Theatres des Vampires – In Nomine Sanguinis
Theatres des Vampires
In Nomine Sanguinis
Released 19th November 2021
Gothic Metal
Released via Scarlet Records
With the notable exception of Lord of the Lost’s ‘Judas’ and the upcoming Lacrimosa album, not too many Gothic metal releases caught my attention this year. Then I discovered that Theatres Des Vampires are back with a new album so I decided to check it out. They’re a band I’ve been following for some time, but I tend to prefer their earlier stuff back when they had Lord Vampyr as their main vocalist. Since he left and Sonya Scarlet became their main singer, their albums have been hit and miss for me. I liked ‘Pleasure and Pain’ and ‘Moonlight Waltz’ but the last one they released in 2016 failed to impress me. So I’m hoping that ‘In Nomine Sanguinis’ will be better.
After a few listens I can safely say that this is a marked improvement when compared to their previous album ‘Candyland’. In many ways it reminds me of the mid-career albums, particularly ‘Moonlight Waltz’. The vampire themes are back and Sonya Scarlet’s haunting vocals have regained their mojo. The album offers a good balance of atmospheric keyboards, melodic vocals and more guitar-driven songs such as The Bride of Corinth. I really liked that eerie and atmospheric keyboard intro on that one. Other memorable tracks include ‘Christina’ thanks to its catchy melodic chorus that really makes me feel like dancing along. My personal favorite is Lady Bathory. Here the vocals take on a harsher, more eerie tone, the guitars are more prominent while the keyboards are more subtle, creeping into the background. The chorus is great too.
Overall, there’s a lot to like here if you’re into Gothic metal. While it doesn’t offer anything dramatically new , as far as Theatres des Vampires albums go this is one is definitely one of the better ones. Good to see that Scarlet and her vampire coven are back in blood.
7/10
Iza Raittila
Valkyrian Music 
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