Aégis

So this is a quasi-perfect depiction of what this entire sub-genre longs to be, which, how often can you ever say that of an album ? The songs are basically all perfectly written, the melodies elite. Each and every chorus is a moment of absolute musical bliss in its own right. They nailed the production. Et cetera. Let's cut this intro short and unpack the masterful craft of this rare gem.

'Cassandra' kicks this one off and, immediately, there's that snare. A trusty snare that would be a companion for the whole album, deliberately loud in the mix; central in those opening seconds, as it commands the attention, soaking up all the reverb for itself, like loneliness itself appearing suddenly at the center of the picture. That snare alone before the guitars even arrive, is poetic. And as the guitars do enter the scene, they prove to be an extension of that loneliness, expressed in arpeggios that bring about something like the melancholy of early breezy autumn. Later, Liv Kristine appears like an angel's voice out of the pitch black obscurity, glowing softly with her luminous aura, as if forlorn and walking aimlessly in the distance. During that moment the reverb is again delectable, and instead of going with redundant toms to oppose the kicks/snare, they use a sort of clap, and in the bare quietness every second is made more precious, more poetic. When that part comes back on later, it's in full instrumental, and it's like the autumnal breeze from before has now turned into a cold windstorm, permeated by a palpable lyricism as dark as it is genuinely enchanting, practically haunting with how regretful and sorrowful it can't help but be. Like this necessary sense of desperation. The next song via its chorus introduces a grandeur, a sort of lordly reverence on 'Lorelei', resisted by the vaporous purity of the female counterpart pushing back. A true depiction through the human voice of the male/female dynamic. The suspended power chords rather than bringing a harsh metal edge to the mix give a more immersive facet to the experience than mere acoustic guitars would, and their role is rather to serve the ensemble and not to create a spotlight for themselves.

The irresistible 'Angélique' follows, and quite frankly, even in those opening seconds merely, how does one not succumb to its glorious balance of lamenting passion and beaming exuberance ? It's just the perfect combination of individual notes and backing chords. The buildup in the verse is simply lovely. How well they manage first that characteristic quietness at the start; solemn strings at the back; that grows with the added rich vocal harmonies that seem to actually double the impact of the part. Then enter the distortion guitars, passional and intensifying, before the awe-inspiring release for all that work: the chorus. Again the seamless synergy between the melody lines for vocals and clean guitars together: immaculate. And as the chorus comes to an end, that name called out ever so softly in a three-note ascending motif: "An-gé-lique". The whole is just unadulterated beauty.'Aœde' lends a bit of mysticism and a hint of heaviness, with a more defiant energy to it. The chorus is as fine as the others so far. Exquisite with arrangements and texture; here a mysterious, muffled submarine-type pluck modestly dressing up the background and complementing the excellent composition; with the instrumental structure like a red carpet for the vocals to triumph in a dramatic climax. This time, the female name in the title whispered rancorously at the end by the male singer, showing off that smooth ability to mix things up. This album is so far from formulaic.

Perhaps the most Aegis sounding track on Aegis, 'Siren', now starts playing and lays out its initial premise in the form of a muted (yet still atmospheric) drum beat with a few piano notes, estranged and hungry for warmth, shortly before the heavy guitars and drums oblige with their thunderous arrival onto the scene. A quiet now captures that scene, and Liv Kristine fills the silence and wintry cold air with her unmatched grace warm like morning spring, which she surely has an endless amount of. A moment before the pre-chorus pours out its heart-wrenching storm of emotion, two hard snares followed by two tom strokes and then it's possibly the most prototypical moment on the whole album. "I speer thine pine, Ryking for me: Ryking for thee; Wistful, whistful - Chancing to lure.", essentially translating to: "I seek your pain. Reaching for me, reaching for you. Wistful. Hoping to lure you in". If that, in concert with the music, isn't dearly touching and a beacon of pure classic romanticism, I'm not sure what is. And the lyrics, written in a Shakespearean style are not the try-hard tripe one might imagine and are seriously engaging, if not outright poignant in moments.

