The evolution of Christofer Johnsson's band from an early swedeath outfit into one of the most influential symphonic metal entities of all time, which commenced at the beginning of the 90s, saw its logical conclusion 20 years ago with the release of Vovin, Therion's indisputable magnum opus, the work of art that Johnsson had envisioned to create since he started to steer his band's sound into this particular direction. That evolutionary process proved to be quite excellent, as most of Therion's releases up to this point ranged from good to outstanding, especially Lepaca Kliffoth and its immediate successor, Theli, an album also regarded to some as Therion's highest peak. However, Vovin represents the culmination in every aspect of Johnsson's alchemy attempts to merge metal music with classical symphonic art, and his utmost success.
While is it true that Theli is a more metallic album than this one, therefore more enjoyable perhaps by the more metal-oriented fans, and laid all the basics for the advent of Vovin, it still had some flaws Johnsson would certainly address. For once, a real orchestra, The Indigo Orchestra, replaced the simple keyboards from their classic 1996 release, which nowadays sound indeed a bit dated and even cheesy sometimes. That doesn't upset the fact that Theli is a monumental album on its own, bearing some of the band's most iconic pieces like “Invocation of Naamah”, “Siren of the Woods” or their signature tune, “To Mega Therion”, but the fact remains that its symphonic elements are not top-notch in sound. The same keyboard approach was used in 1997’s A'arab Zaraq – Lucid Dreaming, a work that lacks the metal elements of Theli, thus easily becoming their weakest work from this era.
Vovin doesn't only perfectly blend metal and the symphonic with an exquisite balance, but has the benefit of superior production values that are just flawless, another advantage it holds over past Therion works. The prominent string instruments sound magnificently, as experienced right away in “Rise of Sodom and Gomorra”, the chamber chorus reverberate with might, and the riffs and drums are as potent as in any well balanced metal record. Speaking of the guitar riffs, they range from a laid back and atmospheric variety during calmer songs, like the opener, its follow-up “Birth of Venus Illegitima” or the eight-minute lusciousness of “Clavicula Nox”, to more potent, speedier stuff like in “Wine of Aluqah” or the power metal number “The Wild Hunt”, with guest vocals by the ever under-appreciated Ralph Scheepers. Some are fairly doomy and crushing, as experienced in some passages, like in closer "Raven of Dispersion". The melodies are often a drawn out melancholic affair, without losing elegance and becoming sugary. Most guitar work as a whole feels simple but poignant, stellar but not to the point of becoming the sole focal point in the compositions, as it is combined in creative ways with the strings all the time.
The rhythmic section acts as the anchor for it all, and much like the guitars, it never over-saturates, although it shows a more punishing side in the two faster compositions. But the most prominent style is to use several accents with minimal plate and tom work by Wolf Simon, that serve well to ornament the tunes and make them more interesting, enforcing the fusion of the electric with the organic, the metal with the classical. The vocal department is soundly dominated by the latter musical influence, as the outstanding chorus becomes the sole human voices in most tracks. With a combination of the full spectrum of classically trained voice types at their disposal, Johnsson and conductor Jan Kazda create many moments of true splendor within the compositions, an effort that has been tried to be replicated ad nauseam by many subsequent symphonic metal acts but rarely with the same mastery and success. While Christofer's vocals had a good degree of charisma, this approach gives the record a more unique aesthetic.
Finally, one can't stop to mention the enormous contribution by Dragon Rouge founder Thomas Karlsson, whose Thelema-oriented lyrics have always brought a true sense of mysticism to Therion, at least during this golden age of theirs, before their enormous success inevitably made them water down their quality and seriousness. Still, Therion had a really good string of several great works ahead of them before their eventual fall from creative grace, as the innovative Vovin became a huge success for label Nuclear Blast and that provided Christofer Johnsson’s band with a well-earned and deserved stability and acclaim. With a new logo and a unique stylized imagery, like the Clavicula Nox being featured in their art prominently, the legend of Therion rose from the depths like the namesake colossal beast to reign supreme over all symphonic metal, and 20 years later, the echoes of that reign still resound profoundly.
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