Lake Of Tears
Forever Autumn

When talking about the great masterpieces of gothic, the same titles are always mentioned, rightly or wrongly: "Wildhoney" by Tiamat, "The Angel and the Dark River" by My Dying Bride, "Draconian Times" by Paradise Lost, "Viva Emptiness" by Katatonia, although for the latter a different discussion could be made. But the list doesn't stop there, and many other works, especially from the '90s, expand the category. In this list, I've never heard "Forever Autumn," the fourth work by the Swedish Lake Of Tears, a band whose name already reveals its peculiarities.

The record in question is said by many to be the LOT's masterpiece, the best chapter of a career that never really took off. "Forever Autumn" has all the characteristics of those works I now keep at a respectful distance, but it also has an underlying soul that makes it unique, simple, direct, yet different from all the collapses of today’s gothic. In FA there's a decadent and intimate atmosphere, there are reflective and dreamy lyrics, slow compositions, "nocturnal" ballads, violins, smoking chimneys in the fog, derelict churches, everything you can think of. But above all, there's an attitude stripped of the frills of now-widespread mannerism, even though the work in question isn't that far back in time (we're in 1999).

Every element is in its place and simplicity reigns over everything: here and there, keyboards, strings, dusty acoustic guitars make an appearance, but everything falls within the limits of a bearable musical "modesty." Elements that come together in a perfect marriage in the title track and the splendid "The Homecoming," essential pieces of vintage gothic rock. What further enhances the proposal of the Boras (Sweden) band is a "vintage" production that makes the sounds muffled just enough to give a "touch of antiquity" to songs already projected into the past. How can one not mention the enchanting beginning of the opener "So Fell Autumn Rain" and then the abrasive surge of the guitar? Just like the underlying rage of "Demon you / Lily Anne", ending with the changing moods of the final "To Blossom Blue."

"Forever Autumn" is a truly noteworthy work, filled with simplicity, without unnecessary ornaments of fictitious technique, without embellishments for their own sake. Everything contained in this CD is essential to itself and traces lines that many bands in recent years should study and understand. From the masked aggression of tracks like "Pagan Wish" and "Come Night I Reign" to the more thoughtful rhythms of "Hold On Tight," without forgetting the already mentioned titles. "Forever Autumn" is a work that makes its strength out of essentiality, without lingering in complex arrangements, but that also possesses all the emotional power of a psychedelic gothic album with folk contours. Nostalgic, lost, autumnal sounds...

An album to rediscover.

1. "So Fell Autumn Rain" (5:22)
2. "Hold On Tight" (4:06)
3. "Forever Autumn" (5:55)
4. "Pagan Wish" (4:23)
5. "Otherwheres" (3:55)
6. "The Homecoming" (5:17)
7. "Come Night I Reign" (3:51)
8. "Demon You/Lily Anne" (4:22)
9. "To Blossom Blue" (8:15)