Defenders of the Faith (the reference to the 1984 Judas Priest album is not a coincidence) was originally a solo project by Christofer Johnsson of highly regarded Swedish progressive metal outfit, Therion, where he would realise his childhood dream of making a pure 80’s heavy metal album, but has evolved into a Therion side project.
He had offered a couple of songs to KK’s Priest (KK Downing’s outfit), but the songwriting partnership with Thomas Vikström developed further after not being considered by his boyhood hero.
Before we discuss the music, there was an interesting spat involving m ’learned friends, over a Saxon” Wheels of Steel” T-shirt on a temporary promo picture to be used when releasing the first digital single” Darkside Brigade”. The quarrel over artistic freedom versus farfetched political correctness (the shirt has a Roman eagle) escalated to a point where the label dropped the artist before allowing the band to pose with the Saxon shirt. This resulted in Christofer releasing the album on his own label Adulruna.
The album is called ”Odes To The Gods” and is a musical tribute to the bands that shaped the mind of young Christofer, including Accept, Judas Priest, Scorpions and Iron Maiden.
I did see a nice gatefold vinyl for sale on vinyl, and you can obtain the album from major stores and streaming service, or take yourselves to https://www.therion.se/product-page/defenders-of-the-faith-ode-to-the-gods
The regular band put together is Thomas Vikström, lead and backing vocals; Christofer Johnsson, rhythm guitar; Christian Vidal, lead and rhythm guitar; Nalle Påhlsson, bass guitar; and Sami Karppinen, drums. Further, we also have here an extremely impressive guest list, comprising:
Björn Höglund (Easy Action, Hoven Droven), drums; Ally Storch (Haggard), violin, viola, cello; David Holmes, acoustic guitar; Christopher Davidsson (Majestica), lead and backing vocals; Diego Valdez (Dio Disciples), lead and backing vocals; Ripper Owens (KK’s Priest ex. Judas Priest, ex. Yngwie Malmsteen, ex. Iced Earth), lead and backing vocals.
So, nine tracks to get our teeth into. Let’s go.
We start as we mean to go on with Heavy Metal Shakedown, the mere title taking me back to the beloved days when I explored NWOBHM and classic bands as a teenager. Following some swirling keys leading the riffs, there are some great melodies within the progressive metal delight, the vocals suitably anthemic. A great start, and it is embedded below. If this is your thing, I guarantee the remainder of the album is for you.
I’m in Love With My Tank follows, and I have another video embedded below. It’s an interesting exposition of the type of warfare immortalised by Sven Hassel in his WWII novels (I was huge fan alongside the metal bands) with some very good rhythm guitar set alongside the main lead, a great riff coming in at the three minute mark, slowly to begin, but then roaring ahead, the vocals thoughtful, the rhythm section as strong as you will hear, melodic and strong classic metal.
The Time Machine is almost epic in length, over eight and a half minutes. Imagine the thrill of being able to transport yourself forward, to witness our collective destiny, the whole song a paeon to that exceptional film version of H G Wells’s novel starring Rod Taylor stepping out into the London of the future. The bassline on this is both thundering and, when required, delicate, the three minute mark announcing the rescue of the futuristic love interest from the river when her compatriots did nothing, before the dramatic music takes charge again. Think of this as an operatic metal piece subsuming you, and you will be there, the melodic guitar presenting the love interest so well. Terrific stuff, and a strong contender for “crossover artistic discipline track of 2025” award on this website. We haven’t had one of those before!
Northern Stones is the third single from the album, and it is embedded below for you to enjoy. “Metal TV” – I’d have some of that! In amongst the gothic chants, there is some fine guitar work in a track which is simply a joy to listen to, the lead vocals and harmonies evocative, Karppinen on fine form bashing the skins.
Darkside Brigade follows, precisely four minutes of metal joy, the type of music that the bands we loved back in the day made which so influenced the present crop of progressive metal bands, again operatic in its hailing of the eponymous brigade, the call to unite, the guitars and rhythm section uniting in a wall of sound with some complex notes and signatures in there. The guitar solos are excellent.
Funeral Pyre, where countless humans have lain alongside offerings before being cremated, in a ritual still practised by millions across earth. The whole thing is a Nordic tribute to a fallen warrior, and you can in the voices visualise the songs and prayers being uttered as the ship is burnt, progressing to its final resting place in the sea. The guitar solo is blistering on this one.
Intruder is a bright and breezy metalathon with the sort of commercial sensibilities which made Maiden superstars back in the day.
The penultimate track is Our Saviour, a short and precise three-minute piece which fairly races along, has some marvellous ghostly keys, a decent track following in fine footsteps of religious commentary in the metal community.
We finish off with The End of the World, which, if modern doomsayers are to be believed is merely a Trump fart away from being realised. The first minute is almost wholly instrumental, and there is a lot here for fans of intelligent, complex metal to enjoy. Do we have a non-existent future? There are some corking harmonies, Gregorian chants heralding the end, a stunning guitar solo, the chugging riffs building up the drama until we get to the room-filling noise of the end, the effects spiralling away.
It was a pleasant surprise to be sent a copy of Odes to the Gods to review. Metal was my first love, and it is an enduring musical fascination for me to this day, but in terms of the type of classic metal this album nods its head to so well, I have reviewed precious little on the website.
In terms of deciding whether to part with your hard earned cash for it, I will say that if you love your riffs hard and tight, your vocals soaring and searing, your drum and bass blowing away the modern interpretation of the phrase, love great artwork, logos, and a sense of the familiar merged with a very modern production ethos, then this is for you.
Great stuff.