I've had the luck to be able to hear them live few days ago, and bought the CD from Christofer's hands, signed, and talked with him a little. Not very usual to be able to do it before the concert, instead of at the end
About the disc... it sounds a little weird the fist time you play it. But in fact, which Therion release doesn't? I've played it some times now, and the songs grow in me each time. Some songs are truly great, like "J'ai le Mal de Toi" (it was also played at the concert). I don't like them all the same, of course, but although being French covers of songs of the 60s (not very fond of French, in fact), I got some of the songs stuck on my head for most of the day. Annoying or enjoying? Both
Nah, the disc is very brave. It was not made of covers to gain money, on the contrary: Nuclear Blast didn't believe enough on the success of the album, and Christoffer decided to pay it, as he did really believe. That's a thing I like about Therion: you never know what they're going to do next album, but it won't be conventional. And it isn't. A pity that it's Snowy's last contribution in the band, and a small one, but Vickström's really great, and his daughter's joining the band, good news. Very different from Lori (I saw them both in the concert), but also great voice!
If you remotely liked previous Therion releases, please give it a chance... I was not fully convinced first, but I am now
