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 Dark Domain
Theatres Des Vampires Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She's vanished like a phantasm
The desperation is the mistress of my thoughts
Slave of this house
Slave of this nightmare
All seems to be so alive and macabre
Also my tears seem to live
The moon is covered from obscure clouds
But I can see, like the eyes of a bat
Darkness wrap me in this silence
Into obscurity of this room
I open the door, walk in the passage
And I take the crucifix in my hand
Rooms, stairs and silence around me
Perhaps I'm alone and I can't escape
From this mournful place
All is closed, doors and windows
I'm condemned to wait her return
I shall come back in my room
I hear someone open the door
She enters with sirene mien
To say me "Good night" but before she comes out
She looks at my crucifix
And she says
"The people of Transylvania
Don't believe in this forms
Of faith and idolatry"
Remove your crucifix"
I feel an asphyxiating sensation of fear
Now I know of the danger
I can't escape from the doors
But only from the window of my room
The lyrics of Theatres Des Vampires's song "The Dark Domain" depict the singer's haunting experience in a house filled with despair and darkness. The song captures a sense of imprisonment and helplessness as the singer navigates through the eerie atmosphere of the house. The opening lines suggest that the singer has been awake in this house, but someone, perhaps a loved one, has vanished like a phantasm. This absence fuels the desperation that consumes the singer's thoughts, highlighting the overwhelming longing and despair they feel.
The lyrics continue to describe the singer as a slave to both the house and the nightmare that unfolds within it. Everything in the house seems alive, but in a macabre and unsettling manner. The mention of tears that seem to live when falling on the singer's face further emphasizes the intense emotions experienced in this dark domain.
As the moon is covered by obscure clouds, the singer's senses are heightened, and they are able to see with a bat's vision, implying a connection to the supernatural or the supernatural elements within the house. The darkness envelops the singer, creating a chilling silence that intensifies the feeling of being trapped within the obscurity of a room.
In search of escape, the singer opens the door and walks through the passage while holding a crucifix. There is a sense of isolation as the rooms, stairs, and silence surround them. The lyrics hint at the possibility of being alone and unable to escape from this mournful place. Doors and windows all seem closed, leaving the singer condemned to wait for the return of the vanished person.
In a moment of tension and fear, someone opens the door, and a woman enters with an enchanting presence (described as sirene mien). However, before leaving, she looks at the singer's crucifix and dismisses it, stating that the people of Transylvania don't believe in such forms of faith and idolatry. This encounter adds to the singer's sense of danger and the realization that they cannot escape through the doors but only through the window of their room.
Overall, "The Dark Domain" portrays a surreal and eerie atmosphere, capturing the singer's entrapment and the chilling encounters within the haunted house.
Line by Line Meaning
I've been awake in this house
I have been fully aware and conscious while living in this house
She's vanished like a phantasm
She has disappeared mysteriously, like a ghostly entity
The desperation is the mistress of my thoughts
Desperation dominates and controls my thoughts
Slave of this house
I am a subservient, bound to this house
Slave of this nightmare
I am trapped and enslaved in this haunting nightmare
All seems to be so alive and macabre
Everything appears eerily vibrant and morbid
Also my tears seem to live
Even my tears feel vibrant and alive
When are falling on my face
As they fall upon my face
The moon is covered from obscure clouds
The moon is concealed by dark, ominous clouds
But I can see, like the eyes of a bat
But I can still perceive, like the keen vision of a bat
Darkness wrap me in this silence
Darkness envelops me in this quietude
Into obscurity of this room
Into the mysterious depths of this room
I open the door, walk in the passage
I venture to open the door and step into the hallway
And I take the crucifix in my hand
Then I grasp the crucifix tightly in my hand
Rooms, stairs and silence around me
Rooms, stairs, and silence surround me
Perhaps I'm alone and I can't escape
Maybe I am all alone and unable to flee
From this mournful place
From this sorrowful location
All is closed, doors and windows
Everything is sealed shut, both doors and windows
I'm condemned to wait her return
I am condemned to await her return
I shall come back in my room
I will return to my room
I hear someone open the door
I hear someone opening the door
She enters with sirene mien
She enters with an enchanting demeanor
To say me 'Good night' but before she comes out
To bid me 'Good night' but before she leaves
She looks at my crucifix
She gazes at my crucifix
And she says
And she utters
"The people of Transylvania
"The people of Transylvania
Don't believe in this forms
Do not have faith in these symbols
Of faith and idolatry"
Of religious belief and worship"
Remove your crucifix"
Take off your crucifix"
I feel an asphyxiating sensation of fear
I experience a suffocating feeling of terror
Now I know of the danger
Now I am aware of the peril
I can't escape from the doors
I cannot escape through the doors
But only from the window of my room
But only through the window of my room
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Fabio Varesi
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Zheka Humenuk
Одно из лучших творений "Театра вампиров" под главенством Лорда Вампира