Search - Theatre of Tragedy :: Velvet Darkness They Fear

"And When He Falleth" ~ Gothic Opera For A Post-Christian

Brian E. Erland | Brea, CA - USA | 03/08/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Liv Kristine's angelic soprano voice counterbalanced by the gruff, demonic refrains of Raymond Rohonniy work together perfectly in the Theatre of Tragedy -9 track- CD, 'Velvet Darkness They Fear.' Unlike many other Goth bands that rely too heavily on their female vocalist to keep their audience involved, Raymond somehow manages to bring his discordant vocals into an adversarial, yet complimentary relationship with Liv's ethereal incantations. Truly light and shadow have become one.



Dark, Haunting, Unrelenting, Erotic and Beautiful. Everything you could ask for from a Goth/metal band."

Unbelievable

Daniel Ambrus | Louisville, KY United States | 12/30/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This album is truly unique. There is nothing like it, and there will never be anything like it to come. Obviously with such singularity comes much weirdness that may be too much for many of you. Just keep an open mind.



When I first heard the CD, i just laughed. It's really not until the fourth or fifth listens that you really begin appreciating the method behind the apparent madness and start to think that the growling male vocals are actually necessary. This is a crazy parallel to draw, but it's almost like the dance group Aqua (also from Norway) who pair the soprano voice of their female singer with the tenor of a male so that neither voice dominates and you get tired of neither. Obviously the styles couldnt be more different, but the idea is still the same; Raymond is the dark side, Lynn is the light side, and the album is about their beautiful duet, both shadow and light, yin and yang.



now for some less abstract observations... this is one of my favorite gothic metal albums. in my mind, every song is good and i like a different one the best each time i listen. They do a good job of avoiding monotony, changing the speed of the songs from slow to fast, fast to slow quite often. They entertain you with spoken vocal parleys, which are cool but do get annoying after a while. But most importantly all the songs are well constructed, highly melodic and convey a distinct sense of emotion.



It is very difficult to review this CD but those are my thoughts on it. Bottom line: this is an underappreciated but very well constructed gothic metal dreamscape that i would encourage fans of Old Man's Child, Nightwish, and Within Temptation to try.



"

Grab a Dictionary!

Lisa M. Boodt | South Bend, IN | 05/24/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Hope you are well-versed in your old-English before you listen to this. Actually, I have to say this is probably the most Vampiric album I have ever listened to - straight out of Dracula! The music is Beauty and Beast symphonic metal with similarities to Tristania and Sirenia. Excellent composition -but a little milder. Perfect for dark gloomy evenings! One of my favorite albums!"