The verse on 'Venus' is so deeply sorrowful, perhaps tragic in a sense, it's afflicting and could take your smile away if you'd just won the million-dollar lottery a minute earlier. It's moving enough in a purely romanticist way that after hearing it I ought to run into the forest, naked, reciting some Goethe poetry in its native German. This shit right here is Sturm und Drang in music. And that wasn't comic relief. I'm going right now.

Theatre of Tragedy are a band I have a lot of respect for. They kickstarted the whole female-fronted doom/gothic metal scene with their 1995, self-titled debut album. They followed that up one year later with Velvet Darkness They Fear, which is perhaps the quintessential “beauty and the beast” album of the period, laying the blueprints of this specific brand of gothic metal for countless bands to follow. And, no doubt, many bands did follow, as the late 1990s saw an explosion of albums owing more than one debt to Theatre of Tragedy’s early catalogue. Commercially, the sensible thing to do for the band would have been to keep milking the same cow by releasing one or two more albums in the style of the self-title debut and Velvet Darkness They Fear. Instead, in 1998 the band released Aégis, dropping almost altogether the doom influences and the cavernous death growls of their previous albums, and veering instead towards a more energetic and accessible form of gothic metal that is closer to the 1980s darkwave and goth rock scene than the doom/death metal scene that the band came out of.

It’s a bold change, but not one that was totally unforeseeable. Already Velvet Darkness They Fear contained a couple of tracks, most noticeably the groovy “Der Tanz der Schatten”, that had a more marked gothic flavor. These influences are greatly magnified on Aégis. The guitar work, in particular, is very different from the death/doom sound of the band’s earlier albums. The change was probably facilitated by the departure of guitarist and founding member Tommy Lindal, who is here replaced by Frank Claussen and Tommy Olsson. Olsson in particular was likely a big influence on the band’s new sound direction, as he was previously the guitarist of Norwegian gothic rock band The Morendoes. However, the guitars on Aégis are heavier than what one would find on a typical gothic rock album, although they do have that downstroke, palm-muted chugging playing style that is typical of the genre. Clean arpeggios and effects are also used frequently, in stark contrast with the doomy, long-winding riffing style of the earlier albums.

Also differently from previous albums, Aégis presents a mixture of energetic up-tempo tracks as well as more subdued mid-tempos and ballads, but it almost always escapes the sluggish slowness of doom metal (“Siren” is perhaps the only track that gets closer to the band’s earlier doomy style). The drums are groovy and tight and, combined with pulsating bass lines, frequently conjure up the feel of late nights in dark goth clubs (“Lorelei”, “Aoede”, “Poppea”). The use of keyboards has also changed. On Aégis the clean guitars play the part that on earlier albums was reserved to the piano. Indeed, the piano is much less prominent here, as Lorentz Aspen more frequently uses synths and samplers instead.

The song structure is also leaner and more direct compared to the band’s previous two records, with abundant repetitions of the choruses and fewer middle-eights and instrumental detours. The vocal arrangements are also quite different. The dualism between Raymond Rohonyi and Liv Kristine Espenæs is still present. However, Raymond almost completely abandoned his cavernous growling style, embracing instead the spoken/crooning style he had already experimented with in some of the songs of Velvet Darkness They Fear. The growls only feature briefly on a handful of tracks (“Angélique”, “Venus” and “Bacchante”). Most of the time, Raymond resorts to a low-register, half-sung/half-spoken singing style that accompanies quite well the high-pitched vocals of Liv Kristine Espenæs. Her singing style is also somewhat different from previous albums, as she substituted her ethereal operatic style with a warmer and poppier approach. These changes, combined with the leaner and more energetic musical approach and simplified song structures, make the music much more accessible and agreeable, turning tracks like “Cassandra”, “Venus” and “Poppea” into irresistible gothic hits.

The album flows well from start to finish and it has a cohesive atmosphere that is dark and dramatic without being excessively morose and oppressive. A few songs stand out from the rest because they have particularly strong melodic hooks. The single “Cassandra” is one of those. Raymond’s vocal performance is top-notch as he manages to give the song a groovy, memorable chorus. Liv’s interjection in the second half of the song acts as perfect complement to Raymond’s dark crooning, showcasing the strengths of the new vocal approach. “Lorelei” is another memorable piece, moving between floor-dance gothic grooves, spoken vocal parts and ethereal female singing. “Aoede” and “Poppea” are two other groovy goth pieces, while “Venus” stands out for Liv’s beautiful vocal melodies and the lyrics in Latin. “Bacchante” is also worth mentioning as it is a slightly more experimental track than the rest, showcasing some vaguely industrial influences that foretell the imminent turn the band will take on their next album, the shockingly electrogoth / industrial Musique.

