''Lemuria'' is the eleventh full-length musical album by

symphonic metal Symphonic metal is a cross-generic style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features the heavy drums and guita ...

band Therion. The album title refers to the name of a supposed sunken continent

Lemuria Lemuria (), or Limuria, was a continent proposed in 1864 by zoologist Philip Sclater, theorized to have sunk beneath the Indian Ocean, later appropriated by occultists in supposed accounts of human origins. The theory was discredited with the dis ...

, much like

Atlantis Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works ''Timaeus'' and ''Critias'', wherein it represents the antagonist naval power that bes ...

. It was released simultaneously with ''

Sirius B Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word , or , meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbreviated Alpha CM ...

''. Cover artwork was made by

Thomas Ewerhard Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

Track listing

Concept of lyrics

Typhon Typhon (; grc, Τυφῶν, Typhôn, ), also Typhoeus (; grc, Τυφωεύς, Typhōeús, label=none), Typhaon ( grc, Τυφάων, Typháōn, label=none) or Typhos ( grc, Τυφώς, Typhṓs, label=none), was a monstrous serpentine giant an ...

was a monster in

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of ...

. According to

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Gree ...

, he fought all the gods of Olympus: Zeus defeated him and chained him under Mount Etna, from where his rage creates eruptions. #

Futhark Runes are the letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, and for specialised ...

was a runic alphabet used by various Germanic peoples; Uthark is an occult interpretation of said alphabet. # Berik is the mythological chief of all Gothic tribes: according to Jordanes, he departed from his Scandinavian motherland with three ships. The crews of the ships were the ancestors of the three Goth tribes. #

was a hypothetical " lost land", like

. #

Quetzalcoatl Quetzalcoatl (, ; Spanish: ''Quetzalcóatl'' ; nci-IPA, Quetzalcōātl, ket͡saɬˈkoːaːt͡ɬ (Modern Nahuatl pronunciation), in honorific form: ''Quetzalcōātzin'') is a deity in Aztec culture and literature whose name comes from the Na ...

is an Aztec deity. #

Abaris In Greek mythology, Abaris the Hyperborean ( grc, Ἄβαρις Ὑπερβόρειος ''Abaris Hyperboreios''), son of Seuthes (Σεύθης), was a legendary sage, healer, and priest of Apollo known to the Ancient Greeks. He was supposed to h ...

was a legendary sage and priest of Apollo. #

Emanuel Swedenborg Emanuel Swedenborg (, ; born Emanuel Swedberg; 29 March 1772) was a Swedish pluralistic-Christian theologian, scientist, philosopher and mystic. He became best known for his book on the afterlife, ''Heaven and Hell'' (1758). Swedenborg had ...

was an 18th-century

Christian mystic Christian mysticism is the tradition of mystical practices and mystical theology within Christianity which "concerns the preparation f the personfor, the consciousness of, and the effect of ..a direct and transformative presence of God" ...

, whose work became the foundation of

The New Church The New Church (or Swedenborgianism) is any of several historically related Christian denominations that developed as a new religious group, influenced by the writings of scientist and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772). Swedenborgian o ...

. #

Abraxas Abraxas ( grc-x-biblical, ἀβραξάς, abraxas, variant form romanized: ) is a word of mystic meaning in the system of the Gnostic Basilides, being there applied to the "Great Archon" (), the princeps of the 365 spheres (). The word is fo ...

is a Gnostic word of great importance.

Credits

Christofer Johnsson Christofer Johnsson (born 10 August 1972) is a Swedish musician and producer. He is a founding member and the guitarist for symphonic metal band Therion and was previously a member of Carbonized, Liers in Wait, Messiah, and Demonoid. In 2006 ...

- lead vocals ("Typhon", "Three Ships of Berik part 1: Calling to Arms and Fighting the Battle"),

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guita ...

, keyboards ("An Arrow from the Sun", "Feuer Overtüre / Prometheus Entfesselt"), classical and choir arrangements *

Kristian Niemann Kristian Niemann (born 26 October 1971) is a Swedish guitarist who has performed for bands such as Therion, Lithium, and Demonoid. He is the brother of Johan Niemann Johan Wilhelm Niemann (born 26 June 1977) is a Swedish musician best kn ...

- lead guitar,

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

Johan Niemann Johan Wilhelm Niemann (born 26 June 1977) is a Swedish musician best known as the current bassist of Evergrey and for co-founding the band Mind's Eye. He was also a member of Swedish heavy metal band Therion and Scandinavian metal band Evil ...

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

Guest musicians

*Steen Rasmussen -

mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. ...

("Lemuria"),

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs ...

*Jens Nyborg -

balalaika The balalaika (russian: link=no, балала́йка, ) is a Russian stringed musical instrument with a characteristic triangular wooden, hollow body, fretted neck and three strings. Two strings are usually tuned to the same note and the thir ...

domra The ''domra'' (Cyrillic: до́мра, ) is a long-necked Belarusian, Russian, and Ukrainian folk string instrument of the lute family with a round body and three or four metal strings. History The first known mention of domra is in ''Admon ...

*Sven Lindblad - balalaika *Kavi Björkqvist - balalaika *

Richard Evensand Richard "Ricky" Evensand is a Swedish drummer and contributed for several music bands: Therion (2001-2004), Chimaira (2003-2004), Ebony Tears, Sorcerer, Dog Faced Gods, Soilwork Soilwork is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Helsingbor ...

- drums *

Mats Levén Mats Leven is a Swedish singer. Some of his most notable collaborations have been with guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen, symphonic metallers Therion and doom metallers Candlemass. In 2011, due to family issues on the part of Firewind's lead singer ...

- lead vocals ("Uthark Runa"),

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

vocals ("Abraxas") *

Piotr Wawrzeniuk Piotr Wawrzeniuk (born 1971 in Warsaw) is a Polish historian and musician. He is best known as a member of the symphonic metal band Therion, and as a member of Serpent, Carbonized, and The Robots. Music career Wawrzeniuk was a member of Swedish ...

- lead vocals ("Lemuria", "The Dreams of Swedenborg", "Feuer Overtüre / Prometheus Entfesselt") *Peter Mossman - narration ("Lemuria") *Orchestra:

Prague Philharmonic Orchestra The Prague Philharmonic Orchestra was established in 1995, under the German conductor Friedemann Riehle. The orchestra has since produced many classical and film music recordings, working with labels such as Decca, EMI, Sony BMG and various in ...

(conducted by Adam Klemens and Mario Klemens) *Choir: Kūhn Mixed Choir (conducted by Mario Klemens)

Charts

References

External links

* *
Information about album at the official website
{{Authority control 2004 albums Therion (band) albums Nuclear Blast albums