| Disclaimer: The following interview contains subject matter that may disturb or offend some readers, please proceed with caution.
Interviewed by Brian Rademacher
Date: May 13th, 2005
http://www.theatres-des-vampires.com
First I would like to thank you for granting Rockeyez.com for this interview.
Thanks to you my friend.
In 1995 you released your first demo called 'Nosferatu eine symphonie des grauen' can you tell fans anything about that release?
Well a lot of time has passed and it’s difficult to say anything new about this release.
At the beginning of our band, we played a kind of Black Metal with a touch of Gothic Metal inside... Nowadays our band has completely dropped the sound of the Black Metal atmosphere... The demo is quite difficult to find, but I know that there is a bootleg of it out there... If I remember right it’s available on line at: www.masterpiecedistribution.com... They might have sold out of all the copies they had in stock... but you can always try contacting them... so you can hear what our band sounded like 10 years ago.
Did the band still have that vampire image during that time?
Well, the vampire atmosphere and lyrics are always in our band... and during our live gigs we use a lot of blood. Scarlet our singer slashes her arms to let the fans drink her own blood... but we have toned down our “theatrical” image of vampire a little bit. In 10 years of music a lot of bands change and our theatrical aspects have changed with us. Theatres des Vampires the band has a continued evolution.
Were you in any bands before TDV and did you release any material?
Not personally. Our guitar player Robert “Morgoth” had a release in 1993, a 7-inch, with a different Moniker “VII Arcano”. The 7-inch was the first time ever that a band explored vampirism in their music... as far I know. Then in 1994, VII Arcano switched the name to Theatres des Vampires.
As a young child did you collect anything?
Well... actually I still collect a lot of stuff!!!! Personally I love the 1:6 scale action figures from WWII... I have a large collection of Axis figures... so do the Germans, Japanese and Italians.
Were keyboards your first instrument?
Yes... 10 years ago I tried to learn bass guitar and acoustic guitar... but without a very good result.
Tell me what image means to you?
In rock music and metal music, image is important... sometimes as important as the music itself. I love to have a dark image on the stage... it’s my attitude.
Who do you admire as a keyboard player?
Claudio Simonetti, from Goblin... he is the composer of almost all the soundtracks of Dario Argento’s horror movies.
When you were growing up what was your dream?
When I was very young.... I wanted to be a fireman. But after I set myself on fire at the age of 11... I changed my mind... I felt that being a musician would be much better.
What was the first concert you attended?
I really don’t remember as it was a long time ago.
What was the first record you bought?
Well if I remember correctly it was “Headless Cross” by Black Sabbath. I remember right it was 1989... No! Sorry! It was “A Kind of Magic” by Queen in 1987.
The band is from Italy. How is the gothic music scene there right now?
Well, there are some good acts... but they don’t focus too much on their music... so normally they have no future. There are some bands that come out of the underground like Lacuna Coil... or ourselves... but normally this doesn’t happen at all.
Anyway, here in Italy it’s very difficult coming from the underground. There are few places to play concerts, and there is no help from the government... in the end Italy is a kind of theocracy with the Vatican and the Catholic Church... so this type of music is considered poor by the media (this is the music of Satan!!)... Hopefully one day we will rise up from this Christian dictatorship... and the things will change.
Can you tell us any other bands to watch out for?
Lacuna Coil... if you are talking about Italy...
What happened to Alexander your front man?
Alexander... I really don’t know what say about him. Years went by that he didn’t like our music... I really want him to come back to the Dark throne style...but the rest of the band likes Gothic Music. He wasn’t the compositor of the band, he tried to force us to change our composition to a black metal direction, and he knew his time with the band was over...
You have a new release coming in September. Will Sonya Scarlet do all the vocals?
Scarlet was the logical evolution of the band... early on the media and the fans were focused on her... so yes, she will be the front woman and this will help the band to grow again. Our next album will be named “Pleasure and Pain” and will be released in November 2005. But with a different label! Not Plastic Head. Yes! This is the surprise, we changed our label. We are still in good contact with Plastic Head, and I know that in 2006 they will release our first DVD live. But they suggested to us to find a new label for the band, because the band is getting too big for them to handle. Plastic Head is a label with a big catalogue and cannot handle us in the right way. So we shifted to a new label that will invest a lot in distribution and promotion. We signed a VERY good contract with them. But it’s still a secret... we will give this news in our newsletter at the end of May... so you have to wait to discover who will be our next record label. Anyway the new album will have a lot of surprises, with GREAT guest stars... you will find out whom in the near future. I cannot say anything else.
Tell us what it will be like to see TDV live?
A bloodbath... this is the term to best describe our shows.
Do you plan to come to the USA for any shows?
Well, actually it’s not easy for a European band to play in the USA... we are trying... but it’s not easy at all. We will see in the near future what will happen, the new label has good USA distribution, so this is the right start... then we will see.
I love the video for “Lilith Mater Inferorum”. Who came up with the concept for that video?
Myself. I proposed the idea to the Director of the video David Bracci (he is a Dario Argento collaborator), he liked the idea, and so he moved in this direction to make it happen.
How will the band change with Scarlet fronting the band?
Not so much... the lyrics will be much better, because Scarlet knows the English language perfectly. Musically we will be similar to our last album “Nightbreed of Macabria”. Honestly I feel that Gothic Metal Music works much better with female voice. So I’m sure that our next album will be more successful.
How would you describe the music of TDV?
This is music for vampires... made by vampires.
Do you plan on making more videos?
Hopefully yes...
Do you have other projects you are working on?
Not at the moment.... there is too much involved in the production of Theatres des Vampires.
What are the plans for TDV for the remainder of 2005?
We are editing a live video that will be released as a DVD... then we will have to finish our next album and naturally organize an upcoming European tour... a lot of work!
I am going to mention a few words. Tell us what comes to mind.
Sex - Blood
Image - My own theatre
Show - Your theatre
Blood - Sex
Religion - The Opium for human mind
War - Just rubbish for Jewish people
Contract - “Hey guys! This year we have to make an album!”
Family - I’m my own family... with my cat naturally.
Day off - No day off for me... I work in the holiday too on my musical projects...
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