Overall, Aégis is a thoroughly enjoyable gothic metal album that is often regarded one of the best records released by Theatre of Tragedy. Personally, I believe their previous album, Velvet Darkness They Fear, is the true apex of the band’s catalogue, but Aégis comes close second. Groovy, energetic, and catchy, it presents a natural evolution of the band’s sound that is here perfectly suspended between the doom/death of the origins and the electrogoth of the next two albums, Musique and Assembly. Bursting with strong tracks and memorable hooks, the album is a treasure-trove of delights for those who like their metal dark, groovy and laced with fishnets and leather.

It’s always a curious activity to look through one’s favourite bands’ scores here at Metal Archives, especially long-standing bands who exploded onto the scene with truly great albums before the inevitable happens, key members leave and ‘evolution’ takes its bloody and terrible toll.

While I’ve always wanted to review ‘Aegis’ here, actually doing so is partly prompted by feeling a sickening sense of dread upon seeing that Theatre of Tragedy’s watered-down, Liv-less and lifeless rock album ‘Storm’ was only one percentage point behind it in the ratings. This was approaching an injustice that no man of sensible gothic conscience could countenance without immediate intervention.

The first two Theatre of Tragedy albums are magnificent works of renaissance atmosphere and imagery, especially ‘Velvet Darkness They Fear’, with its early-modern lyrics and medieval keyboard flourishes. Yet, Theatre of Tragedy’s third album, ‘Aegis’, evolved and stripped back, is a meisterwerk of gothic subtlety and maturity and is for me their greatest album. It seems to glow aurally with a darkness and warmth that are hallmarks of a work which transcends the sum of its parts and becomes something unique and even sacred. It was the case in 1998 and it remains so today.

The album begins with the haunting track ‘Cassandra’, that wisely holds Liv Kristine’s voice back until two-thirds of the way into the song before bringing her forth for that stunningly mellifluous chorus, the repetition of which is a compositional masterstroke by the band. Her voice is so soft and enticing, as if she’s whispering in the ear of the listener, and it’s so damn effective. Meanwhile, Raymond has eschewed the growled ‘beast’ vocals of yore and instigated a spoken word approach that works so beautifully well, and contrasts as successfully as the beauty and the beast style of the first two albums.

In ‘Lorelei’ Raymond and Liv trade lines in an engaging love story and the song offers a little more pace and energy, while ‘Venus’ similarly lifts the atmosphere with a plaintive and heart-wrenching chorus. All the tracks here contain a degree of dreamy unreality, as if Romantic poets had drunk a touch too much absinthe. ‘Bacchante’ ends with a less controlled sense of expression, in line with the lyrical and thematic context of the song and is a fitting coda. The songs flow and complement each other and there is purpose behind it all. The drums are steady yet almost devoid of fills and clatter, while the guitars fill the background modestly to allow the keyboards and vocals to lead the melodies and create the atmosphere.

The lyrics, as usual for early Theatre of Tragedy, are simply beautiful works of poetry in an historic English mode that is so evocative. Each song focuses on a woman or type of woman, with the thematic concept of their aegis – or ability to control – being about as apt and accurate a theme as you could imagine for 18 year old lovesick (Liv-sick?) me when I first heard this upon release all those years ago in 1998.

Most bands change, and Theatre of Tragedy would go on to emphasise and conform to the female-led vocals of the symphonic commercial metal wave, ditch the historic lyrics and settle into a more straight ahead song structure and style.

‘Storm’ is an album that demonstrates these traits, but in the name of Shakespeare, it pales - pales pitifully - when compared with the light, magic and mystery of the mighty ‘Aegis’.

I got the Theatre of Tragedy first two albums from a friend, and I listened to them for a couple of days but didn’t exactly spend sleepless nights with them. I found both endeavours an acceptable addition to the growing 90’s gothically beautified doom/death metal roster, but except for the not yet overused at the time “beauty & the beast” vocal duel there wasn’t much originality or musical audacity within them to keep me hooked to the guys’ (and a girl) cause indefinitely.

