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
Carpathian Spells
Theatres Des Vampires Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Wherever he is or goes
I will be with you
You walk the path of seven black candles
Vision of black might,dream of reality
Whispers of ancient spirit in the forest forever as one!
I give the occult art of the Goezia Strigis
I give the horrid power of Capriquel
I give the power of Dioxéméïon
When the priest invokes his god...
You will give the death to him with the Rosary of blood and the Numero Putrefactionis
And you will be a new vampire!
The lyrics to Theatres Des Vampires's song, "Carpathian Spells," speak to the power of the occult and the supernatural. The imagery of the horizon turning red with blood is a clear indication that something profoundly ominous is happening. The singer of the song promises to be with whoever is walking the path of seven black candles - perhaps a journey through a mystical realm, or a rite of passage to become a vampire. The line, "I give the occult art of the Goezia Strigis," sounds like a reference to the practice of summoning spirits, a nod to the dark magic that permeates the song's lyrics.
The final lines of the song indicate that the path will lead to becoming a new vampire, something that has long been a fascination in gothic and horror culture. The lyrics highlight the power and allure of the supernatural, drawing us into a world that promises an escape from the mundane and the everyday. As listeners, we are invited into a realm of darkness and mystery, where ancient spirits whisper secrets and transformation is possible.
Line by Line Meaning
When the horizon will be red blood
The arrival of a bloody sunset
Wherever he is or goes
No matter where he is, I will follow
I will be with you
I will always be by your side
You walk the path of seven black candles
You follow the path of dark rituals
Vision of black might, dream of reality
A dream of power becoming real
Whispers of ancient spirit in the forest forever as one!
The spirits of the past will always be with us
I give the occult art of the Goezia Strigis
I offer the art of summoning spirits
I give the horrid power of Capriquel
I offer terrifying supernatural power
I give the power of Dioxéméïon
I offer the power to control minds
When the priest invokes his god...
When the priest performs his ritual...
You will give the death to him with the Rosary of blood and the Numero Putrefactionis
You will kill him using dark magic
And you will be a new vampire!
And you will be reborn as a vampire
Contributed by Sophie A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.