Is it still surprising that black metalish bands tend to go a bit avantgarde when they started get older? Is it still surprising that most female-fronted bands seriously sexually objectify their singer and try to attract idiot teenagers with boners to their shows? Is it still surprising that electronic/dark-wave touched black metal remains popular among the metalheads who are quite conservative?
Stereotypes exist because they help us save time, some say. However, while reading this review, I ask you to leave your possibly stereotypical opinions outside. Granted, TdV possesses all possible cliches that one can find in gothic/dark/black metallic circles. But, perhaps, they also make a killer music?
Anima Noir opens with a quite melodic song with significant dark-wave touches. The next song, “Unspoken Words” is a killer with loads of head-banging opportunities together with some cheesy darkish tunes. Skipping the Cult cover, the album takes an interlude with a “ballad” which was supposed to be emo and perhaps even touching. Yet, it sounds like even 14 year-old French girls can have difficulty shedding tears while listening to “From the deep” (oh man, look at the name!). After recovering from this song, you can get back to the spirit of occasional head-bangs and melodic black goth tunes of TdV. The remaining songs will ensure you that you will not miss a moment without the aforementioned spirit, and the album will close with yet another quite lame “ballad”!
The weakest part of TdV is its vocals. Sonya Scarlet can be a sexy gal, yet her voice cannot really race the other female vocals within the same genre (cf. Floor Jansen of (RIP) After Forever and ReVamp). No wonder, perhaps the band pushes her sexiness in front to cover her vocal insufficiencies. Let’s cross our fingers that their new album (which was scheduled for January 2011) will not suffer from similar mistakes.
– Can Baskent
VITALS:
Release: 2008
Label: Aural Music
Avantgenre: Erotic Goth Cliche
Duration: 45:19
Origin: Italy
Official site: http://www.theatres-des-vampires.net
Review online since: 10.01.2011 / 02:26:53
TRACKLIST:
01 – Kain
02 – Unspoken Words
03 – Rain (The Cult Cover)
04 – Dust
05 – From The Deep
06 – Blood Addiction
07 – Butterfly
08 – Wherever You Are
09 – Two Seconds
10 – Anima Noir
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