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Questo album, pubblicato nel 2005, è un "ensamble" di due opere precedenti per i Therion: "A'arab Zaraq Lucid Dreaming" e "Crowning of Atlantis", in versione remixata e rimasterizzata.
Chi possedesse gli album citati, naturalmente, potrà certamente farne a meno, ma chi invece, intende conoscere i Therion e capirne per sommi capi la direzione artistica, non potrà che possederlo, e, come al solito, goderne sempre di più. Luci soffuse, voci liriche, arrangiamenti orchestrali, Heavy Metal strutturato e complesso, canzoni "storiche" delle band che, sembra, abbiano influenzato i Therion, quì sono presenti. E dall'inizio, con "In Remembrace" e "Black Fairy" subito si capisce dove i Therion hanno iniziato il loro percorso e dove poi siano andati a parare: raffinatezza, genio e sregolatezza per i campioni di ogni cosa sia melodia e decadenza, senza nessun dubbio di sorta. A questo punto, primo break, e i Therion ci propongono dapprima "Fly to the Rainbow" degli Scorpions, con il suo inseguirsi di riff su riff di chitarre, per poi scomparire nella parte centrale dapprima attraverso un rallentamento con un organo, poi con dei fiati, per poi tuffarsi in un intermezzo sussurrato e misterioso che sfocia, alla fine, in un ritornello irresistibile.
La seconda cover invece è affidata a "Under Jolly Roger" eseguita dal vivo, in origine scritta e pubblicata dai Running Wild nel 1987, che si dimostra essere un brano potente e corposo, che i Therion eseguono in maniera stranamente abrasiva. Si passa a "Symphony of the Dead", strumentale e affascinante nei suoi barocchismi, e poi a "Here Comes the Tears" dei Judas Priest, che ne conserva bene e ne amplia il fascino e la solitudine. Fine del break, e si ricomincia con le canzoni della band: "The Crowning of Atlantis", "Mark of Cain" e "Clavicula Nox", questa, in particolare, completamente riarrangiata e resa più buia dalla voce lirica maschile anziché, come in origine, da quella femminile, e il cambio, è estremamente convincente, risultando di una tristezza e decadenza disarmante. Ennesimo break, ed eccoci a "Crazy Nights" dei Loudness del 1985, con chitarre raschianti e ritmo sostenuto, talmente tanto che, quasi sembra impossibile che a suonare siano i Therion!
"From the Dionysian Days" è, certamente poi l'episodio più barocco dell'intero album e non può lasciare indifferenti ma, passando da questa, occorre poi fare attenzione a "Thor", cover dei Manowar, potentissima e pesante, a espressione che, i Therion sono una band metal al 100%, con velleità diverse certo, ma che se ci si mettono, sanno pestare davvero duro, ed in questa canzone, anche se è una cover, ci riescono benissimo! Impossibile stare zitti e non cantarla a squarciagola. E adesso, i finali, affidati a una "Seawinds", cover degli Accept del 1979, data in maniera dolcissima e atmosferica, sfruttando il meglio di ciò che i Therion sanno darci, e a una "Black Sun" dal vivo che crea una tensione e un disagio che già nella versione in studio erano palpabili, ma che quì vengono ancora più accentuati dall'esecuzione perfetta e precisa, con in più il feeling della prestazione in presa diretta.
In definitiva, una antologia che serve, come ho detto, a chi si sta accostando ai Therion, per il resto, invece, nulla di nuovo, oltre alla magnificenza superba della band, naturalmente.
Elenco tracce e testi
01 In Remembrance (06:27)
Draconian ages, typhonic dreams,
Nuits lead the qliphotic streams,
The depth in mind where visions dwell,
Projections of an open shell.
Into remembrance we transcend,
Into memories from a prior supreme darker age.
Thy fallen thou shall rise.
Thy fallen thou shall rise.
Thy fallen thou shall rise.
Thy fallen.
Into aeons of the dark supreme,
A ride on the qliphotic stream,
Demonic queen, the whore of Babylon,
The one who ride to mega therion.
Into remembrance we transcend,
Into memories from a prior supreme darker age.
Thy fallen thou shall rise.
Thy fallen thou shall rise.
Thy fallen thou shall rise.
Thy fallen.
Into aeons of the dark, thy fallen thou shall rise.
Into aeons of the dark, thy fallen thou shall rise.
Into aeons of the dark, thy fallen thou shall rise.
Into aeons of the dark, thy fallen.
