Live Show: Therion, The Silent Wedding
Location: Fuzz Club, Athens, Greece
Date: February 10th, 2024
Live Correspondent: Kostas Boudoukos
Photos: Sofia Bali
One of the worst concert experiences I ever had was the previous THERION concert at the new Piraeus Academy, a venue completely unsuitable for concerts of this size. Luckily this time the mistake was corrected and one of the best venues in Athens was chosen, the Fuzz Club, which gave us the opportunity to enjoy the Swedish symphonic metallers as they deserve. That is, with the comfort of the venue, since they don’t have the dynamics to fill such big venues in Greece anymore, but also with very good sound, a necessary ingredient for the almost operatic aesthetic setlist to be rendered to perfection.
The beginning was made with THE SILENT WEDDING, a fitting support act that has the experience to stand worthy next to greats. Marios Karanastasis as always captivating in his performance, Yannis Thermos on the keyboards seemed to want to detach them from their base and start running up and down the stage, Dimitris Katsaros’ solos impressive in combination with the solid bass of Thomas Kinopoulos as well as the drums of Renos Lialoutis and generally a very tight ensemble. Emphasis was naturally given to their latest album “Ego Path” from which we listened to 6 songs. I single out “The Sea Of Fate” with its catchy chorus and “Song Of The Dead” inspired by Martin’s book series “A Song Of Ice And Fire”. The album “Enigma Eternal” was also present with three more songs. The crowd below responded warmly although the venue took a while to fill up and after about 50 minutes THE SILENT WEDDING’s set came to an end to a warm applause.
Setlist
- Time Of Darkness
- The Sea Of Fate
- Point Of No Return
- Catharsis
- Stealing The Sun
- Caught In The Web
- Closer To The End
- Loneliness
- Song Of The Dead
But as Marios pointed out, we all went to Fuzz to enjoy THERION, who are in a very creative phase of their career. Whether their level now compares to the past is something that everyone judges based on their own preferences. Otherwise, with 3 back to back very good “Leviathan” albums but also a full arsenal of symphonic metal anthems they had no trouble filling a quality two-hour set. With 7 musicians and singers on stage and the characteristic triadic sound that distinguishes them, they gave a flawless show where the vocalists alternated and in every song someone stepped forward. Soprano Lori Lewis and Rosalia Sairem were flawless, and Thomas Vikstrom was excellent. He may not reach the technical levels of the two ladies but nevertheless blended harmoniously with the ensemble with his characteristic voice.
The relationship that the band of the genius Christofer Johnsson has developed with the Greek audience is unique and we were definitely rewarded with a best of setlist since none of the must- songs of their discography was missing and from “Leviathan” they probably chose the best songs like “Tuonela” from “Leviathan I”, “Litany Of The Fallen” from the, perhaps weaker of the three, “Leviathan II” and “Ruler Of Tamag” from the third part of their trilogy. Of course, the classics “Birth Of Venus Illegitima” from the legendary “Vovin” or “Blood Of Kingu” (“Sirius B”) were included. Also, as expected the slightly changed but always epic “Lemuria”. There was even room for the French collection of covers they had released a few years ago (but not “Beloved Antichrist”, maybe an implicit admission that this album didn’t fit them well). Their main set closed with the also classic “Son Of The Staves Of Time” which prompted an almost universal sing-along. Of course, everyone was waiting for the encore since we knew what we were going to experience. And the reaction of the crowd was jubilant when the first notes of “The Rise Of Sodom And Gomorrah” were played to close the night, with a mosh pit, the legendary “To Mega Therion”, a song that, as Johnsson said, only Greeks can understand in its absolute greatness because of its language. Speaking of Johnsson, he gave his typical mini monologue, wanted to thank us for our presence and to let us know that it won’t be long before they visit us again. Finally, after 2 full hours, THERION said their goodbye under universal applause and chants of “Therion, Therion” which, by the way, were heard many times during the concert.
Setlist
- Blood Of Kingu
- Ruler Of Tamag
- Birth Of Venus Illegitima
- Tuonela
- Twilight Of The Gods
- Mon Amour, Mon Ami (Marie Laforet cover)
- La Maritza (Sylvie Vartan cover)
- Leviathan
- Asgard
- Morning Star
- Black Diamonds
- Ginnungagap
- Litany Of The Fallen
- Siren Of The Woods
- Aeon Of Maat
- Lemuria
- Sitra Ahra
- Quetzalcoatl
- The Eye Of Algol
- Son Of The Staves Of Time
- Rise Of Sodom And Gomorrah
- To Mega Therion
THERION is a unique case of a band that we could say that it has evolved to a very high degree the metal opera and this is supported every time with the flawless, musically, performance of the songs. And when the sound is of high quality then the final result takes off. The pandemic led them to a creative orgasm and gave them the boost they needed to remind us to a fairly large extent of the band that was mostly adored since the mid 90’s and for more than a decade. A big thumbs up of course to THE SILENT WEDDING who proved that they are a band of quality.
P.S. 1: I would have expected more impressive sets from THERION’s side as there wasn’t even a banner at the back of the stage and they didn’t even bring any merch.
P.S. 2: I understand the usefulness of not opening the balcony early especially when the venue is not full but the mini tension that was created after the end of THE SILENT WEDDING’s set until shortly after THERION’s set started with the half-opening of the balcony and the come and go to the area behind the soundman was completely unnecessary. It was a pity that the guys from the venue had to run from one end to the other to chase away people trying to get in.
Design and editing: Kostas Boudoukos
Related Links: THERION – Σελίδα Facebook
THE SILENT WEDDING – Σελίδα Facebook
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