Lacrimas Profundere
La naissance d'un rêve (CD) 1997 Witchhunt records
Gentle, mournful and hopelessly romantic, Lacrimas Profundere's second offering 'la naissance d'un rêve' is one of the highlights of romantic doom. Why then is the chance so small that you'll ever find them in 'best off' lists of atmospheric doom? Being always in the shadow of bands like Anathema and My Dying Bride this band never got the praise they deserved. The comparisons with those two bands come and go, while the band already developed an own, distinguishable style on their first albums. Is it perhaps because of the constant stubborn association of most German bands with 'Bratwurstmetal'? The fact remains that Lacrimas profundere show all typical features of central European atmospheric metal bands: Long-winded song structures, outstanding musicianship and professional use of non-metal instrumentation like flute, violin and female vocals. Their songs are often so heart-felt and emotional that they bring tears to the listener's eyes. Moving keyboard lines, melancholic soprano vocals and tranquil acoustic intermezzi complement the heavy, well-produced wall of sound of the guitars and the deep grunts. The spoken parts in the non-metal tracks 'Lilienmeer' and 'An orchid for my withering garden' bring forth remembrances of the innocence of a permanently lost youth and the mournful sentiments that arise from these memories. The use of classical instruments gives the tracks an epic feel evoking images of sorrow and sadness. I have rarely heard such beautiful violin lines as in the introduction of the tracks 'A fairy's breath' and 'The gesture of the gist'. Some strange, technical rhythm guitar breaks are also introduced at some parts, unfortunately somewhat ruining the perfect atmosphere of melancholic romanticism. Here, I guess, we have the only reminder of the inexperience of the band members because of their very young age at the time of the recordings of this album. All in all, this is one of my favourite atmospheric doom albums and a serious recommendation to all romantic souls out there. For the German speakers out there, I would like to close this review with the lyrics of the track 'Lilienmeer' (lake of lilies) which give a perfect idea of the poetic power of this band: "Zersetzt in blassem licht, das wärme gab/schlief der mensch im lilienmeer/scheinbar ewig wachtend, aber werdend/betrachtet von den augen deren die ihn liebten".	1. A fairy's breath 2. Priamus 3. Lilienmeer 4. The gesture of the gist 5. An orchid for my withering garden 6. Enchanted and in silent beauty Approx. 55 minutes
Reviewed by: Kostas Panagiotou
Memorandum (CD) 1999 Napalm
They are not that well known but this is Lacrimas Profundere's third work. The cover already gives the fact away that they have a strong Gothic-metal influence. I however would not like to compare them to any other bands in that genre as they have their own sound. From the first note to the last a melancholic, sad but also warm and bombastic atmosphere is let loose upon the listener. The great variation of vocal styles compliments the intelligent and diverse music. Music in which they have not feared using unconventional instruments, such as a harp. This use of the harp is one of their strong points elevating a song like 'The Crown of Leaving' to an almost unreachable high level. Next to a harp we can hear violins, piano, black screams, clean vocals, spoken word, grunts, female vocals, fast blackish parts, slow doom parts, bombastic gothic parts, etc. In short Lacrimas Profundere create a mix of the best from a lot of different music styles without sounding cheesy or overdone.	1. infinity 2. helplessness 3. ...and how to drown in your arms 4. black swans 5. reminiscence 6. the crown of leaving 7. all your radiance... 8. the embrace and the eclipse 9. the fate of equilibrium Approx. 44 minutes
Reviewed by: Aldo Quispel