The band's members expressed a fascination with vampires and anything connected to them, earning themselves and their music the title "vampiric metal" from their contemporaries. The band created a coherent image of vampirism in their stage performance and within the lyrical themes and atmospheres of their music, which contributed heavily to the gaining of their fan-base.
During their career, the band was first primarily influenced by symphonic black metal, but later tended to include differing influences, including: classicalmusic, opera, darkwave, deathrock, gothic rock and several electro-industrial sub-genres. Throughout this stylistic deviation, a few characteristics of the band's music have remained consistent; melancholic atmospheres and lyrics, vocal styles of akin to gothic metal, and their vampiric image.
The band has produced ten albums in ten years with the English label Plastic Head, and has gained more recognition within the metal scene in Europe, South America and Russia, partially due to the band's participation in various festivals around the world. These include: Vampyria III in London in 1999, Gods of Metal in Italy in 2000, Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig in 2003 and in 2006, Gotham in London in 2004, Female Voices Festival in Wieze, Belgium in 2006.
In 2003, the band toured with Christian Death throughout Europe, and recorded an album with Valor of Christian Death and Gian Pyres of Cradle of Filth as special guests.
The band's shows have always seen a reasonable level of attendance, and have become more dramatic over the band's career, incorporating fireworks and "out of line" appearances by Scarlet.
Since 2004, Sonya Scarlet has remained the solo vocalist and front of the band, replacing her previous role as backing vocals.
Scarlet sometimes cuts herself with razors at performances, freely letting fans drink her blood, promising them the gift of immortality. In 2005 several English clubs forbade her performing the display of bloodletting, because it violates English laws against the incitement to commit suicide.
On 28 November 2005, Aural Music released the album Pleasure and Pain. Distributors throughout Europe bought the album and it was published with permission in Europe, South America, the USA, Russia, and Japan.
On 19 March 2007, they released their album Desire of Damnation. Desire of Damnation is a double CD, with live songs from The Addiction tour 2006 and some new studio songs and remixes.
Guitarist Robert "Morgoth" left the band in 2006 and was replaced by Stephan Benfante.
On 2 May 2008, they released their 8th studio album Anima Noir. With this album their sound evolves once again, taking the route of electronic/industrial gothic metal while still retaining vampiric lyrics.
In November, 2008, Theatres des Vampires announced that they would go on a temporary hiatus due to both personal and health related issued of vocalist Sonya Scarlet.
On 14 January 2011 Aural Music released the album Moonlight Waltz, their ninth studio album. A music video for the song "Carmilla" was filmed on August 28 and 29, directed by David Bracci, who worked on most of Dario Argento's films in the past decade, and has also directed the "Lilith Mater Inferorum" music video.
The name "Théâtre des Vampires" was inspired by a fictional location created by Gothic fantasy writer Anne Rice of the same name. Rice's Théâtre des Vampires is a Parisian theater, in which vampires pretend to be mortal actors, their performances consisting of the feeding on mortals disguised as part of a play and staged in front of human audiences. The location is mentioned in several of Rice's books, including Interview With the Vampire and The Vampire Lestat.
Official site: http://www.theatres-des-vampires.net
Black Madonna
Theatres Des Vampires Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Forgotten prayers buried alive
In the burning sand
Arabian memories
Of her scent, in the wind
Her ebony hair so long and tousled
Alabaster skin, so pure and cold
Carved by the hands of sin
The black Madonna
Kissed by the son of the father
Beloved more than sons of his faith
Moving her body in the sand
She is the sinner, Salomé
The seven devils dance with her
With the dance of the seven veils
She is the one who knows all
Black Madonna, Salomé
With the dance of the seven veils
Black Madonna, Salomé
She is the blood, she is the grail
Black Madonna, Magdalene
With the dance of the seven veils
Black Madonna, Salomé
She was crying, sweeping his feet
Drying the drops of innocent tears
With black hair, over and over
She gasped with pleasure, in the sand
Like a poisonous snake
The queen of mystery
Her voice is lost in the desert
The black Madonna
The lyrics to Theatres Des Vampires' song "Black Madonna" depict a compelling and enigmatic figure - the Black Madonna, often associated with the biblical character of Salomé. The song paints a picture of a forgotten and desolate place, represented by the desert and buried prayers. Memories of this Arabian figure linger in the wind, with her intoxicating scent and long, tousled ebony hair. She is described as having alabaster skin, symbolizing purity and coldness, yet she is also crafted by the hands of sin.
The Black Madonna's crimson lips and her association with the son of the father, referring to her relationship with Christ, suggest that she is an alluring and seductive figure. The lyrics evoke the image of her moving sensually in the sand, embodying both sin and desire. The figure is further characterized as Salomé, the sinner associated with the dance of the seven veils. She is depicted as someone who possesses knowledge and power, someone who transcends conventional religious boundaries.
The black Madonna is also connected to Mary Magdalene, known as the blood and the grail. This implies a deeper symbolism, relating to the divine feminine, sacred mysteries, and the intertwining of dark and light aspects of spirituality. The song concludes with the Black Madonna crying and attending to Christ, as she gasps with pleasure in the sand, mirroring the conflicting emotions and desires within her.
Overall, "Black Madonna" explores themes of temptation, eroticism, spirituality, and the enigma of the divine feminine. The lyrics depict a complex and multi-layered figure who defies societal norms and embraces her own power and desires.
Line by Line Meaning
An echo blowing among the desert
A haunting sound reverberating through the empty, barren land
Forgotten prayers buried alive
Prayers that have been neglected and left to wither away
In the burning sand
Within the scorching heat of the desert's hot sand
Arabian memories
Memories belonging to the Arabian culture
Of her scent, in the wind
The lingering fragrance of her presence, carried by the wind
Her ebony hair so long and tousled
Her black hair flowing freely and unkempt
Alabaster skin, so pure and cold
Her flawless and chillingly pale skin
Carved by the hands of sin
Crafted by sinful actions and desires
Her crimson lips
Her deep red lips
The black Madonna
A figure representing divine femininity, darkness, and power
Kissed by the son of the father
Receiving intimate affection from a religious figure
Beloved more than sons of his faith
Held in higher esteem than the faithful followers of her lover
Moving her body in the sand
Gracefully swaying and dancing amidst the sand
She is the sinner, Salomé
She is a figure associated with sin and temptation, named Salomé
The seven devils dance with her
Seven malevolent forces accompany her in her dance
With the dance of the seven veils
Performing a seductive and mysterious dance while removing each of the seven veils
She is the one who knows all
She possesses unmatched knowledge and wisdom
Black Madonna, Salomé
The dark and powerful embodiment of Salomé
She is the blood, she is the grail
She represents both vital life force and the holy grail
Black Madonna, Magdalene
The black Madonna intertwined with the figure of Magdalene
She was crying, sweeping his feet
She wept while tenderly and reverently cleansing his feet
Drying the drops of innocent tears
Absorbing and erasing the traces of pure and untainted tears
With black hair, over and over
Using her dark hair repeatedly for this purpose
She gasped with pleasure, in the sand
Experiencing ecstasy and delight within the grainy texture of the sand
Like a poisonous snake
Similar to a venomous serpent
The queen of mystery
The sovereign ruler of enigma and enigmatic circumstances
Her voice is lost in the desert
Her words and message dissipate into the vastness of the desert
The black Madonna
The dark and commanding presence of the Madonna
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Fabio Varesi, Cristiano Nolli
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind