Lacrimas Profundere
Burning: A Wish

In 2001, the Teutonic band Lacrimas Profundere released their fourth album, "Burning: A Wish", an album that I am about to review.

The group has experienced a clear stylistic evolution over time: starting by heavily drawing inspiration from Anathema (early phase) and My Dying Bride (thus with a dark, slow, cadenced, doom sound), it has transformed into an excellent gothic-metal band. If 'Memorandum' can be an album that well represents the band's doom phase, and 'Ave end' or 'Fall I will follow' that goth-metal phase, this "Burning: A Wish" stands halfway between the two. It indeed contains some more distinctly slow parts, with oppressive and dark rhythms like the lyrics, interspersed with faster and more rhythmic others. A good repertoire of instruments has been employed, which very pleasantly punctuate the different moments of the songs: for example, a melancholic piano or an isolated guitar are often used as a transition between a fast break and a more markedly doom one. Furthermore, the singer’s voice is extremely versatile: deep enough, it adapts very well to both (sporadic) growls and screams, resulting in a very warm voice and never out of place. Occasionally, a female voice also accompanies it, especially in the choruses or some key verses of certain songs.

What are the most significant tracks on this album? Well, starting with the opener, Melantroduction, which already outlines the atmosphere that permeates the entire album (worth noting is the ethereal guitar very much "style - Eternity by Anathema), we immediately come to a remarkable piece, Without. A captivating rhythm, well-defined guitars, and a general atmosphere of resignation and melancholy outline the entire song (which also contains some growl verses, in my view quite pointless to the sense of the song, but oh well!). Adorer and somebody, the third track, is also a good goth-metal piece with certain doom moments, noteworthy especially for its beautiful lyrics. In an ideal playlist, I would then omit the fourth track, A summer's end (it seems quite inconsistent to me) and instead include the subsequent Solicitude, silence. A song where the growl finally makes sense, it turns out to be aggressive and at the same time extremely touching, a worthy synthesis of all the musical moments constructed by Lacrimas and characterized by the employment of multiple instruments (which as already mentioned define each of its components very well): certainly a key piece of the album.

The initially slow 2 sec. and a tear sees the appearance of the female vocal component: it doesn’t clash at all, but it seems to almost disappear and lose its importance, although I couldn’t imagine the chorus without it. The middle part of the piece is beautiful, very desperate (we are at the levels expressed with Solicitude, silence). Last dance is a good and captivating track in its fast and goth-metal pace; I would then skip Morning... grey, of which frankly not much remains with me at the end of the listening, to reach Diotima, perhaps the last truly interesting piece of the entire album (considering that the last Re-silence is a modified reprise and continuation of the chorus of Solicitude, silence). Diotima is another good slow piece that does not disdain sudden accelerations, where the singer's voice, still on the same sad subdued tone, is very reminiscent of the second track (this time without growl though).

In summary: I consider the album valid, with some beautiful moments and others more repetitive and frankly useless. Musically it is very well produced: the production is clean, and as already anticipated, the voice is modulated on various registers when the song requires it (leaving aside the already mentioned unsuitable growl in Without). If one wants to get to know the first Lacrimas Profundere in gothic-metal version, this album is perfect, serving as the perfect precursor to the more gothic "Fall I will follow" (which, in fact, is its successor). If, however, one wants to appreciate the Teutonic band in their doom matrix, then perhaps it is better to go even further back in their discography, at least to "Memorandum".

Final score: 3.5, but I increase it to 4 for the great admiration I have for this group, in my opinion innovative in the current goth-metal scene. Well done!