I bought the album reviewed here only cause I still had some spare cash after I had purchased four other cassettes (Therion’s “Vovin”, Destiny’s End’s “Breathe Deep the Dark”, The Kovenant’s “Nexus Polaris”, and Death’s “The Sound of Perseverance”) on the same day. A great day for me and for music in general with all these four being true masterpieces, each in their respective genre, that made 1998 the greatest year for metal from the 90’s, and a heralder for greater things for the whole metal circuit to come soon…

actually, five masterpieces if we count this “Aegis” here. Arriving a year after The Gathering’s colossal “Nighttime Birds”, this album alongside said Dutch act’s magnum opus brought the perfect culmination within the doom/gothic metal circuit, to such a depleting extent that it became futile and ultimately redundant for one to continue exploring this particular niche any further. The major difference between the two is that while “Nighttime Birds” is largely carried by Anneke van Giersbergen’s extraordinary vocal bravado (arguably the finest individual vocal performance in the annals of metal), on the album here it’s easier to acknowledge every musician’s contribution as Liv Kristine’s lyrical, soothing croons are a part of the whole rather than an upfront representation.

And this should by all means be the case as this opus is a 50-min long uninterrupted musical bliss, from the first to the last note, a spell-bindingly homogenous slab of beauty that almost single-handedly elevated the whole doom/gothic metal field to loftier, romantic dimensions where there was no necessity in any aggressive, bumpy death metal-ish dissipations anymore as the deeply established meditative idyll simply didn’t need them. In this train of thought the approach has been invariably changed compared to the preceding “Velvet Darkness They Fear” as aggression under either vocal or musical form here is out of the question. The “beast” is by all means present if not even occupying more space than before, but this time he merely emits placating clean semi-declamatory croons, perfectly fitting into the levelled, anti-climactic at times musical delivery. Mentioning the latter, doom isn’t featured in its primal antediluvian form anywhere, either, as this is more of a doom-peppered gothic metal opus, the transition greatly helped by the increased presence of the keyboards.

The fans will be only too well aware of the modified soundscapes once the opening “Cassandra” hits, a grand introspective gothic melancholia with a few bumpier rhythms along the way and the subdued male clean vocal presence that quietly leads the proceedings; just when you start wondering whether Liv Kristine is going to show up at all here, comes an extraordinary brief appearance from the diva to provide the poignant chorus. Her participation later is way more prominent, of course, but the vocal duties are strictly shared between the two sides Kristine taking over on the more elegiac, also more lyrical material like the angelic “Angelique”, and especially the supreme ode to enlightenment and illumination “Siren”, one of the greatest compositions of the 90’s and not only, an inimitable blend of heavy guitars and ethereal keyboards that alone certifies the perfect score given here. What’s truly amazing is that almost every other composition has been created with the same genius’ mindset to the point that the latter number can’t even be considered the absolute highlight, not in the presence of gems like the ethereal keyboard-infused symphony “Venus” Kristine giving a shattering Grammy-winning performance supported by the only more death metal-fixated male assistance; the gorgeous stomping intimidator “Aeode”, the only overtly doom metal-dominated piece here; the more energetic, but deeply emotional gothic metal roller-coasters “Lorelei” and “Poppaea” that acts like Lacuna Coil and Dreams of Sanity wouldn’t be able to produce even if their lives depended on it; and last but not least the grand closure “Bacchante”, an eccentric psychedelic blend of serene balladic etudes and macabre doomy guitars with the word “Celebration” serving as the supposed chorus, a very fitting choice having in mind what unforgettable celebration for all things great in music this whole album is.

