Theatre Of Tragedy
Genre: Gothic Metal
Origin: Norway
Status: Active
One of the most popular gothic metal bands employing a "beauty and the beast" style (growling, male death metal vocals alongside an operatic, female soprano), Theatre of Tragedy expands their influence in the arena of female-fronted metal with every new release.
Theatre of Tragedy has certainly had an interesting career to watch, changing their style and lineup frequently. The mainstays in the band have been founder and male vocalist Raymond Rohonyi, drummer Hein Hansen, and keyboardist Lorentz Aspen; guitar and bass duties have been handled by a stable of rotating musicians. Early albums fall squarely in the doomdeath subgenre, with Aégis evolving into a more atmospheric gothic metal sound. After that, Musique and Assembly dove straight into industrial electronica, a huge and inexplicable change.
Shortly after the release of Assembly, Liv Kristine either left the group or was fired, depending on whose version of the story you believe. Regardless, she quickly started a new project, Leave's Eyes, with her husband and members of his band Atrocity.
Apparently, the combination of a shift into electronica and the loss of Liv Kristine cost Theatre of Tragedy a sizable chunk of their fanbase, as the search for a new lady vocalist produced Nell Sigland, a Liv soundalike, as well as their latest album, Storm, which hails a return to the gothic metal which first shot the band to fame. Storm has much brighter production values and a bit more of a pop metal sound, but is otherwise a return to form for a very talented group.
Darktronica favorites are "Siren," "...A Distance There Is," "And When He Falleth," and "Storm."
Members
Former members:
Eirik Saltrø - bass
Band Links
Theatre Of Tragedy Discography
Last updated November 29, 2009.