Therion
Les Fleurs du Mal (End of the Light) The band’s 25th anniversary album, Les Fleurs du Mal (“Flowers of Evil,” title courtesy of Charles Baudelaire), showcases what makes Therion great – or awful, depending on your perspective. The Swedes pioneered the “beauty and the beast” format, combining female opera singers, symphonic arrangements, and death metal, with the result as brilliantly ridiculous as one might imagine. Lori Lewis’ piercing soprano dominates everything, even as the strings, synths, drums, and power chords struggle manfully to overcome. The craft involved is damned impressive, but the over-the-top result will likely appeal only to certain widescreen sensibilities. 
This article appears in February 8 • 2013.
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Michael Toland started writing about music in 1988 on the Gulf Coast, moved to Austin in early 1991, and has inflicted bylines upon the corporeal and digital pages of Pop Culture Press, The Big Takeover, Blurt, Amplifier, Austin.citysearch, the Austin American Statesman, Goldmine, Sleazegrinder, Rock & Roll Globe, High Bias, FHT Music Notes, and, since 2011, The Austin Chronicle.
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