Theatre of Tragedy
Forever Is The World

The Theatre Of Tragedy, both a blessing and curse for many lovers of gothic metal sounds, return these days with a new album - «Forever Is The World» - which comes three years after the previous «Storm». The breakup with Liv Kristine is a thing of the past, and the "new" singer Nell Sigland has been permanently in place for nearly a decade now, and she delivered a convincing performance on the previous work.

Most are aware of the various transformations this Norwegian band has undergone: I loved them with the magnificent triplet «Theatre Of Tragedy»/«Velvet Darkness They Fear»/«Aégis» (the first two different from the third, but all high-level in my opinion), they literally baffled me with «Assembly» (where they deployed a mix of industrial metal and electro-pop), I learned to appreciate «Musique» (prior to «Assembly», built with the same bricks but with infinitely more skill) and finally found themselves "stranded" in a gothic metal/rock with easy choruses in «Storm». So what to expect with this new work? Before its release on their official website, they had uploaded as many as four samples, each averaging 1:30 min. I'll just tell you that the day I heard the preview of "Hide And Seek", a few seconds after hitting 'play', I exclaimed: "Oh my God! Raymond growls again!!!" I was over the moon; TOT was winking at the production from 13-15 years ago! I was therefore eager to hear the entire work; my curiosity was definitely piqued by then.

So it was with hope and a hint of fear that I approached the listening. The opener is indeed "Hide And Seek": verses entrusted to Raymond's grieved yet never violent growl (bringing a tear to the eye, recalling the glories of VDTF) and a melodic chorus with Nell as the protagonist. Well, let's set the first two markers: Raymond still knows how to growl and does it quite well, yet his role in this track is quite limited; the choruses are more or less in the same melodic line as those in «Storm». 'Okay, onward.' Following in sequence are "A Nine Days Wonder", "Revolution", and "Transition". "Something is wrong...", I thought. Indeed: Raymond is no longer heard. The first half of the album is completely Nell's domain (except for the first track). Now: the lady has indeed a pleasant voice, but in the long run - a personal thought - it becomes tiring because it's too monotonous, sticking to a single type of interpretation. She's no Liv, and in my opinion, she can't afford to keep pressing the same button. As a result, these tracks slip by almost anonymously even though they present something characteristic (the vocal lines of the verses in "A Nine Days Wonder", the introduction of "Revolution", and the tail of "Transition"; but that's not enough). Then comes the following "Hollow" where Raymond returns - once again with his growl - but yet again it's just a fleeting appearance, as almost the entirety of the track is entrusted to Nell. This song is still more enjoyable than the previous three. With the next "Astray", there's a partial shift in direction: there are indeed syncopated riffs of industrial rock style (Mr. Manson came to mind), supported by Raymond's clean voice, who finally has more space here. A nice little 'experiment'. Then comes the most deserving track: "Frozen". The tones become more melancholic and dark, the tempos slower, a bit doom, and it really feels like a return to the older production of Theatre of Tragedy, one could even partially compare it to "Black As The Devil Painteth" (from VDTF). Definitely the best performance of this new work. It continues with "Illusions", which has good synths and good vocal performances from both singers; above average compared to other compositions. "Deadland" is quite dull, a child of the Storm-style and in line with tracks 2, 3, and 4 (and there's only Nell). So we reach the finale with the title track, "Forever Is The World", melodic, a bit symphonic, and slightly more slowed down (and here too, Nell is the "despot").

It's time to take stock: «Forever Is The World» is half a disappointment; it takes the worst of «Storm» - which in itself is not a bad album, quite the contrary, it's quite enjoyable even if not very long-lasting - namely the slightly predictable choruses (which here are more predictable and banal) and mixes it with ideas inspired by the band's early glorious period, some marginal uses of electronics (mainly for the conclusion or introduction of some pieces), and a certain overall dark mood. The result is indeed a more varied album - primarily due to the addition of growl missing for years - but that at the same time loses impact and appeal, especially due to uninviting choruses and even more for the almost "vocal monopoly of Nell" at the expense of Raymond (now I understand why in the promotional photos, he was almost sidelined! Good grief!). This latter solution really loses many points for this new effort that perhaps could have turned out better. My final score is therefore a 3, hoping that over time maybe this album becomes more 'enjoyable'. I hope TOT can work in this direction, looking for a meeting point between old and new, but resulting in something more engaging. A first step has been taken, albeit a slightly limping one; but it has been made.