Theatre Of Tragedy
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Theatre of Tragedy was a Norwegian band from
Stavanger Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...
, active between 1993 and 2010. They are best known for their earlier albums, which influenced the
gothic metal Gothic metal (or goth metal) is a fusion genre combining the aggression of heavy metal with the dark atmospheres of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy met ...
genre.


History


Formation (1993)

Theatre of Tragedy was founded on 2 October 1993 by vocalist Raymond István Rohonyi, guitarists Pål Bjåstad and Tommy Lindal. Drummer
Hein Frode Hansen Hein Frode Hansen (born 25 March 1972 in Haugesund) is a Norwegian heavy metal drummer. He was the original vocalist of the power metal band Serpent, formed in 1989. In 1990 he started playing drums in the death metal band Phobia. Both bands b ...
had recently quit his former band Phobia and started looking for a new musical project to play in. A friend of his told Hein that a band called Suffering Grief was looking for a new drummer, and after contacting them, he joined the band. At the time, Suffering Grief was composed of vocalist Raymond István Rohonyi and guitarists Pål Bjåstad and Tommy Lindal. No bassist had joined the band yet, but Eirik T. Saltrø had agreed to play with them in live concerts. After finding a rehearsal place, the band decided to work upon a couple of
piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
arrangements composed by
Lorentz Aspen Lorentz Aspen (born 23 April 1978 in Stavanger) is a Norwegian heavy metal pianist and keyboardist. He played in Theatre of Tragedy from 2 October 1993 to 2 October 2010 and with them he released seven studio albums, one live album and five EP ...
. The vocals, at the time, were almost entirely composed of raw
death grunt A death growl, or simply growl, is an extended vocal technique usually employed in extreme styles of music, particularly in death metal and other extreme subgenres of heavy metal music. Death growl vocals are sometimes criticized for their ...
s. After composing their first song, "Lament of the Perishing Roses", the band changed its name to La Reine Noir and then to Theatre of Tragedy. They subsequently invited singer
Liv Kristine Espenæs Liv Kristine Espenæs (born 14 February 1976) is a Norwegian singer who has performed and composed songs mostly for various subgenres of heavy metal music. She started her career in the music industry as a vocalist for the gothic metal band Th ...
- Rohonyi's then girlfriend - to do female vocals for one song, but quickly invited her to join the band permanently.


First five albums (1994–2002)

In 1994, their first studio
demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...
was recorded, and in 1995, the debut album ''
Theatre of Tragedy Theatre of Tragedy was a Norwegian band from Stavanger, active between 1993 and 2010. They are best known for their earlier albums, which influenced the gothic metal genre. History Formation (1993) Theatre of Tragedy was founded on 2 October 19 ...
'' was released, followed by ''
Velvet Darkness They Fear ''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 elect ...
'' in 1996 and the ''
A Rose for the Dead ''A Rose for the Dead'' is an EP released by the Norwegian gothic metal band Theatre of Tragedy in 1997. It was the band's last release using the doom metal-influenced sound that Theatre of Tragedy had originally adopted. "A Rose for the Dead" a ...
'' EP in 1997, which contained unreleased material from ''Velvet Darkness They Fear''. Arguably, the band reached the apogee of its career in 1998, with the release of the critically acclaimed album '' Aégis''. Released in 2000, '' Musique'' was a massive departure from the gothic metal sound that Theatre of Tragedy had developed over the previous three albums. The heavy guitars and
Early Modern English Early Modern English or Early New English (sometimes abbreviated EModE, EMnE, or ENE) is the stage of the English language from the beginning of the Tudor period to the English Interregnum and Restoration, or from the transition from Middle E ...
lyrics were replaced by
electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...
and
industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...
-influenced metal. It was met with a very mixed reception, and while some older fans were understandably shocked by the new direction of the band, it did gain them a number of new fans. With 2002's ''
Assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...
'', the band continued along the same musical path as on their previous album. It was seen as a more refined and confident electropop record than its predecessor. It was also the first album to feature their long-time session guitarist, Vegard K. Thorsen, as a full member of the band.


