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The last Therion album I liked was Gothic Kabbalah waaaay back in 2007, so it's been like 14 years since I enjoyed the output of Christofer Johnsson and his compatriots (though he is the only consistent band member, and the only one here who even played on Gothic Kabbalah). In the intervening years, we have suffered through three crap albums, two live albums, and a bunch of videos, boxed sets, and two hideous albums of covers. I had not given up on this band, but I was skeptical.

Refreshingly, Leviathan is actually kind of good. It's a normal, single-disc album of real songs, not a bunch of high-concept nonsense. It's not a very metal album, but then that's been par for Therion for 20 years. The guitars here are just another instrument in the orchestral stew Johnsson cooks up, layered in along with the keys, strings, and the fistful of guest vocalists including luminaries like Marco Hietala and Mats Levin.

If you haven't liked Therion since their Death Metal days, then this isn't going to change your mind, but if you enjoyed their mid-period works like Lemuria or Secret of the Runes, then this is more of that, and while it's not revolutionary, it's an agreeable example of the band's work.