Location: Ljubljana – Stockholm (phone interview)
Interview date: 07.09.2010
Thomas Vikstrom is the singer of Swedish symphonic metallers Therion. He’s a superb vocalist, torn between countless musical projects, mostly tied to classic metal, melodic hard rock and progressive metal, plus acting and performing in the theater. On top of that, Thomas plays several instruments, and besides singing, keyboards are his thing. Therion, who have been around since 1987, recently put out their new studio album “Sitra Ahra”. It wraps up the conceptual tetralogy that musical genius and Therion mastermind Christofer Johnsson set in motion with the albums “Lemuria”, “Sirius B” and “Gothic Kabbalah”. It was afternoon when the phone rang…
RockLine: “Hello?”
Thomas: “Hello? Can you hear me?”
RockLine: “Yes. The line’s okay. Thomas? How are you?”
Thomas: “Good. I’m sitting outside. It’s September here in Sweden and it’s still hot, so I’m in my neighbor’s garden.”
RockLine: “Can you tell us the story of how you joined Therion?”
Thomas: “The story started back in 2007. I was standing in the kitchen when I got a phone call. On the other end of the line was Christofer Johnsson. I didn’t know Christofer at the time. Therion, of course, I did. Christofer had heard my vocals on an album I’d put out with the band Mehida. He very politely asked if I’d be interested in joining the band for a tour. It was urgent, because a tour was coming up and Christofer badly needed a singer. I had no clue about their music myself. I asked Christofer to send me some music I’d have to learn. I got it lightning fast from his side. The complete package of the entire Therion discography, express by mail. I only listened to the albums “Lemuria” and “Sirius B”, which blew me away instantly, so I accepted the offer without hesitation. My baptism of fire with Therion was at the Wacken Open Air festival. It was insane! From then on I realized that being on tour with Therion is a ton of hard graft, but also a huge pleasure and a lot of fun. Last summer Christofer and I went out for lunch together. That’s when he asked if I might want to become a permanent member of Therion. I replied right away: “Of course I do!” Since then, Therion has been the number one thing in my musical life.”
RockLine: “You’re involved in many other musical projects, and among other things you play keyboards and sing in the theater. Was it fairly natural for you to join a band that combines classical elements and metal?”
Thomas: “Yes. I couldn’t have put it better myself. For me, this position in Therion is ideal. When I’m in Therion, I get to use an incredible range of vocals. I can use the whole palette of vocal colors and experiment with them, and that’s immensely fun and inspiring for me.”
RockLine: “On the new album “Sitra Ahra” there are several lead vocalists. Do you ever use extreme vocals, like “death metal growling”?”
Thomas: “No. Never. Because I can’t do it. I just can’t. I could wreck or damage my voice. The extreme vocals were contributed by Snowy Shaw, the female vocals by Lori Lewis, and I’m in charge of the clean male vocals. On top of that, my daughter Linnea sang lead on four songs on the album, and I’m incredibly proud of that. It came up by chance while I was talking to Christofer that my daughter sings too. Christofer was thrilled and said he’d call her and check how her voice would work on the songs, so he invited her to the studio. While they were in the studio, he called me and told me to join them. Of course a father’s presence can make a daughter feel uneasy while she’s doing her vocal duties, but the girl nailed everything with flying colors. Christofer was so happy with the result that he handed her the lead vocal role on no fewer than four songs.”
RockLine: “”Sitra Ahra” is a new step for Therion. Together with the albums “Lemuria”, “Sirius B” and “Gothic Kabbalah”, it’s the final part of the tetralogy and closes it out. What do you think of it?”
Thomas: “According to people who’ve already managed to hear bits of the album, it evokes the spirit of the older Therion albums again. On the other hand, it’s also an album that went through quite a lot of sonic experimentation, which is definitely something new. At the same time, we wanted to keep and highlight a live feel, or rather, I’d say as natural a feel as possible, which should also underline the atmosphere of the story the album tells. In the end we were all very happy and proud of what we achieved in the studio.”
RockLine: “Do you expect to spend a lot of time on the preparation that your rich stage setup and musical performance demand?”
Thomas: “Therion will get together a week before leaving for the tour, where we’ll rehearse the material the way we want it to sound on stage. Right now, each of us is preparing and practicing the material we’ll play on tour on our own. That week before the tour will only serve for fine-tuning how the roles are divided on stage, a kind of calibration and polishing of the whole show we’re preparing for our fans. Otherwise, I’m listening to the songs constantly. When I’m working, driving the car, all day long… they have to get into your blood.”
RockLine: “When you’re on longer tours, is there any useful formula you stick to in order to keep your voice as fresh and healthy as possible, or to keep it going through the tour without getting damaged?”