Departure of Liv Kristine and ''Storm'' (2003–2007)

In August 2003, the band declared in an official statement on their website that Liv Kristine was removed from the band's line-up due to "musical differences which could not be bridged". Female singer
Nell Sigland Ragnhild Westgaard "Nell" Sigland (born 13 November 1976) is a Norwegian singer from Hamar, best known as the lead vocalist of Norwegian gothic metal band Theatre of Tragedy from 2004 to 2010. She was also the lead singer for Norwegian gothic ro ...
(from The Crest) joined Theatre of Tragedy on the following year. In winter 2004/2005, the band performed a short concert tour (together with
Pain Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, ...
,
Sirenia The Sirenia (), commonly referred to as sea-cows or sirenians, are an order of fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit swamps, rivers, estuaries, marine wetlands, and coastal marine waters. The Sirenia currently comprise two distinct f ...
, and
Tiamat In Mesopotamian religion, Tiamat ( akk, or , grc, Θαλάττη, Thaláttē) is a primordial goddess of the sea, mating with Abzû, the god of the groundwater, to produce younger gods. She is the symbol of the chaos of primordial creati ...
) with Sigland singing. The band released their sixth
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
''
Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmos ...
'' on 24 March 2006, and a
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an tour followed, with
Gothminister Gothminister is a Norwegian gothic/industrial metal band. Formed in 1999, they have released six albums and have had success in Germany, playing many German music festivals, including Wave-Gotik-Treffen (WGT), the Dark Storm Festival, and the M ...
as supporting act. The album's title song was released as a single on 24 February 2006. While still keeping on the industrial and electronic roots of the last two albums, the album showed a return to some of the sounds developed in their first albums.


''Forever Is the World'' (2008–2009)

On 2 October 2008, Theatre of Tragedy celebrated their 15th anniversary. In December 2008 the band posted a snippet of new track "Frozen," which was expected to be on the new album, on their MySpace music page:
"Time for some updates. Things are slowly moving forward with the next album. As usual with the Theatre machinery there is many things to take into consideration when doing stuff and recently we were forced to change collaborators for the production of the album, and postpone the recordings. But fear not the heavy responsibility has been entrusted to Alexander Møklebust (Zeromancer, Seigmen, Gåte, Monomen, Delaware etc) and the ToT crew will enter Room 13 in May and June for recordings and general mayhem! Estimated release from AFM is end of September. Rumor has it that there will be a vinyl version for the diehard fans. We will keep you posted."
In June 2009 saw the band reveal ''Forever Is the World'' as the title of the new album. Their 7th album was released in Europe on 21 September 2009, with the band making a step towards their earlier sound of ''Aégis''. A special tour edition of ''Forever Is the World'' was issued on 12 March 2010. The tour edition contained a bonus CD known as the ''Addenda EP'', which contains song reworkings and unreleased tracks. Metal Mind Productions issued a press release in July stating that they were, with the co-operation of the band, re-releasing '' Musique'' and ''
Assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...
''. Both albums have been remastered and will be backed with bonus tracks. New liner notes and artwork are said to be a part of the package. Each album is limited to 2000 numbered copies.


Breakup and aftermath (2010–present)

On 1 March 2010, Theatre of Tragedy issued a statement informing fans of their decision to split on 2 October 2010. The statement cited personal desires to spend more time with family and an inability to juggle their everyday working lives with a "rock and roll" lifestyle. On 12 March, Theatre of Tragedy kicked off their farewell tour, "Forever is the World Tour". The Norwegian symphonic goth metal band Where Angels Fall opened for them on the European part of the tour. In September, fans helped the band to secure funds to finish their first and last DVD by making donations when the label pulled out most of the funding for the production. The result was Last Curtain Call, a concert film from their very last show on 2 October 2010 in their hometown Stavanger. On 5 July 2013, the band's first three albums were re-released and
remastered Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...
. In December 2015, Liv Kristine did a tour across Germany, Belgium, Russia, Poland, Netherlands, and United Kingdom, with her own solo project. She performed songs from her solo project and from Theatre of Tragedy like she usually does in solo concerts. Moreover, Raymond István Rohonyi joined her on this tour. She also played at the Metal Female Voices Fest XIII on 23 October 2016 along with Raymond. They also played a few songs of Theatre of Tragedy like they did in December 2015. The band members have stated, however, that there are no plans for a Theatre of Tragedy reunion, explaining that it is "as likely as a
Doors A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide security b ...
reunion with the original lineup. No one has been approached or not approached."