Listening to this opus for over the 100th time at the moment, I try to figure what has made it such an indelible part of my life as a music/metal fan, and what would be the reason why I would listen to it another 100 times or more in the years to come… this introvert romantic, openly poignant at times, stuff shouldn’t be sticking with me, someone who has been bred and raised on “atrocities” like thrash, death and the likes… it still beats me as I can’t find a logical justification to that; could be the still audible ties to the good old doom, the one that I also love with all the passion I can muster… I don’t know, and I don’t care really anymore as all those great things exist out there just like that, for us to accept them without questioning, and to just be grateful that they’re there and make life the wonderful mystery that it’s supposed to be, thus making one treading through its annoyances and obstacles with those notes/sounds in his/her head, the ones that locate the soul somewhere within us and move it towards loftier dimensions where all musical genres merge and become one all-embracing whole, with angelic sopranos co-existing peacefully with brooding beasts, both submitting their differences for the greater good.

Differences that brought more or less desirable stylistic changes later with “Musique” and after it, but that wasn’t surprising with the magnum opus out of the way. Kristine left to concentrate more on the Leaves' Eyes project that she started together with her husband-to-be Alex Krull and the other atrocious… sorry, Atrocity guys, and also tried to keep her solo career floating at the same time. The others carried on for another few years before laying down the weapons, the shadow of this “Aegis” here simply too big to be dissipated by less distinguished outings. I guess some works of art are meant to last long after their creators have disappeared from the social consciousness.

I could definitely see myself absolutely hating this as recently as a year ago, but after discovering Tears For Fears' surprising non-crappiness and developing a fondness for some early 80's MOR (Yacht Rock, you have much to answer for!!) my hatred for 80's new wave/goth/music in general has pretty much disappeared. The soaring vocal lines! The awesome bombasticness of so much of the stuff, the love of super digital sounding tones. It sure beats the hell out of the modern day Australian pop, which features whiny divas or terrible pop/folk dudes.

I can't name many in the way of influences as I'm not exactly an expert in this sort of stuff but this whole thing nails a lot of "80's music" type stuff. The gossamer-thin female vocals have a bit of an early 4AD vibe, the chorused clean guitars are straight out of the 80's, the production has those loud synths and big snare tones down, and the male vocals... Well, I'm not really sure where they're from, but those low, supremely bummed and not-really-all-melodic tones sound like a lot of gloomy dudes who want to be/be with Robert Smith or whoever. I love his real repetitive stuff in "Lorelei" (probably my favourite track in general) and yeah, for the most part he works well, making the whole thing a bit gloomier and weightier.

Admittedly metal influences here are somewhat thin on the ground; I'm not familiar with anything else these guys have done but I have a feeling that some other release was what get them accepted into the MA. There's a few variations on that "chugging in the background" type thing that Nightwish/most Europower bands have done, plus a bit of Katatonia thrown in, perhaps. Not really much in the way of guitar riffs, but the fairly solid keyboard layering keeps that from ever becoming too much of an issue. Plus, there's a bit of tonal variation; from chugging guitar action to vaguely post-punkish clean guitar arpeggios throughout keeps your eyelids from drooping. All in all the band understands that if you're not going to be riffing like crazy you gotta add some other things to keep the interest going; and while I can't see myself listening to this on repeat for hours on end it works for the hour or so it goes for.

This isn't amazing; I dig Lorelei and Siren but nothing here is pure gold or anything. Still, it's an enjoyable listen and seeing as I've heard sweet FA of Gothic stuff it's a relatively unique sounding thing, for me at least. Give it a listen if you're curious/bored, there's far worse things you could be doing.

This is a quieter kind of music than Theatre's first two works. The rough vocals are gone, replaced by a crooning gentle lullaby. Liv's sweet voice sounds much the same, but is now backed by a slower, sadder melody. And such melody- Wagner flirted with such melancholy but never let it take over as they have here: Here there is nothing hard or overtly metallic to distract you from the simple sad elegance of the songs. And they are songs, not strange works of art like Velvet Darkness and the debut- This is much more normal, often akin to rock or alternative gothic.

We begin with the long Cassandra, a poem from a teen sensibility (That's teen as in Romeo and Juliet, not teen as in the pimply things) that waits a long time to introduce it's counterpoint but does so effectively, with gentle buildup and crushing melody. The album progresses through three more tracks before it peaks with the powerfull, deep, dark Siren. This is a grand work more akin to a movie score by John Williams than Velvet Darkness. And it is followed by two more flawless tracks of subtle power, smart shifts in pace and mood, gathering themselves in sultry melody and building up to orgasmic (Poppæa) bursts of power, riffs and chords of strength and focus that quickly rest back in their puddles. The album flows so naturally it's over before you know you've passed it's depths, it is subtle compared to their early work but not so subtle that one could deride its presence: The album has a sort of effect like watching a good eprformance in a devastating movie. You feel the pain behind it. Then Bacchante ends the album with a boring track I tend to skip, but hey, it can't all be highlights.

