DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH is the ’80s heavy metal side project of symphonic metal band THERION, set to release their debut album ”Odes To The Gods” on June 27, 2025.
DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH was originally a solo project by Therion guitarist / vocalist Christofer Johnsson where he would realise his childhood dream of making a pure ’80s sounding heavy metal album, but has evolved into a THERION side project. 2022-24 was packed with Therion releases and tours, but Christofer would have drums, bass and guitars recorded a bit here and there, using Therion members. With time, Thomas would get involved to ”improve some things”, but it ended up with him becoming deeply involved and together they would rewrite most of the songs.
The result is ”Odes To The Gods” and is a musical tribute to the bands that shaped the mind of young Christofer, like Accept, Judas Priest, Scorpions and Iron Maiden, among others. There’ the great Thomas Vikstrom as main singer, but the record feature guests including lead & backing vocals from Ripper Owens (KK’s PRIEST), Christopher Davidsson (MAJESTICA), and Diego Valdez (DIO DICIPLES), plus Björn Höglund (EASY ACTION) on Drums, Ally Storch (HAGGARD) on Violin, viola, cello, Nalle Pahlsson (TREAT) on bass, and more.
The album has two categories of heavy metal songs; half is a bit more edgy and tough like Accept and (when they are in the mood for it) Judas Priest. The other half is more sophisticated and melodic, like Maiden and Scorpions.
The album has a lot of kind of nods and winks to other artists and also some so-called Easter Eggs. Those are more subtle but can be discovered by a trained ear and a sharp mind of a metalhead knowing his/her heavy metal history.
Then there are the difficult ones that I think only very skilled artists will figure out. A few of the Easter eggs are not heavy metal though, some are references to an artist that were one of the influences for the 80s heavy metal bands.
The cover is also a inspired by ’80s metal. Accept LP ‘Restless and Wild’ (original cover with the two burning flying V guitars) was the cover that had the biggest impact on Christofer Johnsson back then. But he also loved Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow debut album with the Stratocaster castle. So he asked for something like the Rainbow cover, but with a Flying V and make it more like a temple.
This is a really cool and nice ode to classic metal indeed, performed by skilled musicians with passion and love for the genre.
Highly Recommended
1. Heavy Metal Shakedown (03:04)
2. I'm In Love With My Tank (05:25)
3. The Time Machine (08:13)
4. Northern Stones (04:17)
5. Darkside Brigade (03:51)
6. Funeral Pyre (04:02)
7. Intruder (04:01)
8. Our Saviour (02:54)
9. The End of the World (04:15)
10. Heavy Metal Shakedown (04:02)
11. Intruder (04:00)
Line-up:
Christofer Johnsson – guitars
Christian Vidal – guitars
Nalle Påhlsson – bass
Sami Karppinen – drums
Chris David and Thomas Vikstrom – vocals
side project of THERION
Defenders Of The Faith (Therion) – Odes To The Gods (2025), MP3+FLAC
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