“The Rise of Sodom and Gomorrah” is the opening track of Therion’s 1998 album Vovin and one of the band’s best-known symphonic metal songs. The music was composed and orchestrated by Christofer Johnsson, while the lyrics were written by Swedish occult author Thomas Karlsson.
The lyrics go far beyond the biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah. They combine Biblical references with Gnosticism, occult symbolism, Setian ideas and esoteric imagery, which was typical of Therion’s work during this period.
The original recording features orchestral arrangements, choir and guest classical singers, including Sarah Jezebel Deva and Martina Hornbacher-Astner. This combination of heavy guitars, operatic voices and orchestra helped define Therion’s distinctive symphonic metal sound.
An interesting detail is that Johnsson considered Vovin almost a solo project, because it was largely recorded with guest and session musicians rather than a stable Therion lineup.
“The Rise of Sodom and Gomorrah” evokes a dark, mystical vision of the ancient cities not simply as symbols of sin and destruction, but as places of forbidden knowledge, desire and spiritual rebellion. The song moves through images of fire, decadence, occult power and transformation, creating the feeling of an ancient ritual unfolding before the listener.
Rather than retelling the biblical story directly, Therion surrounds it with esoteric symbolism and a sense of dangerous fascination. Sodom and Gomorrah become almost mythical cities standing on the border between ecstasy and catastrophe — a world where human desire, divine punishment and hidden wisdom collide.
The result is both majestic and ominous: a song about temptation, destruction and rebirth, wrapped in the grand, ceremonial atmosphere that defines Therion’s symphonic sound.
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