Musical style

The band made use of contrasting vocals – male bass vocals (making some use of
death grunt A death growl, or simply growl, is an extended vocal technique usually employed in extreme styles of music, particularly in death metal and other extreme subgenres of heavy metal music. Death growl vocals are sometimes criticized for their ...
s) and female soprano singing (commonly referred to as "Beauty and the Beast" vocals) – and on their first three albums, presented lyrics written predominantly in
Early Modern English Early Modern English or Early New English (sometimes abbreviated EModE, EMnE, or ENE) is the stage of the English language from the beginning of the Tudor period to the English Interregnum and Restoration, or from the transition from Middle E ...
. Starting from the album '' Musique'', however, Theatre of Tragedy made drastic changes to its style, which became significantly inspired by the
industrial rock Industrial rock is a fusion genre that fuses industrial music and rock music. It initially originated in the 1970s, and drew influence from early experimental and industrial acts such as Cromagnon, Throbbing Gristle, Einstürzende Neubauten a ...
genre, abandoning Early Modern English writing and death grunts in the process. On their two last releases, ''
Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmos ...
'' and ''
Forever Is The World ''Forever Is the World'' is the seventh and final studio album by the Norwegian gothic metal band Theatre of Tragedy. It was released on 18 September 2009, on AFM Records. The album was produced by the Zeromancer singer Alexander Møklebust and ...
'', the band returned to a more classic gothic rock/metal sound.


Members


Final lineup

* Raymond István Rohonyi –
unclean vocals A death growl, or simply growl, is an extended vocal technique usually employed in extreme styles of music, particularly in death metal and other extreme subgenres of heavy metal music. Death growl vocals are sometimes criticized for their ...
(1993–2010) *
Hein Frode Hansen Hein Frode Hansen (born 25 March 1972 in Haugesund) is a Norwegian heavy metal drummer. He was the original vocalist of the power metal band Serpent, formed in 1989. In 1990 he started playing drums in the death metal band Phobia. Both bands b ...
– drums (1993–2010) *
Lorentz Aspen Lorentz Aspen (born 23 April 1978 in Stavanger) is a Norwegian heavy metal pianist and keyboardist. He played in Theatre of Tragedy from 2 October 1993 to 2 October 2010 and with them he released seven studio albums, one live album and five EP ...
– keyboards, synthesizers (1993–2010) *
Frank Claussen Frank Claussen (born 19 March 1976 in Stavanger) is a Norwegian heavy metal guitarist. From 1997 to 2010 he played in Theatre of Tragedy, and with them released six studio albums, a live album and several studio EP's. With Theatre of Traged ...
– guitars (1997–2010) * Vegard K. Thorsen – guitars (2000–2010) *
Nell Sigland Ragnhild Westgaard "Nell" Sigland (born 13 November 1976) is a Norwegian singer from Hamar, best known as the lead vocalist of Norwegian gothic metal band Theatre of Tragedy from 2004 to 2010. She was also the lead singer for Norwegian gothic ro ...
– clean vocals (2004–2010) * Erik Torp – session bass (2010)


Pre-final lineup members

*
Liv Kristine Liv Kristine Espenæs (born 14 February 1976) is a Norwegian singer who has performed and composed songs mostly for various subgenres of heavy metal music. She started her career in the music industry as a vocalist for the gothic metal band Thea ...
– vocals (1993–2003) * Eirik T. Saltrø – bass (1993–2000) * Magnus Westgaard – bass (2006, 2009) * Tommy Lindal – guitar (1993–1997) * Pål Bjåstad – guitar (1993–1995) * Geir Flikkeid – guitar (1995–1997) * Mathias Röderer – guitar (1996) – session musician * Tommy Olsson – guitar (1997–1999) * Bjørnar Landa – guitar (2006) – session musician


Timeline


Discography


Studio albums


Live albums


DVDs


EPs


Singles


References


External links


Official website
* {{Authority control 1993 establishments in Norway Norwegian gothic metal musical groups Norwegian doom metal musical groups Norwegian industrial music groups Norwegian electronic music groups Musical groups established in 1993 Musical groups disestablished in 2010 2010 disestablishments in Norway Musical groups from Stavanger Former Massacre Records artists