Bio
The group was originally formed in 1993 by Raymond István Rohonyi (vocals) and Pål Bjåstad (guitar), at first under the moniker Suffering Grief. Soon the line-up expanded to four people, after the addition of guitarist Tommy Lindal and drummer Hein Frode Hansen (who at that time quit his previous band Phobia and was looking for a new project). A bass player was still missing, but that problem was solved thanks to Eirik T. Saltrø, who offered to help out the young and promising band, only to become a regular member in the future. After finding a proper rehearsal room, the group started working on original material, now with piano arrangements by their newest member, Lorentz Aspen. The band soon composed their first song called “Lament of the Perishing Roses” and decided to change their name to La Reine Noir and then to Theatre of Tragedy. With the addition of female vocalist Liv Kristine Espenæs, the group ultimately defined their style – the death metal growling was now backed by Liv’s beautiful, melancholic voice, forming a perfect combination of melody and crushing heaviness. By 1994 Theatre of Tragedy completed their first studio demo, which caught the attention of Massacre Records and lead to the release of the self-titled debut LP in 1995. The album was very well received by both fans and critics, and soon the name Theatre of Tragedy was known on the entire gothic scene. The follow up album - “Velvet Darkness They Fear” (1996) – proved the band’s great form and was even more successful than the debut. In 1997 Theatre of Tragedy released the EP “A Rose for the Dead”, which included previously unreleased tracks from the “Velvet Darkness They Fear” session, as well as some remixes. The band’s last release for Massacre Records was “Aégis” (1998), by many fans considered the best ToT album to date.
In the year 2000 Theatre of Tragedy decided to part ways with their past and reach towards the future by completely changing their musical direction. Released through Nuclear Blast on October 2nd, the group’s fourth LP, “Musique”, brought a  brave mixture of industrial, electropop and gothic rock. The band left their early gothic/death metal inspirations and introduced a fresh new sound, focusing on upbeat, electro-based tracks. This rather controversial style change was difficult to accept by many fans of Theatre of Tragedy’s previous albums, but eventually the new formula proved to be more than convincing. The band decided to continue their experiments with the industrial genre on their next LP – “Assembly” – which was released on March 4th, 2002. The songs were still kept in the electropop fashion, but in the same time the material seemed to be more refined and confident. Such songs as the subtle “Liquid Man”, the extremely catchy “Automatic Lover” and the brilliantly composed “Envision” (where Liv’s voice resembles… Kylie Minogue!) prove that Theatre of Tragedy were able to take the best out of mixing gothic rock with industrial and synthpop. What is more, the album featured the band’s newest member – Vegard K. Thorsen, who previously worked with the group as a session guitarist. In 2006 the band released one more album called “Storm”. This offering took Theatre of Tragedy back to their roots and introduced a new singer, Nell Sigland, who replaced Liv Kristine.