This is a one time swansong from a band who having made the highest peaks of gothic metal, would soon turn into some sort of industrial creature. They would eventually return part way to the beauty and power of Aegis with Storm, but for a long time this album was the end of all things beautifull in Norway, where Tristania would soon make it's mark, and where churches were so cleverly built from flammable materials.

After two albums with an unpolished combination of gothic, death, and doom with depressive-aggressive style, Theatre of Tragedy made great music progression. They made “Aegis”.

This album has a uniquely melodic, ethereal sound.
The guitars sound tuneful, resounding, and provide metallic goth rock riffs. Drums give slow, hypnotic rhythm to the music.However, some heavier parts are still present in certain places.Synth beats, electronics and especially tender keyboards play very important roles for the typical dark romantic atmosphere.Clean and deep, the haunting male vocals contrast to the angelic voice of Liv Kristine in magnificent vocal parts.

The songs are like a part of a whole,part of one storyline. Each continues, complements and develops further the other. They follow the same idea but with different structures,feelings and aspects of the main plan.
All the gothic ideals are recreated in the music and you feel like you’re having a really good time in the nearby goth club.

It’s almost a perfect album - a gloomy symphony of beautiful sounds and emotions. But it’s not easy to understand with one listen.Nevertheless, once you see the beauty it will always be there.

When The Gathering released Mandylion in 1995, the metal world would change forever. While the mixing of soprano female vocals with metal was not new, (Into the Pandemonium, Gothic) The Gathering was the first band to achieve widespread acclaim by incorporating beautiful female vocals over heavy and almost doom metal riffs. Open the flood gates for Lacuna Coil, Within Temptation and a host of others to milk the format to oblivion. Now I make no representation as to which band came first and released what album when, but with their third album, Theatre of Tragedy unfortunately came across as a second tier genre jumping band. I actually remember enjoying this album more in 1999 when I picked it up. Perhaps the formula has become outdated, or perhaps the songs just haven’t held up as well.

If I were to write a song for this album, I would construct it as such. Open with clean guitar playing arpeggio minor chords. I would then add a slow palm muted riff, with a layer of light airy keyboards underneath. Drums would be slow and not at all showy. I could also weave a slow somber guitar melody over the top of all of it to color the song a bit. I would then have Liv Kristine sing haunting and beautiful melodies over the top of everything to create a catchy yet mournful song. Finally I would add a Sisters of Mercy type male vocal in certain areas to add dynamic. Heck I might even have him growl in a song or two. I would repeat this basic formula with slight changes to song structure to mix it up a bit.

My above sarcasm aside, I kind of like this album. The problem is that when the primary focus and raison d’etre of any band is the vocals, the music becomes a supporting cast member. Most riffs on this album are slow palm muted chugging, ringing power chords, clean arpeggios, and some higher register melodies all played at a very slow tempo. Therefore any song coloring is done with vocals and keyboards. Not very metal. Since the best songs on the album are in the first half of the album, even the beautiful angelic vocals cannot keep me totally interested for the entire duration.

My favorites are opener Cassandra, Lorelei (is that an up tempo intro I hear?), Angelique and Siren. I think the overall structure of Cassandra is the best on the album. It actually starts off with the male vocal and the female section doesn’t appear until over three minutes in. By doing so, it creates anticipation and excitement for when the female vocals break in. The vocal melodies found on the chorus section of Siren are my favorite on the album, and the mixture of male and female vocals on the chorus of Lorelei are also quite good.

Now although I would listen to this over a Nightwish album any day of the week, each band has a similar goal and presentation. Vocals are to be the primary attraction (in addition to the beautiful female front person in a male dominated genre) and the music should support the vocalist and then get the heck out of the way. I can put this album on every eight months or so and generally enjoy it. Unfortunately the lack of variety and inventiveness keep it from becoming anything more than average.