04 Under Jolly Roger (04:35)
Neigh anchor, heist the sails
Cruisin for booty on watery trails
No exploiter we see can still sail on
Our cannons fire till his ship goes down
Fly our flag, we teach them fear
Capture them, the end is near
Firing guns, they shall burn
Surrender or fight, there's no return
Under jolly roger
Vonerable sceundrels, no blood on our hands
Our engagements are tough, but only for defence
Carefully we sail around the reefs
To force those die-hards to their knees
Fly our flag, we teach them fear
Capture them, the end is near
Firing guns, they shall burn
Surrender or fight, there's no return
Under jolly roger
Sliding through the waves to free all the captives
Boarding the vessels, we know all the tactics
We're the menace, the curse of the sea
We pulverize the men o'war, pay or flee!!!
Fly our flag, we teach them fear
Capture them, the end is near
Firing guns, they shall burn
Surrender or fight, there's no return
05 Symphony of the Dead (03:39)
Your life is fading to death
When gates are open, you'll pass
You are alone outside your shell
The astral landscapes await
A discovery of the secrets of life
You'll reach through the skies
Your eyes can see a world in beyond
The world of the demised
(This song has also an instrumental version)
06 Here Comes the Tears (03:23)
All alone, no one cares.
So much to give to you all out there.
Take me now, in your arms.
Let me rest, safe from harm.
Ohh.... I want to be loved...
I need to be loved...
Won't somebody love me....
(solo)
Here they come, here come the tears...
Here they come, here come the tears...
.
.
.
08 Mark of Cain (05:01)
Cain, firstborn son of Adam
You killed your brother Abel
Now you bear a mark of God in your eyes
Pain is [the] sign of your symbol
And you'll be borne down by [the] load
You will walk forever to live and let die
Life is eternal for Cain
Bright shine the crime from his mark
Some secret's known by his name
He taught man handle Gods spark
[Let the he]Let the he-goat bear the old crimes
Walk with him, to distant east
Ride your horse into the deset of set
And meet him, your master Azazel [4x]
09 Clavicula Nox (08:51)
Dark horizons come close to me and
magick will be my key
I will travel through the gate
to be the finder of my fate.
Nox, the night and key
I will open your old mistery
key of night, open up!
Deep abysses I sink into
and behind the light I go
my long journey never ends
but I will receive what I send.
Nox, the night and key
I will open your old mistery
key of night, open up!
12 Thor (The Powerhead) (04:46)
Black clouds on the horizon
Great thunder and burning rain
His chariot pounding, I heard the heavens scream his name
I watched as he shouted
To the giants that died that day
He held up his hammer high and called Odin for a sign
Thor the mighty, Thor the brave
Crush the infidels in your way
By your hammer let none be saved
Live to die on that final day
Gods, monsters and men
We'll die together in the end
God of thunder, God of rain
Earth shaker who feels no pain
The powerhead of the universe
Now send your never ending curse
I watched as he shouted
To the giants that died that day
He held up his hammer high and called Odin for a sign
Thor the mighty, Thor the brave
Crush the infidels in your way
By your hammer let none be saved
Live to die on that final day
Gods, monsters and men
We'll die together in the end
Swing your hammer to crack the sky
Lift your cape so that you might fly
Back to Odin and gods on high
And leave this mortal world
Thor the mighty, Thor the brave
Crush the infidels in your way
By your hammer let none be saved
Live to die on that final day
Gods, monsters and men
We'll die together in the end
Odin
13 Seawinds (04:23)
In Cold And Dark December
As I Walk Into The Rain
Sit Beside The Room
All Night Long
In A Grey december Morning
I Decide To Leave My Home
Took A Train To Nowhere
Far Away, Far Away
Many Thousand Miles Away
Where The Moon Took To The Stars
Dreamed About The Days
Days Gone By, Days Gone By
In The Night, The Seawinds Are Calling
And The City, Is Far Far Away
Soon, The Sea Turns To Darkness
It Is Night, And Seawinds Are Calling
Seawinds Call, Seawinds Call
Ten Tousand Miles Away
Where The Moon Took To The Stars
I Dreamed About The Days
Days Gone By
I've Been Told So Many Stories
And Dreams My Friends Have Made
So It's No Illusions
Sail Away, Sail Away
In The Night, The Seawinds Are Calling
And The City, Is Far Far Away
Soon, The Sea Turns To Darkness
It Is Night, And Seawinds Are Calling
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