It’s a shame that no reviews of Lacrimas Profundere have been done for Metal Reviews thus far. What a pity, because they’re fourth release Burning A Wish is one of the gothic metal highlights of 2001. Fall I Will Follow is already their fifth album after And The Wings Embraced Us in 1995, La Naissance d’un Rêve (The Birth Of A Dream) in 1997, Memorandum in 1999 and finally Burning A Wish in 2001. Both latest releases were released through Napalm Records and of course I own them.

This dark, gothic band originates from Germany which is quite unusual because except for Crematory or Evereve I don’t remember any other dark, gothic bands from Germany. Germany is more known for its speed metal bands such as Helloween, Gamma Ray and Primal Fear, as well as old school thrash metal such as Kreator, Destruction and Sodom or even death metal with acts such as Morgoth, Mystic Circle and Protector.

With the release of Memorandum which was very close to a masterpiece of dark, doom and gothic metal, the music being incredible doom metal reminiscent of Anathema, Katatonia and My dying Bride, the band emerged as one of the leading European gothic metal acts. Unfortunately, the band went through line-up changes with the departure of Lorenz on drums and especially Ursula on harp and Anja on violin and female backing vocals either for family reasons or lack of time to devote to the band. Lacrimas Profundere came back a couple of years later with another strong album Burning A Wish, but the musical direction of the band diverged from their earlier recordings to a more refined rock sound. The songs are more straight, more dynamic and less playful. This album just left me longing for more.

And more I got with this new full length offering Fall I Will Follow which sees the band confirming their new musical direction just as Katatonia and Paradise Lost did it with their latest recordings. I can see many similarities between those two bands and Lacrimas Profundere new musical direction. Indeed their music remains melancholic, but the band manages to make their records very diverse in their entirety. Musically speaking, this album, just like their previous one, covers a lot of ground, partly melancholic, partly refreshingly rocky and captivating at all times. Songs are filled with deep emotions and perfect arrangements and the production is warm and full. However, the band is going further into their new rock orientated sound with stronger bittersweet melodies, although the band can remain very atmospheric as featured on the songs Sear Me Pale Sun that sounds like a tribute to My Dying Bride.

All in all this is an album that is neither stronger nor weaker than its predecessor, but it’s an album worth checking out even if you don’t know the band. I encourage all of you to browse their homepage and download an audio file to get to know this band.