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
Illusion
Theatres Des Vampires Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When i feel your breath on me
When you hold me when i'm scared
Never go away from me
'cause this life remains the same
An illusion
Tries to change you
When the snow falls down on me
'cause i know you are the one
I fell this cold on my skin
I will stay with you forever
When you embrace me 'cause i'm sad
'cause the light will fade away
Never leave me alone
Leave me alone forever
'cause this life remains the same
All my tears are falling down
An illusion tries to change you
'cause this life can hurts me more
For the pain you feel around you
I won't see the light again
Trying to blind you for these lies
The lyrics to Theatres Des Vampires's song "Illusion" speaks of a desire for a deep connection with someone who provides comfort and security, regardless of the challenges of life. The lines "When you fall asleep with me, when I feel your breath on me, when you hold me when I'm scared, never go away from me" depict a longing for intimacy and protection. The singer then acknowledges that life remains the same, and that it is all an illusion that tries to change you. The second verse speaks about the fear of separation and the need for company, "never leave me alone, leave me alone forever." However, despite entering into a relationship for comfort, the relationship causes more harm and pain that blinds the subject to the truth.
The lyrics are deep and poetic, describing the fear of loneliness and longing for love in this illusory world. It can be interpreted as a metaphor for the human condition's longing for security, love, and happiness in a world where nothing is guaranteed. The song speaks to the need for human connection and the fear of disconnection that can create intense emotional turmoil. "Illusion" is an ode to love, trust, and the desperate need to escape pain.
Line by Line Meaning
When you fall asleep with me
When you are closest to me and trust me enough to fall asleep in my arms
When i feel your breath on me
When I feel the warmth of your breath on my neck, reminding me that you are real and not just a dream
When you hold me when i'm scared
When you protect me from any fears and take care of me with love and compassion
Never go away from me
Please never leave my side, let us always be together
'cause this life remains the same
Life can be monotonous and unfulfilling despite our best efforts to make it exciting
An illusion
Perhaps all of our struggles and attempts to find meaning are futile and just a trick of the mind
Tries to change you
This illusory life can be so powerful that it can change who we are as a person
When the snow falls down on me
When everything around me is beautiful and peaceful except me, reminding me of my inability to appreciate the moment
'cause i know you are the one
But then I remember that you are the reason for my happiness and joy in life
I fell this cold on my skin
The frigid temperature outside reminds me of how vulnerable we can be to the world around us
I will stay with you forever
I promise to love and cherish you for eternity, and nothing can separate us
When you embrace me 'cause i'm sad
When you comfort me in moments of sorrow and sadness with a gentle hug
'cause the light will fade away
But the light that illuminates our lives is not immune to the passing of time and eventual darkness
Never leave me alone
I am afraid of being alone and losing the one person whom I love so much
Leave me alone forever
I would rather die than live without you, and I'm willing to do anything to keep us together
All my tears are falling down
In moments of emotional turmoil, it feels as though we are drowning in a sea of tears that never cease to flow
'cause this life can hurts me more
Although life can bring us joy, it can also cause us immense pain and suffering
For the pain you feel around you
Knowing that the one you love is experiencing any type of hurt or struggle can be a source of agony in and of itself
I won't see the light again
During the dark moments in life, it becomes almost impossible to see beyond the pain and imagine a brighter future
Trying to blind you for these lies
The illusion of life can be so convincing that it blinds us to the truth, making it difficult to separate fact from fiction
Contributed by Hudson I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.