Theatre Of Tragedy – Musique (Re-Mastered)

Theatre Of Tragedy
Musique (Re-Mastered)
AFM Records
December 4, 2020 (Original:October 2, 2000)
01:28:37

With “Aégis” (1998) the Norwegians initiated a change of style. Started in 1993 as a Death / Doom band, they are now oriented towards popular rock music. A lot of electro pop has now flowed into the sound. The band consistently continued this path two years later with “Musique”. While “Aégis” can at least still be bought as an MP3 download, the successor has obviously completely disappeared from the scene. This is about to change, as a remastered by Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Amaranthe, Pretty Maids) version will appear in December. So, the twentieth birthday of this album is to be honoured.

“Machine” can still do okay to build the early work. But even here you can hear that Raymond Rohonyi’s vocals are technically alienated and seem very monotonous. Only Liv Kristine’s usual fairy vocals can improve the song. The distorted synths are also annoying. These are unfortunately omnipresent even later. No more to hear from the elemental force and the sound giants of earlier years. Raymond’s vocals are also extremely annoying on “City Of Light”. The title track “Musique” is probably one of the low points. After just a few songs, you notice that the guitars almost always sound the same. The techno-pop-sound gadgets do the rest. The only positive exception is “Retrospect”. The sound of “Space Age” could come from the early phase of the Neue Deutsche Welle. While “Reverie” is arguably the worst song on the album. Also, thanks to the radio signals at the beginning. Sounds like a badly tuned shortwave receiver. The best song is probably the French version of “Image”. And most of the bonus tracks You can forget.

In my opinion, “Musique” is the absolute lowest point in Theater of Tragedy’s work. Unimaginative compositions and arrangements. Instead a lot of synth jingling. Only Liv Kristine stands out with her charismatic voice. It’s the only album that is missing from my Theater of Tragedy collection. And I think it will stay that way.

Lineup:

Raymond I. Rohonyi – Vocals
Liv Kristine – Vocals
Frank Claussen – Guitars
Lorentz Aspen – Keyboards
Hein Frode Hansen – Drums

Track list:

• Machine
• City Of Light
• Fragment
• Musique
• Commute
• Radio
• Image
• Crash/Concrete
• Retrospect
• Reverie
• Space Age
• Image (French Version)

Bonus CD

• Fragment
• Machine
• City Of Light
• Reverie
• Radio
• Commute
• Retrospect
• Quirk
• Crash/Concrete
• The New Man