In a world that is ever changing, Gothic Doom Metal and Rock still seem to be subtly thriving as beloved sub-genres. Especially so in the European region, a mainstay on the Gothic Metal scene has been the German band known as Lacrimas Profundere.
Latin for “shedding tears,” Guitarist Oliver Nikolas Schmid launched the band back in 1993 originally as a Doom Metal project. Morphing and maturing over the years, they would find their biggest shift in styles in 2002 with Fall, I Will Follow. Since then producing one solid album after another, with both original Vocalist Christopher Schmid, and then with Rob Vitacca providing their voice for nearly a decade, the winds are changing once more.
An announcement that came down via social media in the spring of 2018, Lacrimas Profundere soon welcomed in their third Vocalist Julian Larre. Additionally seeing the departure of long-time Guitarist Tony Berger, along with Bassist Clemens Schepperle and Drummer Christop Schepperle, the band soldier on with Dominik Scholz returning to the fold on drums. Technically a trio, together they came together for the fresh new album Bleeding The Stars, which is due out on Friday, July 26th through Oblivion.
Their twelfth overall studio album, and a follow-up to 2016’s Hope Is Here, now on their third singer, the band still finds a way to keep true to their stylistic sound, although that fluctuates from album to album as well. In fact, Lacrimas Profundere has found their voice once again with ten great tracks themed in an astral universe where nothing is constant or infinite. As the first album to feature Larre on vocals, the first thing you notice is that the similarities in style between him, Christopher Schmid, and Rob Vitacca are pretty profound in a way that seems natural. The similarities are so strong that if you did not know it was a different singer it would not be the first noticeable difference. That in mind, Larre does have a range that seems to actually head back into a doomy Death Metal vibe which was where the band planted their roots.
It all begins with slow but steady “I Know and Will Forever Know.” A journey into a new exploration of the Lacrimas Profundere existence, the songs then flow from one into the other with a very graceful ease. Entering the heart of “Celestite Woman,” there is an open ended comfort created that can not be broken. Then, scurrying off into “The Kingdom Solicitude,” the fluid change up between clean to harsh vocals and dynamics in guitar range once again comfort and engage you.
Moving into the rare cooked meat of the album, “Mother of Doom” and “Father Of Fate” weigh in at three and a half minutes of catchy melodic tales of ironic tyranny. This is while “Like Screams In Empty Halls” has a very death growl, Doom based feel and features a sympathetic depth to that of any great Type O Negative song. As the shortest tune of the collection, at just under three minutes, “After All Those Infinities” Goth rocks it out with the best of them. Which leads the mellow “A Sip Of Multiverse” which features the highest clean vocal range of the album that neither makes or breaks the song, but certainly exemplifies yet a third range. All this said, while there is a vast but similar feel in and out of each tune, it provokes interest from start to finish, and the finale track “A Sleeping Throne” is no exception.
Gothic Metal is such a small niche compared to most other sub-genres of Metal, yet there are some very special bands who thrive in the subject including Moonspell, Poisonblack, and 69 Eyes. Those who understand and appreciate the art form live to breathe through it, even though it may not resonate with everyone. Lacrimas Profundere stands out as one of the greats with its deep appreciation for its craft, and its ever changing constant of successful melodies that can still appeal to a wide audience.
Those with the darkest and purest souls will not walk away from Bleeding The Stars empty handed or hearted for that matter. For a very well put together work of art with endless possibilities, Cryptic Rock gives this album 4.5 out of 5 stars.
){kind=link}
No comment