Hammerheart Records Time Shall Tell [VINYL]

Finally available again: the much sought after debut mini-LP by Swedish Therion. Pure old school Death Metal recorded in 1989 at the legendary Sunlight Studio. "Time Shall Tell" is the ultimate expression of Therion's Death Metal relevance and this recording is as brutal, sinister and abstract as anything from the early Swedish Death Metal scene. While their Stockholm contemporaries were busy pounding out punk-based riffs, Therion sounded like they were orbiting the gravitational field of a supernatural vortex. The band's Hellhammer/Celtic Frost influences have been over-matched by their Possessed and Morbid Angel influences, to great effect. This was the band's first experience in the legendary Studio Sunlight. "Time Shall Tell" was recorded in December 1989, almost exactly the same time as "Left Hand Path". Therion were never derivative of Nihilist/Entombed, the best parallel is with Grotesque, who recorded (part of) their "Incantation" EP in the same studio a few months later. Both bands had an evil, twisted sound with lots of tempo changes and some keyboards. Therion never sounded as wild or extreme as Grotesque, but they were heavier and more disciplined. Both EP's feel like they're tapping into an alternative vision of early Scandinavian Death Metal. These four songs are the most evolved, complex compositions the band had made until that point. In any case, they sound better, noisier and more abrasive in their original form. Skogsberg got it right on his first attempt. The great thing about music like this is its unpredictability. Death Metal as disorientating and dark as this is a rare beast. Rarely does a band express themselves in ways that resemble what Therion did here. "Time Shall Tell" is pure in freedom of expression, and thus stands the test of time.