Velvet Darkness They Fear

Velvet Darkness They Fear
Studio album by
Theatre of Tragedy
Released18 August 1996
RecordedCommusication Studio, Beindersheim, Germany, July 1996
GenreGothic metal, death-doom, symphonic metal
Length52:00
LanguageEnglish, Early Modern English, German
LabelMassacre
ProducerPete "Pee Wee" Coleman
Theatre of Tragedy chronology
Theatre of Tragedy
(1995) 		Velvet Darkness They Fear
(1996) 		A Rose for the Dead
(1997)
Singles from Velvet Darkness They Fear
  1. "Der Tanz der Schatten"
    Released: 16 September 1996
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Chronicles of Chaos[2]

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.

In 2021, it was elected by Metal Hammer as the 14th best symphonic metal album of all time.[3]

Music

Velvet 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

All 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.TitleMusicLength
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 Bjåstad6:49
4."Seraphic Deviltry" 5:09
5."And When He Falleth"Theatre of Tragedy and Pål Bjåstad7:09
6."Der Tanz der Schatten"Theatre of Tragedy and Pål Bjåstad5:27
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

Theatre of Tragedy

Additional musicians

  • Streicherensemble Nedelfo Boiadjiev - strings

Production

  • 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

References

  1. ^ Huey, Steve. "Theatre of Tragedy - Velvet Darkness They Fear review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  2. ^ Azevedo, Pedro (4 February 1997). "Theatre of Tragedy - _Velvet Darkness They Fear_". Chronicles of Chaos. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ Reesman, Bryan (1 November 2007). "They Will Rise: Metal's female ranks on the move". GRAMMY.com. Retrieved 9 August 2013.[dead link‍]
  5. ^ Batmaz, Murat. "Theatre of Tragedy - Storm". Sea of Tranquility.org. Retrieved 12 April 2014.