Disco de Theatre of Tragedy: “Velvet Darkness They Fear”

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!!!)

This is the first TOT album I ever bought! I heard the first three minutes of it and had to have it! I was not disappointed in the least! These guys (and girl!) turned me on to other great male/female vocal bands that are equally great, such as Lacuna Coil, Tristania, and Within Temptation (I recommend buying all you can by them, as well!) This CD is classic TOT: melodic and heavy guitars and keyboards fronted by harsh male vocals countered with an enchanting female soprano (Liv, you're a goddess!)! Songs that stick in my mind as being excellent are Fair and Guiling Copesmate Death, Bring Forth ye Shadow, Black as the Devil Painteth (with some clean male singing!), and the unbelievably awesome On whom the Moon doth Shine (my personal favorite!). This CD is full of emotion and talent that is to be expected from such a passionate group of musicians!

Velvet Darkness They Fear is, of course, Theatre of Tragedy's second masterpiece, released in 1996. Many consider this to be their best work yet (even Liv Kristine deems it her favorite), but I would have to disagree. While the band sounds better, and the production too, the songwriting has a tendency to be a tad inconsistent in certain places. While there are some very entrancing melodies, I find that at many points the songs become repetitive and/or drawn out. Of course, as with any TOT record, you become adjusted to this after multiple listens, and some of the melodies are truly captivating, but be prepared to listen to this over and over again in order to understand it. It is probably TOT's most complex album, but also one of the most rewarding. As I said, everyone sounds great. Raymond and Liv are at their best on this album, and his "beast" complements her "beauty" magnificently. Tommy Lindal's guitars are once again, sludgy and heavy, very typical of TOT (unfortunately, due to nerve injuries, his time in TOT was cut short, VDTF being his last album). Hein Frode Hansen and Eirik T. Saltro round out the rhythm section, with newcomer Geil Flikkeid on guitars, and Lorentz Aspen on keyboards. Album highlights for me include "Fair and 'Guiling Copesmate Death", "Bring Forth Ye Shadow", "And When He Falleth", the mesmerizing "Der Tanz der Schatten" and the spine-tingling "Black as the Devil Painteth" (one of TOT's best songs). All the others are great too.

I wouldn't recommend Velvet Darkness They Fear as a first TOT purchase, let that be the debut or Aegis. But make sure you do pick this up somewhere down the road - you won't regret it!

9.4/10

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!

Lord chimp is as idiotic as his name, the angelic vocals of lev kristen sound great when combined with the harsh growls of death metal vocalists. Her voice sounds great mixed with these guys, great with leaves' eyes but my favorite was when she mixed her vocals with dani filths growls, so check out these other ones as well as buying this c.d. the contrast sounds great!!!!