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 Curse of Headless Christ
Theatres Des Vampires Lyrics
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He is stalking through the forest searching sad clowns
They have stolen the head of Christ and now he wants revenge
Christ is wandering in the evil night with an axe in his hand
He is looking for his head without truce, the darkness of his universe of death
An hyperbolic force acts on figure of headless Christ
Night is bleeding to bless the victims on their way
This is the curse of headless Christ!
The curse of headless Christ!
This is the curse of headless Christ!
The curse of headless Christ!
I trust in the night, I trust in the curse of Christ
All is black in this world, all is cruelty in this wood
Heaven is crying bloody tears to consecrate lost souls
Blood on the frozen lake, blood on the neglected humanity!
In the night, in the silence crushing, you can hear, like an hammer, his steps
Looking through the haunted light, where the silence immerse me, I can't escape from this curse
The song "The Curse of Headless Christ" by Theatres Des Vampires tells a story of revenge and darkness. In the middle of the night when the full moon is shining bright, the headless Christ is wandering through the forest, seeking revenge against sad clowns who have stolen his head. He carries an axe in his hand, looking for his head without rest in the darkness of his universe of death. The song describes the curse of the headless Christ, with the night bleeding to bless his victims on their way. The singer trusts in the curse of Christ and in the darkness that surrounds him. The world is black and cruel, with heaven crying bloody tears to consecrate lost souls. The song ends with the haunting image of the headless Christ's steps echoing, and the singer unable to escape from the curse.
Line by Line Meaning
In the middle of the night when the full moon is in the sky
Under the moonlight at midnight
He is stalking through the forest searching sad clowns
He wanders through the woods searching for those who stole Christ's head
They have stolen the head of Christ and now he wants revenge
Christ's head was stolen and now he desires revenge
Christ is wandering in the evil night with an axe in his hand
Christ, now headless, wanders the night with an axe in hand
He is looking for his head without truce, the darkness of his universe of death
He fervently searches for his head in the darkness of a lifeless universe
An hyperbolic force acts on figure of headless Christ
An extreme power exists within the figure of headless Christ
Night is bleeding to bless the victims on their way
Night brings pain to those who cross its path
This is the curse of headless Christ!
Headless Christ's curse is upon us!
The curse of headless Christ!
The curse of headless Christ!
I trust in the night, I trust in the curse of Christ
I rely on the night and the curse of Christ
All is black in this world, all is cruelty in this wood
The world is dark and cruel in this wooded area
Heaven is crying bloody tears to consecrate lost souls
Heaven sheds mournful tears for the souls lost
Blood on the frozen lake, blood on the neglected humanity!
Blood stains the frozen lake and the forgotten souls of humanity!
In the night, in the silence crushing, you can hear, like an hammer, his steps
Amidst the crushing silence of the night, you can hear the stomping of his steps
Looking through the haunted light, where the silence immerse me, I can't escape from this curse
Gazing through the haunted darkness, I am consumed by silence and unable to escape the curse
Contributed by Caroline R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.