Candyland | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 14 October 2016 | |||
Genre | Gothic metal | |||
Length | 39:58 | |||
Label | Scarlet Records | |||
Producer | Christian Ice | |||
Theatres des Vampires chronology | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
New Noise Magazine | link |
Eternal Terror | 4/6 link |
Candyland is the tenth studio album by Italian gothic metal band Theatres des Vampires, released through Scarlet Records on 14 October 2016. Initially announced on 7 July 2016, [1] it is their first studio album in 5 years since Moonlight Waltz , and also their first release with guitarist Giorgio Ferrante, who replaced Stephan Benfante early in 2016. It is noticeably more guitar-driven than the band's previous releases with Sonya Scarlet on vocals, and its lyrics focus less on the vampiric and occult themes the band is famous for. A music video for the track "Morgana Effect" was uploaded to the band's official YouTube channel on 29 September 2016. [2]
The album counts with guest appearances by Moonspell vocalist Fernando Ribeiro and J.T.R. Sickert frontman Tiziano Panini (a.k.a. Billy T. Cooper), Scarlet's husband.
All lyrics are written by Sonya Scarlet (except for "Photographic" by Vince Clarke); all music is composed by Scarlet and Christian Ice
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Morgana Effect" | 3:42 |
2. | "Resurrection Mary" | 4:15 |
3. | "Delusional Denial" (feat. Billy T. Cooper) | 3:09 |
4. | "Parasomnia" | 4:09 |
5. | "Candyland" | 4:03 |
6. | "Your Ragdoll" | 3:21 |
7. | "Pierrot Lunaire" | 3:16 |
8. | "Photographic" (Depeche Mode cover) | 3:35 |
9. | "Opium Shades" | 3:28 |
10. | "Seventh Room" (feat. Fernando Ribeiro) | 3:25 |
11. | "Autumn Leaves" | 3:35 |
Total length: | 39:58 |
The album has received mostly positive reviews since its release. Writing for New Noise Magazine, Grim Lord gave it 3 out of 5 stars, comparing its sonority favorably to Lacuna Coil, Theatre of Tragedy, The Dreamside and "the gothic metal/rock of [his] younger days". However, he also stated that "[he] didn't find Scarlet's vocal approach to be to [his] taste in most songs" ("Pierrot Lunaire" excepted, which he thought of as "one of the disc's main standouts"), and commented on the lack of "occult-/Lilith-/Lucifer-style lyrics" as being "a kind of a drag". [3] Matt Coe of Eternal Terror webzine rated the album with a 4 out of 6, and stated that "Candyland has multi-level appeal and should satisfy the long-timers while hopefully attain some new followers along the way". [4]
Moonspell is a Portuguese gothic metal band formed in 1992. The group released their first EP, Under the Moonspell, in 1994 and followed up with their debut album, Wolfheart, a year later. They quickly became the most recognizable metal band from Portugal and a key figure in gothic metal. Fernando Ribeiro is co-founder, singer and songwriter of the band.
Gothic metal is a fusion genre combining the aggression of heavy metal with the dark atmospheres of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy metal music. The genre originated during the early 1990s in the United Kingdom originally as an outgrowth of death-doom, a fusion of death metal and doom metal. Lyrics are generally dark and introspective with inspiration from gothic fiction as well as personal experiences.
Wolfheart is the debut studio album by Portuguese gothic metal band Moonspell. All of the tracks are in English except for "Trebaruna" and "Ataegina", which are in Portuguese, as well as the chorus of "Alma Mater". The song "An Erotic Alchemy" is a duet, inspired by and quoting Marquis de Sade.
The Butterfly Effect is the fourth studio album by Portuguese gothic metal band Moonspell, released in 1999, inspired by chaos theory. The album is characterised by a more experimental approach than their previous material, incorporating many elements of electronic music and industrial metal. The music is composed primarily by the band's keyboardist, Pedro Paixão. "Tired" samples Mozart's Requiem.
