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
Kingdom of Vampires
Theatres Des Vampires Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All is wrapped from the fog
A sensation of an universal void
Like an omen of death and decay
The funeral bells are ringing...
In the churches
In this night without light
From the grave I hear this voice
Satan arise... With his legion
Brings horror and death...
... In the kingdom of vampires
In the dark
Vexilla regis
Proundet inferni
The obscurity condemn the weaks
Total domination of evil
The vampire wants to live again
...And take the place of alive men!!!
The song "Kingdom of Vampires" by Theatres Des Vampires tells a story of a dark and ominous setting, a kingdom ruled by vampires. The lyrics are full of imagery as they describe the darkness and fog, and the feeling of an impending doom. The funeral bells ringing in the churches only add to the eerie atmosphere. Suddenly, a voice from beyond the grave is heard, calling for Satan and his legion to bring horror and death to the kingdom of vampires. The lyrics describe the domination of evil and the desire for vampires to take the place of the living.
The lyrics could be interpreted as commentary on the desire for power and control over others, symbolized by the vampires' desire to take the place of the living. The use of religious symbols like funeral bells and the call for Satan could represent a struggle between good and evil, with the vampires representing the forces of darkness.
Line by Line Meaning
Dark is around me
The darkness surrounds me, creating a sense of fear and uncertainty.
All is wrapped from the fog
Everything is hidden and obscured by the fog, adding to the ominous atmosphere.
A sensation of an universal void
There is a feeling of emptiness and nothingness, as if the world is devoid of life and light.
Like an omen of death and decay
This feeling serves as a warning of impending death and decay.
The funeral bells are ringing...
The sound of the funeral bells can be heard, indicating that someone has died or is about to die.
In the churches
The bells are ringing from the churches, reminding those inside to pray for the dead and seek salvation.
In this night without light
The darkness is all-encompassing and there is no source of light to be found.
In this night without stars
Even the sky has been shrouded in darkness, with no stars visible.
From the grave I hear this voice
An ominous voice can be heard, seemingly coming from a grave or other burial site.
Satan arise... With his legion
The voice calls for Satan to rise and bring his followers to wreak havoc and destruction.
Brings horror and death...
Satan's arrival will bring terror and death to all who oppose him.
... In the kingdom of vampires
This destruction will occur in the kingdom of vampires, implying that they are connected to Satan in some way.
In the dark
All of this is happening in the darkness, where it is difficult to see what is happening and even harder to escape.
Vexilla regis
This Latin phrase translates to 'The Banner of the King', otherwise known as the symbol of Christ's victory over death.
Proundet inferni
This Latin phrase roughly means 'The pride of hell', further emphasizing the connections to Satan and evil.
The obscurity condemn the weaks
Those who are weak and unable to see through the darkness will be punished by their own ignorance and inability to act.
Total domination of evil
Evil will reign supreme, with no hope of redemption or salvation for those who find themselves on the wrong side of it.
The vampire wants to live again
The vampires are longing for a return to life, presumably through some kind of dark magic or occult ritual.
...And take the place of alive men!!!
The vampires will use this newfound life to supplant the living, taking their place and ruling over the kingdom of the undead.
Contributed by Nora F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
BILL OALSDMOSA
amazing