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THEATRE OF TRAGEDY
way more Helter Skelter.

October 2, 2000 - 2020: 20 years of: ['mju:zik] AKA Musique.

From somber darkness ...to electro-pop ?

Yes it did happened and it sounded beautiful. So few non-blackmetal bands come from Norway, yet THEATRE OF TRAGEDY's twisted trajectory is uncommon to say the least. From melodic darkmetal on 1995's eponymous debut, to the 1998 epic-doom Aégis CD, they owned this sound ...so they bailed-out and when full 90° to new far-fetched once inaccesible extremes: dark industrial-pop !

Rich rhythms and sub-bass instantly fills the room as "Machine" kicks-off ...and then comes the queen of melodic-metal the beautiful Liv Kristine. The voice of an angel, matched with a Reznor-like vibe, different, lovable and also deeply alienating. Crunchy heaviness breaks down walls on "City Of Light" and the hammering "Crash / Concrete" is like an iron fist in a velvet glove, a stomper not performed by RAMMSTEIN.

The alternative commercial flare of "Image" and the hypnotic beat of "Musique" are perfectly taylored for the Berlin / Tokyo after-hours dance-floors, while the heavy kicks and haunting melodies of "Radio" solidifies the genius behind this band's song-writing. The album's focus is expressed on the mesmerizing chants of Kristine on "Reverie". A lonely white-rose in the mud, this piece is warm melody in a cold digital age ...pure eerie gothicmetal !

The new millennium is here and all the tools are at our fingertips. Fashion and art took a turn deep into the future and metal got tempted. Extreme bands like MORTIIS, AND OCEANS, THE KOVENANT and even MAYHEM all got a cyber make-over.

For their Second Act, THEATRE OF TRAGEDY's binary-formula would come back on 2002's Assembly CD, but sadly a year later Liv Kristine would be expulsed by the band hence break the magic in this unique unit.

1 and 4 was for the Commodore: a new extreme, into the other end of the music spectrum.

*
Image = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJba0rldUGk
Machine = video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAdcCL3uJZs
Musique = full CD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CUl4VnSE_4&list=PLBC2C083E7557614F
Live in Norway in 2001
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwvsfSqjb3A