Theatres des Vampires
Nightbreed of Macabria

Roman band of good relevance even abroad and initially proponents of symphonic black metal, with this "Nightbreed Of Macabria", our Theatres Des Vampires shift towards more distinctly gothic shores. Preempting that this is the only album of theirs that I own and have listened to, I will frame this review as if they haven't made others, so as not to be misled by their musical past.

The present work, as far as I'm concerned, stands at a solid six (on a scale of values from 1 to 10). From the first listen, I found them to be contrived, constructed at the table and engaged in fields where others have tread more effectively and with better results. Musically, the work flows well, but doesn't offer any special sensations, except one: that of finding oneself almost more in front of the soundtrack of a Tim Burton movie (see "Nightmare Before Christmas" or "Corpse Bride"). In short, I am unable to take them seriously, although the various tracks are, all things considered, nice and listenable. Perhaps the fault lies in the lyrics, adolescent and, frankly, somewhat unsuitable for a record, even if it's gothic music. Indeed, take a look at this quote from the second track, "A Macabre Banquet": "you will know the clowns/you will know the minstrel/you will know the dancer/you will know the angel of lust/it's Macabria... we want that you stay here, it's the 666th day of DEADcember (sic)."

Avoiding clichés (the 666, the frankly rather ridiculous names), as soon as I heard these verses, numerous macabre computer-generated figures immediately came to mind, gathered in a circle around a poor unfortunate soul who, for unknown reasons, ended up in a parallel horrific reality, this Macabria, land of vampires, nightmares, and monsters. In short, "Nightmare Before Christmas" with its complement of faceless clowns, witches, lycanthropes, Boogeymen, and demonic children. And unfortunately, that image never left, forcing me to label this album as a disappointing product aimed only at a certain type of audience, perhaps those who strongly believe in these things, who love this macabre-cartoonish atmosphere, or who are looking for something lighter than what they regularly listen to.

I repeat, musically the album flows well, but it is undermined by its lack of originality and its coarse artifice.

The best tracks: "A Macabre Banquet" (though the words shouldn't be listened to!), "Lady In Black", "Luciferia", "Macabria", "The Course Of Headless Christ", and "The Undertaker & The Crow", perhaps the one I appreciate the most of the entire batch.

Melancholy flows, powerful and full riffs, keyboard inserts worthy of a film... In short, technically we're there, the band undoubtedly knows how to do their job, the two voices (male and female) alternate excellently, he more brutal and, when needed, set on operatic tones, she seductive, alluring and wicked. With a hint of more originality, greater independence from their sources (undoubtedly those from Rice's "Vampire Chronicles" as well as the aforementioned Burton cartoons) and more refined lyrics, perhaps the album could have been an excellent piece, but as it is, it doesn’t go beyond sufficiency.

Listen to it with an awareness of these flaws, to avoid ruining what is still a sufficient work; for lovers of certain atmospheres, however, I feel I can fully recommend it.