Thomas: “There’s really nothing earth-shattering to add here. What matters is that you avoid talking for long stretches when you’re on tour, and that you don’t expose yourself too much to cold stuff, like cold drinks. If you catch a cold or hurt your voice, there’s a real danger of the damage getting worse. If the schedule is packed, it can really backfire and even permanently damage your voice. But with experience, you can get past a lot of things. My father, who was an opera singer, always says: “As long as you can talk, you can sing! Ha, ha, ha…!”
RockLine: “What kind of music and which artists inspired you in particular to choose a career as a professional musician?”
Thomas: “I’ll start with my first contact with heavy metal. The first thing that drew me in and really pushed me toward music was seeing Kiss on TV. Back then we only had two TV channels in Sweden. TV1 and TV2. When I saw these “monsters” jumping around the stage on TV, everything in my life suddenly changed. I even thought they came from outer space. I wanted to do exactly what they do. I wanted to live exactly the kind of life they live. Of course it didn’t quite work out like that, since my father later influenced my career too. Otherwise, I love listening to lots of melodic hard rock, AOR. Melody means a great deal to me in music, following a sense of melody.”
RockLine: “You’re known as a very busy musician. What other musical projects are you working on at the moment besides singing in Therion?”
Thomas: “Right now Therion is my priority. But I’m coming up with ideas for creating my new studio album. A solo studio album. It will be my second solo studio album in ten years. I’ll get down to serious work on it as soon as Therion finish the tour. Besides that, I sing in the band Covered Call, a great Swedish melodic AOR outfit that put out its studio debut last year, and then there’s my work with the band Mehida. They’re progressive metallers led by former Sonata Arctica keyboardist, the Finn Mikko Härkin. We’re most likely preparing an acoustic album with them. And then there’s one more story, tied to Slovenia. Fireine are a Slovenian band, and I contributed vocals to their debut “Maya”. I was in Radovljica recording the album, and the band’s leader is Dali Sterniša. He was the one who contacted me. I get offers from all kinds of bands, but the music Dali showed me really grabbed me and I accepted the offer to sing on it. It’s truly a different approach to metal, the album “Maya” is something special. When I was in Slovenia, I got to know lots of interesting places. Ljubljana, Bled, and so on… I even got to know burek. And you know what always cracked me up? I couldn’t wrap my head around how people can eat burek and drink yogurt at the same time, ha, ha, ha…”
RockLine: “I noticed that Treat bassist Nalle Pahlsson also appears on the album “Sitra Ahra”. How did this collaboration between Therion and Pahlsson come about?”
Thomas: “Nalle is pretty much a bass-playing legend in Sweden. A kind of Swedish Bob Daisley on bass, if I can exaggerate a little, ha, ha, ha… Everybody here knows Nalle. He’s played with practically everyone. Recently he also recorded the bass for the new Brian “Robbo” Robertson studio album…”
RockLine: “What are the plans for after Therion finish the tour?”
Thomas: “Our tour is going to be long. We’ll be playing for two and a half months. Practically every day. I know it’ll be exhausting, but also immensely fun. I hope that after we wrap up the American and European legs of the tour, we’ll be able to hit Asia next year too.”
RockLine: “Have Therion played in Asia before?”
Thomas: “Yes. In Japan. It was a festival. Alongside Heaven And Hell. It was unforgettable. Backstage we had rooms right next to Heaven And Hell and I got to meet Ronnie James Dio in person.”
RockLine: “How do you experience the audience reactions when you play in different countries around the world?”
Thomas: “There are countries like Japan, where people wait for you at every step. At the airport, in front of the hotel, they literally follow you around. They’re crazy about you and your music. But they stand back and watch you from a distance. Only when you speak to them do they know they can talk to you. Then there are countries where people literally scream when they see you and chase you down the street. And they react just as wildly at the shows. And then you step onto the stages in Germany, for example, and get the complete opposite reaction. People there don’t follow it with that kind of euphoria. They give themselves over to listening, they’re much calmer listeners.”
RockLine: “And in Ljubljana we’ll be able to see Therion on November 7 this year.”
Thomas: “Yes. We in Therion can’t wait to meet our fans in your country. Like I said, I have really beautiful memories of Slovenia and I’m looking forward to seeing the many friends I have there. I know it’ll be another unforgettable experience and gig get-together!”
RockLine: “Thomas, thanks for your valuable time. I wish you lots of success, health and joy on the upcoming tour. Good luck.”
Thomas: “It was a great pleasure to say a few words. Thanks to you too, and best regards!”
photos: Nuclear Blast Records (archive)
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