J-Man Moonlight Waltz served as my introduction to Theatres Des Vampires, so you could say I was a bit of an "unsuspecting" listener when approaching this one. Considering the amount of praise this band receives, I had somewhat-high expectations for their 2011 release. If you've taken a peek at my rating already, it's needless to say that Moonlight Waltz didn't come across nearly as convincing I initially predicted. Sure, the musicianship is professional, the music is bombastic, and the production is polished and powerful, but that only goes so far when the music feels this generic and uninspired. I guess fans of Theatres Des Vampires and melodic gothic metal may like this one - you can count me out, though.

The music here is symphonic and melodic gothic metal. The female vocals from Sonya Scarlet often take center stage, but there are also many other guest vocalists, as well as a full orchestra adding plenty of symphonic elements. Of course, the music is extremely polished and professional, but I honestly feel that it lacks "bite" (pun intended) and the instrumental portion of the music is often uninteresting and boring. As such, this is a standard issue with female-fronted gothic metal acts - Theatres Des Vampires focuses far too much in the vocal department, and leaves the instrumental section fairly simplistic and unadventurous. And considering the fact that I don't really enjoy Sonya's vocal delivery, that's an exceptionally large detriment. There are a few memorable melodies here and there, but they are too few and far between to justify stomaching the album's entire duration.

This album is definitive proof that "good musicianship and professional production" does not automatically mean a winning masterpiece. Moonlight Waltz was an extremely difficult album for me to sit through - this is 55 minutes of music that makes me cringe constantly. If unadventurous, clichéd, and often cheesy gothic metal is your thing, you may find something to enjoy here. After all, this is an unquestionably professional product. I guess 1.5 stars are fair in this case. From a purely subjective point of view, you can easily subtract a full star from that rating.

adg211288 Moonlight Waltz is the ninth studio release from Italian Gothic Metal act Theatres des Vampires, released in 2011. The music I’m hearing here could also be described as Symphonic Metal due to the heavy use of keyboards. This is atmospheric and often haunting music and unlike some groups that play this sort of music this album doesn’t come across as overly commercial in its writing or delivery. The vocals of frontlady Sonya Scarlet are atypical from my experience of Gothic Metal, coming across as quite raspy as times, which adds to the dark vampiric atmosphere that the band creates. Her vocals are very clear at other times, which despite the previous statement does not take away from the record’s atmosphere. Anyone who likes some non-commercial Gothic Metal should lap this band up.

Personally since this is the first and only album by the group I have heard I have nothing to compare Moonlight Waltz to in order to say where it may sit against the group’s previous offerings, but what I’m hearing is pretty strong Gothic Metal with an extreme edge to it that I reckon will please fans of the band and of the genre itself. I especially like the opening track Keeper of Secrets which features some guest vocals from Snowy Shaw and the title track.

Overall this album doesn’t really sound like something that I personally would listen to, but I’m going to rate it based on how I perceive fans of the band and genre will receive it and based on that I find Moonlight Waltz to be a solid release worthy of a respectable 7/10 score. It is both atmospheric and dark, varied vocals from Sonya and the group’s many backing vocalists and guests. There’s enough fresh ideas keep cropping up throughout its fifty-seven minute length that it doesn’t get at all stale.