Gothic Kabbalah

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Gothic Kabbalah
Studio album by Therion
Released	January 12, 2007 January 22, 2007 January 24, 2007 February 5, 2007 February 6, 2007
Recorded	July–September 2006 Stockholm, Sweden
Genre	Symphonic metal
Length	Disc one: 38:22 Disc two: 45:07 Total: 1:23:29
Label	Nuclear Blast NB 1780-0
Producer	Stefan Glaumann
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link PopMatters link Chronicles of Chaos link Metal Invader link
Therion chronology
Celebrators of Becoming (2006) Gothic Kabbalah (2007) Live Gothic (2008)

Gothic Kabbalah is the title of a double album by Therion. It was released in Europe on January 12, 2007. This album was mixed by Stefan Glaumann who already contributed with many popular bands including Rammstein, Evergrey, Europe and Def Leppard. The main line-up has been slightly changed since previous studio albums (Lemuria and Sirius B). Petter Karlsson returned to play drums, having already played with the band during Lemuria / Sirius B tour during the period of 2004–2006. Since Christofer Johnsson announced in 2006 he is retiring from singing,^[1] vocals on Gothic Kabbalah were performed by Mats Levén, as well as Snowy Shaw and two female singers: Katarina Lilja and Hannah Holgersson.

The album is based on concepts from the life of 17th-century esoteric scholar Johannes Bureus.

Contents 1 Track listing 1.1 Disc one 1.2 Disc two 2 Vinyl release 3 Reception 4 Chart positions 5 Credits 5.1 Guest musicians 5.2 Others 6 Singles 7 Videos 8 Notes 9 External links

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Disc one

1. "Der Mitternachtlöwe" (Christofer Johnsson, Mats Levén) – 5:38
2. "Gothic Kabbalah" (Petter Karlsson) – 4:33
3. "The Perennial Sophia" (Johan Niemann, Levén, P. Karlsson) – 4:54
4. "Wisdom and the Cage" (Kristian Niemann, P. Karlsson) – 5:01
5. "Son of the Staves of Time" (Levén) – 4:47
6. "Tuna 1613" (P. Karlsson, Snowy Shaw) – 4:23
7. "Trul" (P. Karlsson) – 5:11
8. "Close Up the Streams" (Johnsson, Levén) – 3:55

[edit] Disc two

1. "The Wand of Abaris" (Johnsson, K. Niemann) – 5:51
2. "Three Treasures" (Johnsson) – 5:20
3. "Path to Arcady" (K. Niemann, P. Karlsson) – 3:54
4. "TOF – The Trinity" (K. Niemann, Levén, P. Karlsson) – 6:18
5. "Chain of Minerva" (J. Niemann, Levén, P. Karlsson) – 5:21
6. "The Falling Stone" (P. Karlsson) – 4:46
7. "Adulruna Rediviva" (Johnsson, K. Niemann) – 13:37

[edit] Vinyl release

Gothic Kabbalah has been also released as limited edition double LP vinyl (180 gram; 33 rpm). It features colored vinyl, gatefold cover and it has been released in 1000 hand-numbered copies.

Vinyl release track listing
Side A "Der Mitternachtslöwe" "Gothic Kabbalah" "The Perennial Sophia" "Wisdom and the Cage" Side B "Son of the Staves of Time" "Tuna 1613" "Trul" "Close Up the Streams" Side C "The Wand of Abaris" "Three Treasures" "Path to Arcady" "TOF – The Trinity" Side D "Chain of Minerva" "The Falling Stone" "Adulruna Rediviva"

[edit] Reception

While the album has received generally good reviews from critics, including Chronicles of Chaos^[2] and All Music Guide hailing it as "the first truly great rock opera of the 21st century",^[3] it has also been accused of "pretentiousness" and "overkill".^[4]

The album was the band's first to enter the Swedish Albums Chart.^[5]

[edit] Chart positions

Chart (2007)	Peak position
Greece[6]	5
Poland[6]	21
Sweden[7]	26
Holland[6]	55
France[8]	58
Germany[6]	59
Switzerland[9]	73
Hungary[6]	74
Belgium[6]	84
IndieHQ Independent Sales Chart[10]	156

[edit] Credits

• Christofer Johnsson – guitar, keyboards, programming
• Kristian Niemann – lead and rhythm guitars, keyboards
• Johan Niemann – bass guitar, guitar, acoustic guitar
• Petter Karlsson – drums, guitar, keyboards, solo and choral vocals, percussion

[edit] Guest musicians

• Mats Levén – vocals, guitar
• Snowy Shaw – vocals
• Katarina Lilja – vocals
• Hannah Holgersson – vocals, soprano
• Jonas Samuelsson–Nerbe – tenor
• Anna Nyhlin – solo soprano on "The Falling Stone" and "Path to Arcady"
• Karin Fjellander – choral soprano
• Ken Hensley – Hammond organ
• Joakim Svalberg – Hammond organ
• Rolf Pilotti – solo flute on "Gothic Kabbalah" and "Trul"
• Stefan Glaumann – tambourine

[edit] Others

• Thomas Karlsson – lyrics (all)
• Sanken Sandqvist – engineering
• Thomas Ewerhard – design

[edit] Singles

[edit] Videos

On September 2007, a video for the song "Son of The Staves of Time" was uploaded to Youtube, and it can be seen there. The video shows the band playing in a gray stone room, while the lyrics of the song are being displayed on a wall. At the same time, a woman walks above a glass roof before it starts raining.

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Informations about album at the official website
• Ecard at Nuclear Blast USA
• Stream previews at Nuclear Blast Europe
• Gothic Kabbalah at Discogs
• Gothic Kabbalah at MusicBrainz: disc one, disc two

Therion
Members
Christofer Johnsson
Discography
Albums: Of Darkness... | Beyond Sanctorum | Symphony Masses: Ho Drakon Ho Megas | Lepaca Kliffoth | Theli | A'arab Zaraq - Lucid Dreaming | Vovin | Crowning of Atlantis | Deggial | Secret of the Runes | Live in Midgård | Sirius B | Lemuria | Gothic Kabbalah | Live Gothic
Compilations and box-sets: Bells of Doom | The Early Chapters of Revelation | Atlantis Lucid Dreaming | Celebrators of Becoming
Singles: "The Beauty in Black" | "The Siren of the Woods" | "Eye of Shiva" | "Wand of Abaris" | "The Wand of Abaris / Path to Arcady"
Demos: Paroxysmal Holocaust | Beyond the Darkest Veils of Inner Wickedness | Time Shall Tell
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