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
Parasomnia
Theatres Des Vampires Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Another day is gone
I'm still here with my fears
It's my goal, it's my soul
I swing on the madness brink
A shotgun.. hits me
Too late to wake
They hit me again, shot to the brain
It owns me
It rapes me
It graves me
It kills me
Time is flowing backwards
My head goes forwards
For a while it will stop
My nightmare comes again
Time is flowing backwards
My head goes forwards
And I'll be just a prey
My nightmare comes again
Please help me
Please help me
And wake me up
This dream is hanging me
It just won't let me go
I slide down, I drown
Leave me alone, leave me alone
There is no turning back
It is too late to wake
A white line, I walk straight
Lost in my mind, alone and blind
It owns me
It rapes me
It graves me
It kills me
Tick tock, tick tock
Goes the clock
Time flows backwards
For a while it will stop
My nightmare comes again
Tick tock
Goes the clock
Time strokes once more
And I'll be just a prey
My nightmare comes again
The lyrics of the song "Parasomnia" by Theatres Des Vampires delve into the unsettling and harrowing experience of being trapped in a never-ending nightmare. The opening lines "A cross on the wall, Another day is gone, I'm still here with my fears, It's my goal, it's my soul" set the stage for the singer's despair and anxiety. The cross on the wall symbolizes their feeling of being trapped, unable to escape their fears and the darkness that surrounds them.
The lyrics convey a sense of desperation and confusion, with lines such as "They hit me again, shot to the brain. It owns me, It rapes me, It graves me, It kills me" expressing the overwhelming oppression the singer feels, as if their nightmare is both consuming and violating them. The mention of time flowing backwards and the repetition of the phrase "My nightmare comes again" reflects the cyclical nature of their torment, as they are trapped in a vicious cycle of recurring nightmares.
Throughout the lyrics, there is a plea for help and a desire for escape, as the singer cries out with "Please help me, Please help me, And wake me up." The dream in which they are trapped is described as suffocating, not letting them go, and causing them to feel isolated and alone. The final lines of the song convey a sense of resignation and powerlessness, as the clock ticks and the nightmare returns once more, leaving them to be just a prey.
Overall, "Parasomnia" explores the anguish of being trapped in a disturbing and inescapable dream, touching on themes of fear, desperation, and the yearning for liberation.
Line by Line Meaning
A cross on the wall
Symbol of religion and protection, representing a sense of hope and faith
Another day is gone
The passing of time, a reminder of how the singer's life is slipping away
I'm still here with my fears
Despite the passage of time, the singer is still haunted by their fears and anxieties
It's my goal, it's my soul
The fears and anxieties have become all-consuming, shaping the artist's identity and purpose
I swing on the madness brink
Teetering on the edge of insanity, feeling their sanity slipping away
A shotgun.. hits me
Metaphorical impact of a sudden and overwhelming event or realization
Too late to wake
Realizing that it is too late to escape or change the circumstances
Too dark to see
Feeling overwhelmed and unable to perceive any glimmers of hope or light in their situation
They hit me again, shot to the brain
Continued assault on their mental state, causing further distress and anguish
It owns me
Suggesting a loss of control and being dominated by their nightmares and fears
It rapes me
Emphasizing the violation and helplessness felt in the face of their torment
It graves me
Feeling trapped and buried by their own nightmares and fears
It kills me
The emotional and psychological toll it takes on the singer, feeling like it is slowly destroying them
Time is flowing backwards
A distorted perception of time, as if trapped in a loop or regression
My head goes forwards
Despite time flowing backwards, the singer's thoughts and desires continue to progress
For a while it will stop
Brief respite from the torment, suggesting temporary relief or escape
My nightmare comes again
The recurring nature of the nightmare, indicating a cyclical pattern of suffering
Please help me
An urgent plea for assistance and salvation from the singer's suffering
And wake me up
Desire to be freed from the nightmarish reality and brought back to a state of normalcy
This dream is hanging me
Feeling trapped and suspended in a never-ending nightmare, unable to escape its grip
It just won't let me go
The nightmare's relentless grip on the artist, refusing to release them from its clutches
I slide down, I drown
Symbolizing a descent into despair and suffocation within the nightmare
Leave me alone, leave me alone
Desperation to be left in peace, to be free from the torment and solitude
There is no turning back
Accepting that there is no escape or reversal of the nightmare's effects
It is too late to wake
Realizing that the opportunity to escape has passed, the singer is trapped in their current state
A white line, I walk straight
Symbolic path of conformity and obedience, signaling the singer's resignation to their fate
Lost in my mind, alone and blind
Feeling mentally adrift and isolated, lacking clarity and understanding
Tick tock, tick tock
Auditory representation of the passing of time, emphasizing its relentless nature
Goes the clock
Further emphasizing the passage of time and its impact on the artist's state of mind
Time flows backwards
Reiteration of the distorted perception of time, reinforcing the cyclicality of the nightmare
My nightmare comes again
Reaffirmation of the recurring nature of the torment, perpetuating the cycle of suffering
Time strokes once more
Time's impact and influence on the artist continues to manifest, compounding their distress
And I'll be just a prey
Helpless and vulnerable, as if being hunted or victimized by their own nightmares
My nightmare comes again
Reiteration of the cyclical nature of the nightmare, underscoring its inescapable grip on the artist
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Fabio Varesi
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind