Pleasure and Pain (Theatres des Vampires album)

Pleasure and Pain
Studio album by Theatres des Vampires
Released	10 November 2005 18 November 2005 28 November 2005 6 December 2005
Genre	Gothic metal
Length	44:44
Label	Dreamcell11/Aural Music
Theatres des Vampires chronology
Nightbreed of Macabria (2004) Pleasure and Pain (2005) Anima Noir (2008)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Desibeli.net  [ fi ]	3.5/5 [1]
Metal.de	5/10 [2]
Metalitalia.com  [ it ]	6.5/10 [3]
Noise.fi  [ fi ]	1/5 [4]

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.

Critical reception

Powermetal.de  [ de ] called it a very solid and sophisticated record that have to be re-listened several times to appreciate. ^[5] Noise.fi  [ fi ] said the band doesn't manage to build a gothic atmosphere and called the songs weak. ^[4] Metalitalia.com  [ it ] liked the singer's performance but said the album lacks aggression and gothic atmosphere. Desibeli.net  [ fi ] noted the album as an improvement over the previous one and highlighted the tracks "Pleasure and Pain", "Solitude", "Forever in Death", and "Mater Tenebrarum". ^[1] Metal.de gave a negative review and said the album doesn't offer anything new to the genre but manages to have a dark atmosphere. ^[2]

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Pleasure and Pain"	Sonya Scarlet	Fabian Varesi	4:04
2.	"Never Again"	Sonya Scarlet	Robert Cufaro	3:26
3.	"Rosa Mistero"	Sonya Scarlet	Fabian Varesi	4:04
4.	"Solitude"	Sonya Scarlet	Robert Cufaro	3:37
5.	"My Lullaby"	Sonya Scarlet with quotes from Novalis	Robert Cufaro	4:02
6.	"Forever in Death"	Sonya Scarlet	Robert Cufaro	3:49
7.	"Let Me Die"	Sonya Scarlet	Fabian Varesi	4:44
8.	"Black Mirror"	Sonya Scarlet	Fabian Varesi	3:32
9.	"Reason and Sense"	Sonya Scarlet with quotes from Giosuè Carducci	Fabian Varesi	5:32
Total length:				44:44

Bonus Tracks

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
10.	"Mater Tenebrarum" (Keith Emerson cover, from the soundtrack of the film Inferno by Dario Argento)	Keith Emerson, Salmon with quotes from Thomas de Quincey	Keith Emerson	3:54
11.	"Pleasure and Pain" (Remixed by B. Kramm of Das Ich)	Sonya Scarlet	Fabian Varesi, B. Kramm	3:59
Total length:				44:44

Line-Up

• Sonya Scarlet − vocals
• Fabian Varesi − keyboards, backing vocal
• Gabriel Valerio − drums
• Zimon Lijoi − bass, backing vocal
• Robert Cufaro − guitars

Guest Members

• Flegias (Necrodeath) − male scream on "Forever in Death"
• Dhilorz (Ancient) − male scream on "Black Mirror"
• Nicholas (Ensoph) − male clean voice on "Pleasure and Pain"
• Giampaolo Caprino (Stormlord) − male clean voice on all tracks.

References

1. Roth, Mika (14 November 2005). "Levyarvio - Theatres Des Vampires: Pleasure And Pain". Desibeli.net  [ fi ] (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 9 October 2006. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
2. "Theatres Des Vampires - Pleasure And Pain Review". Metal.de (in German). 7 December 2005. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
3. Vidmar, Paolo (13 March 2006). "THEATRES DES VAMPIRES – Pleasure And Pain". Metalitalia.com  [ it ] (in Italian). Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
4. Hytönen, Sini (31 January 2006). "Levyarvostelut - Theatres Des Vampires - Pleasure And Pain (Albumi)". Noise.fi  [ fi ] (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 12 February 2006. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
5. Kayser, Stefan (20 November 2005). "Review - THEATRES DES VAMPIRES - Pleasure And Pain". Powermetal.de  [ de ] (in German). Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2025.