythology, magic, occultism, ancient traditions, and writings represent for the atmosphere created by Therion’s songs?
It has always been there in one form or another since our second album in 1992 and it’s an essential part of the Therion character I suppose.
How do you anticipate the Romanian audience’s reaction to the new album Leviathan III, and what expectations do you have for the promotional tour in Romania in terms of interacting with fans and the musical impact of Therion in this country?
I haven’t researched specifically the Romanian audience reaction to any specific album, but in general our fans seems to have a quite similar view on our music no matter where they live. The most popular songs and albums and most popular no matter where we go. And as the early reactions to Leviathan III has been very good, I assume so is the case in Romania as well.
Romania has always been one of the best countries for us in Europe, so I’d expect the concert there to be great as usual.
If you were to recommend someone to listen to a good Swedish metal band, which band or album would you suggest they start with?
That depends heavily on what kind of metal you are into. If you like more aggressive metal, Bathory’s “Under the Sign of the Black Mark”is unbeatable.
If you like heavy melodic music, any of the first two Candlemass albums are equally classic. If you like more commercial stuff, Sabaton and Ghost made some very strong stuff.
