Velvet Darkness They Fear

Theatre of Tragedy

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 26, 1997)
• Original Release Date: August 26, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Century Media
• ASIN: B000005HNW
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #95,664 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Second release for this Norwegian metal band. Features the vocal talents of Liv Kristine Espanaes & Raymond Rohonyi.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "And When He Falleth" ~ Gothic Opera For A Post-Christian Age, March 8, 2006

By	Brian E. Erland "Rainbow Sphinx" (Brea, CA - USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars took a while, September 29, 2003

By	mysanthropyk_overlord (USA) - See all my reviews

I never took much interest in Theatre of Tragedy, as I feel Tristania makes them look like a high-school band trying to keep their heads out of the water, but after finally getting up the courage to risk Aegis (and liking it, aside from the not-so-impressive vocals) and reading all the "too good to be true" reviews on here, I decided that I had enough cash to spare to risk this one. At first I didn't like it, because it was too slow, but after putting it through its cycles a few times, I'm warming up to it. Best songs are "Bring Forth Ye Shadow" and "Black as the Devil Painteth." What I don't get is, Raymond does awesome death vocals, but his 'clean' singing is pitiful, and he just talks half the time. Normally, one has a much easier time singing than doing extreme vocals. He must have the reverb maxed out on his microphone. Liv Kristine sounds awesome, much better than her toned-down voice on Aegis and immeasurably better than what they confined her to on the poopy-pop albums that they made after that. The guitarists don't play anything amazingly complex, but it's nice and heavy, just the way I like it. The keyboards are perfect; very dark and depressing. The drums aren't wonderful but they suffice.

There are some minor issues I have with this, but nothing really bad. I thought the intro could've had some more character, being just a piano piece. Also, I don't like parts where Liv and Raymond sing together. I will continue to reiterate that Raymond I. Rohonyi cannot sing for the life of him, so when not using the voice distortion, the man ought to just keep his mouth shut and let the talented (and pretty) one do all the work. But those are minor issues. Forget the new crap that the band is making; I understand bands change, but the new music is a blatant attempt to sell out and proves that the band ran out of ideas, plus Raymond lists twits like Eminem and Dr. Dre as his favorite artists and says he hates guitar-driven music, and you know that can't be good for a metal band. So get this, Aegis, and their self-titled album, but do not go anywhere near Musique or Assembly.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Words cannot do it justice, August 12, 2001

By	Renato Passos (Brasilia, Brazil) - See all my reviews

Awesome. Incredibly UNIQUE. Stupendously magnificent. I am still mesmerized with its grandeur. NEVER have an album impressed me so much. The melodies, vocals, tempos, textures, EVERYTHING is so beautifully arranged! What most enchants me in VDTF is the simple fact that I still FEEL the music, even after a hundred listenings and knowing what Theatre Of Tragedy has become... VDTF is forever, no matter how "old" it may look. The lyrics are totally gothic and introspective, reflected by the duels between Raymond's and Liv's vocals or between the piano and the distorted guitars. Overall, VDTF's grandeur relies on CONTRASTS of all kinds.

Now talking about about some particular songs. "And When He Falleth" is definitely my all-time-favorite song ever ever by any artist or band. It is verything I said about the album, but inside one song. It gives me goosebumps every time, VERY beautiful, words cannot do it justice. "On Whom..." is also very powerful, but in a different way. It's more romantic, the same for "Masquerader...". "Black as the Devil Painteth" is about a painter and his inspiring canvas. But there are no bad songs here, far from that.

One piece of advice to enjoy VDTF even more. Buy ToT's self-titled album first and listen to it a hundred times. Then finally buy VDTF and delight yourself. The debut is awesome! But VDTF leaves it far behind... Everything there is here, but times 1000 better.

I had to pay homage to this album(and band) that inspires me so much. Everyone please do yourself a favor: embrace the velvet darkness. Do not fear! (Ah, I almost forgot, guys look at this cover!!!)