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Velvet Darkness They Fear is the second studio album by the Norwegian gothic metal band Theatre of Tragedy. It was released in 1996 by Massacre Records. The album was issued in the US by Century Media Records in 1997.
| Velvet Darkness They Fear | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 18 August 1996 | |||
| Recorded | Commusication Studio, Beindersheim, Germany, July 1996 | |||
| Genre | Gothic metal, death-doom, symphonic metal | |||
| Length | 52:00 | |||
| Language | English, Early Modern English, German | |||
| Label | Massacre | |||
| Producer | Pete "Pee Wee" Coleman | |||
| Theatre of Tragedy chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Velvet Darkness They Fear | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Chronicles of Chaos |   [2] |
In 2021, it was elected by Metal Hammer as the 14th best symphonic metal album of all time.[3]
Music
editVelvet Darkness They Fear continued Theatre of Tragedy's particular brand of gothic metal, first heard in their first album, Theatre of Tragedy, defined by alternating and occasionally overlapping male death growls and sung female vocals. This style, which was copied later by many metal bands, is generally known as 'Beauty and the Beast'.[4][5]
Velvet Darkness They Fear also continued the use of Raymond Rohonyi's Early Modern English lyrics. "Der Tanz der Schatten", which is written in German, is the exception. The songs themselves rarely have a clear story, but death, undeath, demons and similar supernatural elements are all prominent. The lyrics to the songs are referred to within the sleeve notes as 'plays', 'poems' and one 'soliloquy', depending on the parts the singers play.
The fifth track, "And When He Falleth", includes a section of Jane Asher and Vincent Price's dialogue from the film The Masque of the Red Death.
The album sold over 125,000 copies.[citation needed]
Track listing
editAll lyrics are written by Raymond Rohonyi, except "Der Tanz der Schatten" by Rohonyi, Gerhard Magin and Tilo Wolff; all music is composed by Theatre of Tragedy, except where indicated
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Velvet Darkness They Fear" | 1:05 | |
| 2. | "Fair and 'Guiling Copesmate Death" | 7:05 | |
| 3. | "Bring Forth Ye Shadow" | Theatre of Tragedy and Pål Bjåstad | 6:49 |
| 4. | "Seraphic Deviltry" | 5:09 | |
| 5. | "And When He Falleth" | Theatre of Tragedy and Pål Bjåstad | 7:09 |
| 6. | "Der Tanz der Schatten" | Theatre of Tragedy and Pål Bjåstad | 5:27 |
| 7. | "Black as the Devil Painteth" | 5:27 | |
| 8. | "On Whom the Moon Doth Shine" | 6:15 | |
| 9. | "The Masquerader and Phoenix" | 7:35 | |
| Total length: | 52:00 | ||
Personnel
editTheatre of Tragedy
edit- Raymond Rohonyi - vocals
- Liv Kristine Espenæs - vocals
- Tommy Lindal - guitars
- Geir Flikkeid - guitars and e-bow
- Lorentz Aspen - piano, synthesizer, strings composition
- Eirik T. Saltrø - bass
- Hein Frode Hansen - drums
Additional musicians
edit- Streicherensemble Nedelfo Boiadjiev - strings
Production
edit- Pete Coleman - producer, engineer, mixing
- Gerhard Magin - engineer, mixing, mastering
- Klaus Wagenleiter - strings composition and arrangements, strings recording at MTS Albstadt
- Tom Krüger - strings recording
External links
edit- Discography at Theatre of Tragedy's official website
References
edit- ^ Huey, Steve. "Theatre of Tragedy - Velvet Darkness They Fear review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
- ^ Azevedo, Pedro (4 February 1997). "Theatre of Tragedy - _Velvet Darkness They Fear_". Chronicles of Chaos. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
- ^ Davies, Hywel; Dome, Malcolm; Goodman, Eleanor; Chantler, Chris; Gordon, Connie; Grady, Spencer; Rees, Adam; Selzer, Jonathan (17 November 2021). "The 25 best symphonic metal albums". Metal Hammer. Future plc. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
- ^ Reesman, Bryan (1 November 2007). "They Will Rise: Metal's female ranks on the move". GRAMMY.com. Retrieved 9 August 2013.[dead link]
- ^ Batmaz, Murat. "Theatre of Tragedy - Storm". Sea of Tranquility.org. Retrieved 12 April 2014.