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People attempt to put Theatres Des Vampires into various musical genres. How would you describe the music you play ?

Well, what is very strange for me is reading different reviews from all around the world over the years and seeing, EVERY TIME, a new attempt to give us a kind of musical "label”.
Black Metal, Gothic Rock, Gothic Metal, Vampiric Metal.. I even read in some place EBM!!!! Where the hell do they hear some kind of similarity between Theatres des Vampires and band like Front 242 or Nitzer Ebb (the pioneers of EBM)? I really don’t understand..
But this probably means that we have our very own musical style, and it’s a kind of alchemy between really different styles..
For sure we are Gothic and in some way Metal.. For sure we have strong influences from Classical Music and Opera, and for sure sometimes (especially in albums like Pleasure and Pain and Anima Noir) we experimented with an "electronic” sound.
But always, if I like to describe my music in a phrase I say: "Music for Vampires, made by Vampires”

Who would you say were your biggest musical influences ?

It’s really hard to say, because in the band everybody has their own musical influences.. So it’s a real mixture of different musical experiences.

You have a very distinctive image. Was this part of the vision for the band or did it evolve naturally ?

It’s a part of our vision, but it has also evolved over the years..
If I look back in the mid 90′s when we started our image was completely different..
We always had in mind to have a strong and distinctive look but I have to say that a lot of this image was created by (front woman) Sonya Scarlet, when we joined the band in the end of 1999..
She has a great talent for choosing her dresses and also gives us the right "suggestion” for the look of the band, and the visual elements of our shows and photo sessions..

Do you think that having this strong image can sometimes overshadow the music as people see you and immediately make assumptions ?

I don’t know… I’m 37 years old and I’m still addicted to some of the bands of 70′s and 80′s where Rock and Image was the SAME THING!

Bands like Kiss, Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Twisted Sister had an impressive and strong image but their music also rocks!!
I still think that a real ROCKER needs a strong image.
I don’t think at all that people follow us just for our image or for the beauty of our singer.
These are ingredients that you have to put into the "formula” to have the right Alchemy. Mix Good music.. Vampirism… A Strong Image.. And you have Theatres des Vampires!
Delete one of this ingredients and you destroy the "magic”

The video for Carmilla is an impressive piece of work. Did the band come up with the concept ?

We are fans of Horror movies, especially the "classics”. For this song we decided, together with the Director David Bracci, to make something that was somewhere between a classical Hammer Horror Movie and a Jean Rollin film!!
We give this input to the director, and after a long brainstorming we came up with the idea to make this video like a mini horror movie. I’m very pleased of the final result, and the feedback all over the world was REALLY impressive

Have you been happy with the reception the new album has received ?

Yes very happy. I’m very proud that we are getting GREAT reviews all over the world.
A lots of Magazines and Webzines are giving us a lots of space because really love our new work..

It’s seems that a lot of people believes that this one of the best Theatres des Vampires album ever!
I even read a review that said that it’s the "best Gothic Metal album of the last 10 years”
Well.. I can be only happy and PROUD of all of that

Do you think you have achieved the targets you set yourself at the start of 2010 ?

Of course. I never had in mind to be a "superstar”, I hate the music business, as I hate MTV. I never acted like a superstar..
I know that Theatres des Vampires are considered a cult band and a niche band, and that is exactly what I want!
So YES I’m achieved the targets I set!

What’s been your highlight of the year ?

Well the 2010 was very busy, but it give us a lots of nice things..
We had a beautiful tour of Russia that we did in the middle of 2010, and also the wonderful experience of the Castle Party Festival in Poland last August
Naturally, it was also great to make the new album…and discover day by day that we were doing a really good job..
Also working on the video for Carmilla was a great experience..
There are a really a lot of different great things that happened in 2010

What would be your dream tour line up for TDV to be involved in ?

Notre Dame + Theatres des Vampires
I love that band, and Snowy Shaw (actually I love every single project where he is involved), and it is a shame that, for the moment, they are not playing.
I really hope that one day Snowy will resurrect his Notre Dame Project, and in this case a tour of co-headliner would be FANTASTIC!!!

If you could play one festival which one would it be ?

Well we played in a lots of great festival all over the years, so probably one where we never played, but one I like a lot is M’era Luna in Germany…

What are the band’s plans for the next year, any plans to come to the UK ?

We are scheduling a lots of nice concerts in Europe, Eastern Europe and Russia.
The end of the tour will be in May, and YES we will be back in UK then!
We have already booked the gig at London (O2 Academy Islington) and Birmingham where we will be the headliner of the Femme Metal Festival at the Asylum.
We will probably also add a 3rd date in the Uk, we will have more details for this in 1 month!


Finally do you have a message for your fans, and perhaps for people who have not experienced the music of TDV yet ?

We are here because of you! Because of all the fans all over the world that have supported us in every way as possible for the past 15 years.
It’s because of you that today Theatres des Vampires can tour all over the world, and the crowd is always fantastic!
So if I have a message it’s a message of love for all our fans!
                                                                                                    Blood is Life!