Artist: Theatre of Tragedy
Title: Last Curtain Call
Type: Live Album
Label: AFM Records

It's with great regret that I have to review this double CD. I first heard 'Velvet Darkness They Fear' in a friend's car on the way out one night, promptly fell in love with and promptly nicked her CD until I managed to acquire my own copy a couple weeks later. And now 15 years later they're finally calling it a day with 'Last Curtain Call', a live double album and DVD, of which the latter I do not have. The songs cover their entire career, from 'Theatre Of Tragedy' to 'Forever Is The World' with 'Assembly' being the only omission.

Raymond Istvān Rohonyi's death vocals are complemented beautifully by Nell Sigland's on old tracks like "A Hamlet For A Slothful Vassal", similarly when on new tracks like "Forever Is The World". Frank Claussen and Vegard K. Thorsen's guitars range from being the primary instruments, like they are on "Bring Forth Ye Shadow", to subtle background accompaniments on "Machine", where Hein Frode Hansen's drums are machine like in their steady simplicity, but far more involved on "A Rose For The Dead" where they help set the mood with their tempo changes, then there's the heavy and powerful battery used on "Der Tanz Der Schatten". The thing I remember most about "Image" is the video, where it showed that the band had completely changed from their sombre Goth regalia to more latex and pseudo pop with over the top keyboards and synths by Lorentz Aspen. However on "Fade" they were returning to former styles and he plays the keyboard as a pianoforte increasing the moodiness of the song greatly. They end the album with the hauntingly beautiful "Forever Is The World", and I'm glad to say I got to watch them once on their farewell tour.

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Marco Gaminara

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