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
Theatre of Horrors
Theatres Des Vampires Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pleasure from pain!
Welcome in our theatre of horrors!
Welcome in the theatre of vampires
This night you will be our victim!
Will become a vampire!
Will look with other eyes!
Will drink with another mouth!
Horror,this is my entertainment
Enjoyment from the suffering!
Welcome in our unholy theatre!
Welcome in our prison of blood!
Will become a vampire!
Will look with other eyes!
Will listen with other ears!
Will drink with another mouth!
A macabre symphony,a communion of blood and lust
Pervertion without limits,drink the chalice,eat the body of Christ!
Dominus...
Look!The horror show,in the great theatre of horrors
Flesh and blood,agony and pleasure
Tonight you will become...will become a vampire!
I'm an angel of evil and death in our bloody theatre of horrors
The lyrics of Theatre of Horrors by Theatres Des Vampires are a representation of the vampiric nature. The lines "Infernal, this is my kingdom" and "Horror, this is my entertainment" denote a sense of power and pleasure in the darkness. The singer invites the listener to experience their "theatre of horrors" and become a vampire themselves. The lyrics suggest that vampirism is a way of life, a transformation of the senses, and a new form of existence.
The repetition of "Will become a vampire!" in the chorus reinforces the theme of transformation, and "Look! The horror show, in the great theatre of horrors" points towards a visual representation of the same. The lyrics are metaphoric, signifying that the listener is transfixed by this theatre of horrors that they must become a part of it. The striking use of language in "Pervertion without limits, drink the chalice, eat the body of Christ!" suggests that the vampiric desire is so strong that it can even overshadow religious beliefs.
Line by Line Meaning
Infernal, this is my kingdom
This is my domain, characterized by my demonic power and authority.
Pleasure from pain!
I derive satisfaction from inflicting pain upon my victims.
Welcome in our theatre of horrors!
You are invited to witness the terrifying spectacle of our theater.
Welcome in the theatre of vampires
You are welcome in our theater of bloodsucking creatures of the night.
This night you will be our victim!
Tonight you will fall prey to our vampiric desires.
Will become a vampire!
You will undergo transformation and become a creature of the night.
Will look with other eyes!
Your perspective and perception of reality will change drastically.
Will listen with other ears!
Your auditory senses will be heightened and refined.
Will drink with another mouth!
You will quench your thirst with a new, vampiric mouth.
Horror, this is my entertainment
Terror and dread serve as my source of enjoyment and amusement.
Enjoyment from the suffering!
I take pleasure in the misery and agony of my victims.
Welcome in our unholy theatre!
You are invited to partake in the wicked displays of our blasphemous theater.
Welcome in our prison of blood!
You are welcomed to enter our literal bloodbath, as our prisoner.
A macabre symphony, a communion of blood and lust
An eerie orchestration, a gathering of creatures driven by their bloodlust and appetites.
Pervertion without limits, drink the chalice, eat the body of Christ!
There are no boundaries when it comes to indulging in our vampiric ways, exemplified by consuming the holy sacrament.
Dominus...
A reference to the Lord and Master, possibly the devil or the leader of the vampires in the song.
Look! The horror show, in the great theatre of horrors
Behold the gruesome spectacle within this theater of terror and dread.
Flesh and blood, agony and pleasure
The grisly display of the physical substance and suffering and delight of its perpetrators.
Tonight you will become...will become a vampire!
You will undergo transformation into a vampire before this night is through.
I'm an angel of evil and death in our bloody theatre of horrors
I am a creature of the night, with a divine alignment towards malevolence and demise, within this sacrificial theater.
Contributed by Lincoln V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.