It was announced back in February 2012 that Norway's THEATRE OF TRAGEDY, who launched the career of LEAVES' EYES vocalist Liv Kristine and officially called it quits in October 2010, were working on remastered re-issues of their first three albums: the self-titled debut, Velvet Darkness They Fear, and Aegis. Initially meant to be released in late 2012, Massacre Records have announced July 5th as the official release date for all three albums in digipack CD and double vinyl LP formats.

The re-releases will feature rare bonus material, new liner notes penned by BW&BK;'s Carl Begai including comments from the band members.

An excerpt from the liner notes for the Aegis reissue is available below:

Theatre of Tragedy’s third album, Aegis, scared the hell out of their diehard fans. The band continued to evolve as they had between their self-titled debut and second record Velvet Darkness They Fear, but in a direction nobody had expected. The songs were geared in a goth metal direction, with the trademark doom aspect of the band’s sound reduced to a nuance. This was particularly apparent in the absence of vocalist Raymond I. Rohonyi’s growls, long considered to be just as important to Theatre of Tragedy’s sound as Liv Kristine’s soprano vocals. Raymond’s clean singing/spoken word delivery on Aegis – which would become a staple on future albums – had a direct influence on the atmosphere of the songs, which left some fans disappointed. Years later, however, Aegis is widely regarded as one of Theatre of Tragedy’s strongest records even by the (former) naysayers.

“Many people were screaming ‘They’re going goth mainstream!’ and pulling their hair out,” Liv remembers, “but it was nothing like that. It was just another influence coming into the band, which was guitarist Tommy Olsson. He’s a huge SISTERS OF MERCY fan, and he brought in this way of playing guitar. Ray realized that he had to develop in some way concerning his vocals to match his sound.”
“This was a natural progress for Raymond and the band,” drummer Hein Frode Hansen explains. “We changed both our guitar players and that obviously brought new influences to the band. The goth rock and elements of traditional songwriting became more relevant, and we wanted to make the perfect goth record for both metal and goth fans. It was probably more goth with a metal sound than the other way around (laughs). It was an homage and a wink to the elders FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM, Sisters Of Mercy, THE CURE, THE CULT and THE MISSION, and we started experimenting more with programming and samples. The feedback was very diverse, but most people came to enjoy it. As one fan said, ‘It is the perfect album to make love to!’”

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Theatre Of Tragedy released their Last Curtain Call DVD/CD set and two-CD on May 20th, 2011. It features 18 tracks spanning the band's entire career. Full length clips of the songs 'Image' and 'Machine' are now available for viewing below.

The concert film has a running time of 94 minutes and includes a half hour On The Road movie from the last tour of the band, footage from the last ever rehearsal 01.10.10 (with fans attending) as well as in-depth interviews with all band members shot in January 2011. The concert film features both stereo and 5.1 surround sound. Audio was mixed by Alex Møklebust and mastered by Chris Sansom at Propeller Mastering. In addition there is a live CD included with the band's pick of their live favorites.

The tracklist for the DVD is as follows:

'Hide And Seek'

'Bring Forth ye Shadow'

'Lorelei'

'Frozen'

'Ashes and Dreams'

'A Rose for the Dead'

'Fragment'

'And when He Falleth'

'Venus'

'Hollow'

'Storm'

'Image'

'Cassandra'

'A Hamlet for a Slothful Vassal'

'Fade'

'Machine'

'Der Tanz der Schatten'

'Forever Is The World'

The tracklist for the double-CD is as follows:

CD 1:

'Hide And Seek'

'Bring Forth Ye Shadow'

'Frozen'

'Ashes And Dreams'

'A Rose For The Dead'

'Fragment'

'And When He Falleth And Venus'

CD 2:

'Hollow'

'Storm, Image'

'A Hamlet For A Slothful Vassal'

'Fade'

'Machine'

'Der Tanz Der Schatten And Forever Is The World'

For more info visit Theatreoftragedy.com. A DVD teaser is available below: