Of Darkness...


Of Darkness... is a debut studio album released on February 1991 by the Swedish band Therion and it contains songs written in the early years of the band, during the 1980s. The album is indicated by the band itself as an end of its first era.
The album was re-released on 27 November 2000 under Nuclear Blast label as a part of The Early Chapters of Revelation box-set. It contains remastered songs, as well as four bonus tracks.

Recording and production

After releasing the third demo record Time Shall Tell EP in 1990, Therion got attention from the British label Deaf Records, a subsidiary of Peaceville Records, and signed the band's first contract. Of Darkness... was recorded in Swedish studio Sunlight in Stockholm from August to September 1990 and released on February 1991. The initial line-up has not been changed since its last production. The album was produced by Tomas Skogsberg and the band itself.

Songs, lyrical themes and influences

Of Darkness... consists of songs Christofer Johnsson had written in the years of 1987–1989, many of which were available on the band's demo recordings. Musically, "Of Darkness..." could be described as a typical death metal release, though elements of thrash metal are apparent as well.
Unlike later albums, lyrically, many tracks on the album focus on political and social issues.
2000 re-release album contains original remastered songs, and four bonus demo and previously unreleased songs.

Reception

The album reviews were mixed. Of Darkness... received a medium rating 2.5 of 5 at Allmusic with "Morbid Reality" and "Megalomania" songs picked by its staff, and 3.02 of 5 at the Rate Your Music community being only number 925 in its 1991 ranking.

Track listing

All tracks were written and composed by Christofer Johnsson.
  1. "The Return" – 5:15
  2. "Asphyxiate with Fear" – 4:00
  3. "Morbid Reality" – 6:05
  4. "Megalomania" – 4:10
  5. "A Suburb to Hell" – 4:47
  6. "Genocidal Raids" – 5:15
  7. "Time Shall Tell" – 5:07
  8. "Dark Eternity" – 4:45

    Re-release

2000 re-release version contains following bonus tracks:
  1. "A Suburb to Hell" – 5:19
  2. "Asphyxiate with Fear" – 4:41
  3. "Time Shall Tell" – 4:06
  4. "Dark Eternity" – 4:19

    Personnel

; Therion
; Production