CoC : Theatres des Vampires - Pleasure and Pain : Review

Theatres des Vampires - _Pleasure and Pain_
(DreamCell 11, 2005)
by: Pedro Azevedo (5 out of 10)

Theatres des Vampires play modern gothic metal, with a major emphasis on all things gothic, and obviously a theatrical, vampiric overtone -- theirs is certainly an adequate band name. Gothic male vocals combine with a female voice and occasional distorted vocals, while the guitars and drums have precious little heavy or extreme metal in them. What Theatres des Vampires aim for is keyboard enhanced atmospheres, dramatic vocals and catchy choruses to carry them through the album. While the band cannot be automatically faulted for their choice of genre, they do lack some kind of spark in their songwriting to drag the album away from the realm of the instantly forgettable. There is nothing particularly remarkable going on throughout _Pleasure and Pain_, with the well polished sound turning out to be ultimately inconsequential. For all its convoluted vocals, _Pleasure and Pain_ fails to convey much emotion through that particular medium; it also falls well below the standards of efforts like The Vision Bleak's recent _Carpathia_ in terms of mixing gothic atmospheres and metallic crunch. Overall it isn't a bad effort per se, but even dedicated fans of the gothic metal genre are likely to find that it lacks distinctive qualities -- unless you are entirely willing to dispense with the metal side of things altogether and stick to gothic rock, in which case you might want to add an extra couple of points to my rating.

Contact: http://www.theatres-des-vampires.com

(article published 31/10/2005)