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{{Short description|Album by Therion}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Of Darkness...
| type = Studio album
| artist = [[Therion (band)|Therion]]
| cover = Therion-of darkness.jpg
| alt =
| released = February 1991
| recorded = August–September 1990 [[Sunlight studios|Sunlight Studio]], [[Stockholm]], Sweden
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = [[Death metal]]
| length = 39:25
| label = [[Deaf Records|Deaf]] DEAF 6 CD [[Nuclear Blast]] (reedition) NB 0580
| producer = Tomas Skogsberg, Therion
| prev_title = [[Time Shall Tell]] (demo)
| prev_year = 1990
| next_title = [[Beyond Sanctorum]]
| next_year = 1992
| misc = {{Extra album cover
| header = Alternative cover
| type = Studio album
| cover = Of Darkness....jpg
| border =
| alt =
| caption = ''[[The Early Chapters of Revelation]]'' reedition cover
}}
}}
'''''Of Darkness…''''' is the debut studio album by Swedish [[symphonic metal]] band [[Therion (band)|Therion]], released in February 1991. 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.<ref name="official-bio">{{cite web
|url = http://www.megatherion.com/Biography.xhtml
|title = Biography
|work = Official website
|access-date = 2008-02-05
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100629104423/http://www.megatherion.com/Biography.xhtml
|archive-date = 2010-06-29
}}</ref>

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.<ref name="official-bio"/> ''Of Darkness...'' was recorded in Swedish studio [[Sunlight Studio|Sunlight]] in [[Stockholm]] from August to September 1990 and released in 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.

The title track and the song "Dark Eternity" were not used from the recording session, but were instead taken from the 1990 EP recordings.

==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.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Johnsson|first1=Christofer|title=Of Darkness...|url=http://therion.se/discography/of-darkness/|website=Therion}}</ref> 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.<ref name="official-bio"/>

2000 re-release album contains original remastered songs, and four bonus tracks songs. Two of them are the 1990 versions from the "Time Shall Tell" EP. The other two are the unreleased versions from the "Of Darkness…" recording sessions.

==Reception==
{{Album ratings
|rev1 = [[Allmusic]]
|rev1score = {{Rating|2.5|5}}<ref name="allmusic"/>
}}
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,<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web
|url = {{AllMusic|class=album|id=r175549|pure_url=yes}}
|title = Of Darkness
|work = [[Allmusic]]
|access-date = 2008-02-05}}</ref> and 3.02 of 5 at the [[Rate Your Music]] community being only number 925 in its 1991 ranking.<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/therion/of_darkness___/
|title = Of Darkness...
|work = [[Rate Your Music]]
|access-date = 2008-02-05}}</ref>

==Track listing==
''All tracks were written and composed by [[Christofer Johnsson]].''
{{tracklist
| title1 = The Return
| length1 = 5:15
| title2 = Asphyxiate with Fear
| length2 = 4:00
| title3 = Morbid Reality
| length3 = 6:05
| title4 = Megalomania
| length4 = 4:10
| title5 = A Suburb to Hell
| length5 = 4:47
| title6 = Genocidal Raids
| length6 = 5:15
| title7 = Time Shall Tell
| length7 = 5:07
| title8 = Dark Eternity
| length8 = 4:45
| total_length = 39:25
}}
{{tracklist
| headline = 2000 re-release bonus tracks
| title9 = A Suburb to Hell
| note9 = demo version
| length9 = 5:19
| title10 = Asphyxiate with Fear
| note10 = demo version
| length10 = 4:41
| title11 = Time Shall Tell
| note11 = unreleased version
| length11 = 4:06
| title12 = Dark Eternity
| note12 = unreleased version
| length12 = 4:19
}}

==Personnel==
; Therion
*[[Christofer Johnsson]] – [[vocal]]s, [[rhythm guitar]]
*Peter Hansson – [[lead guitar]]
*[[Oskar Forss]] – [[Drum kit|drums]]
*Erik Gustafsson – [[bass guitar]]
; Production
*Tomas Skogsberg – engineer, producer
*Gary Querns – cover art (based on Johan Losand and Rikard Olund's work)

==Samples==
{{see also|#External links|l1=External links (section)}}
{{Listen|filename=Therion_-_asphyxiate_with_fear.ogg|title=Asphyxiate with Fear|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}

==See also==
* [[Scandinavian death metal]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070310234833/http://main.megatherion.com/Albums/Of_Darkness....xhtml ''Of Darkness...''] at the official website
* {{MusicBrainz release|mbid=baf87e8c-8bba-4336-b0dc-98ec9a478c9e|name=Of Darkness...}}
* {{discogs release|name=Of Darkness...|id=675463}}

; Audio samples
* [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000056P4W ''Of Darkness...''] at [[Amazon.com]]

{{Therion}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1991 debut albums]]
[[Category:Therion (band) albums]]
[[Category:Deaf Records albums]]
[[Category:Nuclear Blast albums]]

Of Darkness... - Revision history

imported>Lucas Pestana at 14:27, 28 February 2025