Theatre of Tragedyis a Norwegian band from Stavanger, originally assembled in 1993 by Hein Frode Hansen, Raymond István Rohonyi and Lorentz Aspen, together with Tommy Lindal, Pål Bjastad and Liv Kristine Espenæs. They are probably best known for their earlier albums, which provided a great deal of influence to the gothic metalgenre. The band was one of the first ones who made use of contrasting vocals - male bass vocals and death growls and female soprano singing, today sometimes referred to as the "Beauty and the Beast" vocals. On their first three albums ( Theatre of Tragedy, Velvet Darkness They Fear, Agis) Theatre of Tragedy presented lyrics written predominantly in a form of Olde English, an early form of the language prior to Shakespearean times. Starting from the album Musique, however, the band made drastic changes to their style, which became significantly inspired by the industrial rockgenre, abandoning Olde English writing, heavier guitar riffing and death growls in the process.
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