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
The Beginning of the End
Theatres Des Vampires Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
...... But a strange power calls to me from the abyss, I have seen Macabria. I'm enchanted from this land
.... Strange inhabitants.... ancient rites... and obscurity......
Now I will make a choice... a choice of life & death, will be a new sweet pleasure.. Or a horrible end?
But I think that my existence is here... in this place where dreams & reality are living together
I leave the mask that I put on everyday... now I want to be free
The lyrics of Theatres Des Vampires' song The Beginning of the End indicates the story of a person who is torn between two worlds. The person is in a predicament where they are trying to decide whether to stay alive (or come back) or die and be taken by the strange power that is calling the person from the abyss. The person, enchanted by the land of Macabria, is fascinated by its strange inhabitants, ancient rites, and obscurity. The person is making a choice of life and death, and this choice will be a new sweet pleasure or a horrible end. However, the person believes that their existence is in this place where dreams and reality are living together. Finally, the person leaves the mask that they put on every day, and their soul leaves their body, and Macabria becomes their new home. Therefore, the lyrics showcase the struggle of a person between the world of reality and the world beyond death.
Line by Line Meaning
Why am I here?!! I wish to come back....
I question why I am here and desire to return to where I came from.
But a strange power calls to me from the abyss, I have seen Macabria. I'm enchanted from this land
A mysterious force beckons to me from a deep place, and I have encountered the enchanting world of Macabria.
Strange inhabitants.... ancient rites... and obscurity......
Macabria is home to curious creatures, ancient traditions, and secrets beyond understanding.
Now I will make a choice... a choice of life & death, will be a new sweet pleasure.. Or a horrible end?
I must decide between living a new, thrilling life or facing a gruesome fate.
But I think that my existence is here... in this place where dreams & reality are living together
I believe that my true identity resides in this world where the line between dreams and reality is blurred.
I leave the mask that I put on everyday... now I want to be free
I discard the facade that I wear daily and strive for liberation.
The soul leaves my body... Macabria will be my new home........... I'm dead!!!............
My spirit departs my body, and I am ready to embrace Macabria as my new home. I have passed into the realm of the dead.
Contributed by Audrey K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.