Theatres des Vampires is an Italian gothic metal band, mostly noted for the predominant theme of vampirism within their lyrics. The band's early material was credited as melodic black metal or symphonic black metal, but the group completely abandoned all black metal influence by the mid-2000s. Theatres des Vampires have released eleven full-length albums.
Cadaveria, real name Raffaella Rivarolo, is an Italian musician famous for being one of the first women to enter the extreme metal scene in the early 1990s, as former vocalist and keyboard player of the symphonic black metal band Opera IX.
Alessandro Nunziati, better known by his stage name Lord Vampyr, is an Italian musician, record producer and writer, famous for being the former vocalist of the gothic metal band Theatres des Vampires, as well as one of its founding members.
Suicide Vampire is the fourth album from the Italian gothic black metal band Theatres des Vampires. The Theatres des Vampires drummer Gabriel Valerio was unavailable during the recording of the album, so the drums were recorded by Nick A. for this album.
Vampyrìsme... is the fifth studio album by Italian band Theatres des Vampires, released on September 15, 2003 by Beyond... Productions. It is a re-recorded version of the band's 1996 debut album Vampyrìsme, Nècrophilie, Nècrosadisme, Nècrophagie. The album was re-recorded entirely by Theatres des Vampires with guest appearances from former Cradle of Filth guitarist Gian Pyres and Christian Death vocalist Valor Kand. The album has also four new bonus tracks.
Nightbreed of Macabria is the sixth studio album by the band Theatres des Vampires. This album is their first to not contain any black metal influence and is credited as a pure goth metal release. This was also frontman Lord Vampyr's last album with Theatres des Vampires.
Pleasure and Pain is the seventh studio album by the Italian gothic metal band Theatres des Vampires. It is the first album after Lord Vampyr's departure, and the first to feature Sonya Scarlet as the main vocalist of the band as well as being the last to feature Robert Cufaro on guitar.
Todavía is a studio album by Italian singer Mina, released on 21 September 2007 by PDU. The album features 13 songs in Spanish and one in Portuguese, and includes seven duets with Latin-American, Spanish and Italian stars.
Anima Noir is the eighth studio album by the Italian gothic metal band Theatres des Vampires.
Darkmind is the third full-length album by Beto Vázquez Infinity.
Whispers in the Shadow is a gothic rock band from Austria, formed in 1996. The band's name is inspired by the story The Whisperer in Darkness by H. P. Lovecraft. The lyrics deal mainly with occult and mystic concepts.
Desire of Damnation is a double CD by the Italian gothic metal band, Theatres des Vampires. The first disc is a live album and contains all the tracks from the DVD The Addiction Tour 2006. Disc two features four new songs as well as five remixed songs.
The Addiction Tour 2006 is the first live DVD by the Italian gothic metal band Theatres des Vampires. It features ten songs recorded during the tour in 2006 and also features an interview with Sonya Scarlet, as well as two music videos the band had recorded for the songs "Lilith Mater Inferorum" and "Angel of Lust". The live songs were also released as a live album in the band's next release, Desire of Damnation.
Existence is the fourth full-length album by Beto Vázquez Infinity, released on November 2010.
In the Shadows is the third full-length studio album by Danish heavy metal band Mercyful Fate. It is the first offering of the band since their reunion in 1992. This would be the final full-length album Timi Hansen would appear on before his death in 2019. The album was released in 1993 via Metal Blade Records. Unlike previous Mercyful Fate albums, which were entirely centered around lyrical themes of Satanism and the occult, the lyrics on this album are rather focused on more conceptual horror-themes, akin to King Diamond's work with his eponymous band. The band would not return to a primarily occult/Satanic lyrical approach until the band's latest album, 9, released in 1999.
Moonlight Waltz Tour 2011 is a live CD and DVD from the Italian gothic metal band Theatres des Vampires. It is the first all-in-one live CD and DVD release from the band, though Theatres des Vampires have released one live CD and one live DVD, separately. In addition to the live tracks, the CD contains three new studio songs from The Cult of Lamia soundtrack. The limited edition package also includes a 40-page book.