Sitra Ahra

Therion | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nuclear Blast Americ
• ASIN: B003Y4TSG6
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #97,879 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Therion have always been about musical visions, progressing over the years with added recognition and escalating maturity. Harmony and brilliance at its most elite, Therion continue to walk down the road towards distinctiveness, sophistication, and mystery. Even after 23 years, continual lineup changes and rapidly changing trends in the metal scene, Therion are still innovative and consistently impressive. On Sitra Ahra, the newest incarnation of the band continue their exploration of the occult and their affinity for over-the-top, bombastic orchestrations. This lineup includes mainman Christofer Johnsson along with now permanent vocalist Thomas Vikström (ex-Candlemass). Johnsson also recently recruited Christian Vidal (ex-The Road Vultures, ex- Cuero) from Argentina as the band's new guitarist. Comprising Therion's new rhythm section are Johan Koleberg (Animal, Zan Clan, Lion's Share) on drums and Nalle "Grizzly" Påhlsson (Treat, Zan Clan, Vindictiv) on bass. Sitra Ahra is an epic musical odyssey of mysticism, metal, and operatic elements of the highest caliber. It is this latest effort that proves the band continues to climb the ladder of innovation.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Whew! They Recovered!, November 25, 2010

By 

R. J. Lowe "IT, Gamer, Philosopher, Writer" (Mohave Desert) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sitra Ahra (MP3 Download)

After the embarassment of the Gothic Kabbalah, which sounded very much like a cheep, low-budget knock-off/imitation of the Therion we used to know an love, they've come back with an album that goes back to awesome orchestrations and layered vocals. It seems they either found some funding, or realized the bland, thin sound of GK really wasn't their style.

I was pretty leary of picking up this title after the immense let down that was GK. I'm glad I took the risk, and that Therion has returned to the sound of greatness we usually associate with them. Thank you for coming back to the dark side of symphonic/daemonic rock Therion!

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Therion Time Travels, October 26, 2010

By 

Spazmonkey - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sitra Ahra (Audio CD)

The Lineup:

The band was dismissed and this album comes in with mostly new members. It has basically the same sound that therion always had except the new drummer sounds a lot more basic and simple compared to the previous melodic and progressive drummer (petter karlson). I do miss the old drummer in this album. While the drummer takes a step backwards, the new bassist is amazing.

Besides the fact that the amazing lori lewis is on this album, there really aren't too many female parts. It's mostly choirs and males with a few small parts for female vocals.

Album Background:

Therion writes a new album after Deggial but instead of making it they make Secret of the Runes. Over time they have enough material for 3 albums so they release 2 at once- lemuria/sirius b. They were going to release the 3rd album next, but instead wrote new material and made Gothic Kabbalah (though the first and last song on this album are the original songs for the 3rd album). So this album is actually mostly old material written at the same time as Lemuria/Sirius b.

Beyond that they recorded it so it would sound like an old album from the 70s. So it has that old analog sound. In some ways it is much richer and fuller of a sound, feels more eerie but in other ways a weak mix. Overall we can just say it sounds different from most modern releases.

The Sound:

Which gets us to time travel... take all of Therion's old albums (each one with a different sound, but still recognizably Therion) and put them in a blender and you get Sitra Ahra.

This is about as typical of a therion album as you can get. For a long time fan it is an *ok* release, mostly rehashing the same old techniques used in previous albums (only this time it doesn't sound as fresh) with copying guitar riffs from old 70s songs (commonly done by therion).

The album cosists of 11 solid tracks. None of them suck, but some of them take some getting used to. So depending on your tastes each person has a different list of songs they love or don't like.

Personally I find Kings of Edom to be a bit boring. The song is predictable and rehashes old melodies from the 70s with the same old riffs used in previous therion songs coming together in an easy to listen to but unamazing track. The song has some cool parts (like the acoustic guitars) but just drags on too long for me. So really a bland *ok* song, even though many people find it to be their favorite. The simple but solid drums tend to bore in all the songs compared to previous releases.

Unguetum Sabbati is amazing, one of my favorites. But again it rips off of fantom of the opera stealing riffs from nightwish.

Land of Canaan is my favorite track. A long epic 70s rock sounding song with great vocals and symphony, solid guitar riffs and so forth. However it rips off several elements from 70s rock bands and is a bit of a tribute to klaatu or similar to the 1964 Animals- House of the Rising Sun only more "symphonic".

Cu Chulain is one my favorites as well with awsome riffs, great vocals, cool guitar solos and solid riffs. It sounds like something from lemuria/sirius b.

Children of the Stone has pink floyd sounds to it.

Overall it is a tribute to 70s rock, a blend of old therion styles as well. It's mostly like a vintage 70s esque version of lemuria/sirius b with a few progressive Gothic Kabbalah elements.

There's really nothing unexpected here, a totally typical Therion album, no filler songs. It's not my favorite album from Therion, but not a disappointment either.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Daring Retro Album, December 24, 2010

By 

T. Cox - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sitra Ahra (Audio CD)

This is not a commercial-sounding proggy metal album like Gothic Kabbalah was, nor is it an epic plodding and coherent operatic work like Secret of the Runes. Sitra Ahra is more a mishmash of 70s Scorpions, King Crimson, Theli, and Lemuria/SiriusB, with some wild excursions like Unguentum Sabbati and Din which are more metal-like. So if you're mainly into technical, prog, death, and/or black metal then you may be disappointed. If you're okay with avant garde, retro, 70s rock, melodic metal, and indie/experimental stuff, then you may appreciate it more.

Sitra Ahra was intentionally recorded to have a 70s analog sound. This was done for artistic, honorary (to 70s artists), and experimental reasons. On the plus side, this gives it a more direct, personal, intimate sound. While that allows for good separation among the various instruments and vocals, for kicks I threw 20% basic plate reverb on the songs and it sounds friggin'awesome through headphones that way. The biggest surprise though was the Bass guitar tone ... wow!

Overall, the album is more focused on simple but elegant melody, catchiness, and groove than epic ambiance or technical prowess. The song composition itself isn't simplistic though, there's actually a lot going on and it's elegantly stitched together. Think of Scorpion's Virgin Killer album, which was a tight bundle of good catchy melodies. Same with Sitra Ahra.

The vibe on this album is more celebratory and euphoric with more astral/occult overtones than previous albums, slight Swing Diablo Orchestra vibe. Though I wouldn't call this music dorky unless you're some curmudgeon in corpse paint. For me it has good re-playability. In my opinion, Hellequin and Land of Canaan are the best song on the album. I'm giving Sitra Ahra 4 instead of 5 stars because it's only the beginning, and not the zenith, of the new lineup, and Amazon won't allow 6 stars for the next album.