Lacrimas Profundere - Ave End
Napalm Records
Electronic Gothic Rock
12 songs (47'21")
Release year: 2004
Lacrimas Profundere, Napalm Records
Reviewed by Alex

I do remember myself sitting and contemplating whether to buy a new Lacrimas Profundere album. Why is that? Back in 1999 this German band released one of the most stunning melodic doom albums. With their unnerving compositions, both growling and deep as Hell male vocals, angelic female vocals, harp and violin, not to mention the overall style paying much homage to Anathema and My Dying Bride, Memorandum is one of most favorite albums when European melodic doom comes to mind, along with The Silent Enigma and Turn Loose the Swans from the aforementioned stalwarts. Memorandum was followed by Burning: A Wish which showed a shift to a gothic rock sound. Not bad in of itself, but the album was nowhere near the striking grieving power of Memorandum. Fall and I Will Follow came next and left me even more unimpressed. With two strikes against it I gave spending $14 on this some thought, … and then swiftly purchased the limited edition digipack with a bonus track and a video clip for the title track. This way I could either resurrect Lacrimas Profundere in my eyes or bury it once and for all. What can I say, ladies and gents, the third strike is here.

If you thought Burning: A Wish and Fall and I Will Follow lacked some balls, Ave End is as sterile as a doctor’s glove before the surgery. Simplest gothic rock for whatever European station that would play it is what the music is on Ave End, and no deep and clear production or some melodic hooks can save it.

The opener One Hope’s Evening is a surprising choice to lead the album with. Absolutely lacking in energy, keyboards drenched to the gill, it features Depeche Mode style crooning and lots of parts where electronic feedback is the only sound. One bad opener track would not be a big deal if the rest 11 killed. They, however, don’t even come close. Unbearably formulaic and samey they feature monotonic rock rhythms, background guitar and cut’n’paste keyboard hooks. Some are slow, just the like the opener, others are more up tempo and have some bounce in them (title track, Sarah Lou, Amber Girl, Black). Slower tracks use that clean droning vocals, fuzzy guitar and are completely hopeless. Faster ones have deeper lower tone voice and at least crunch a little and would do OK if they weren’t ripping off the last few Cemetary albums, when Mathias Lodmalm was thinking of Sundown already. Design 19 is where this music started. On Astronautumn the band goes away from the “deep goth” vocals in favor of electronic distorted voicebox. At least bands like Crematory have some growling death vocals and bring some sensation into fray.

Lacrimas Profundere has become a perfect band to play their electrogoth material in a dark dance club somewhere in Germany. This music is slick, commercial and I have absolutely no interest in it. Another band to bite the dust after Evereve. What is it with these Germans to succumb to such fate? At least Empyrium did not compromise. Next time Lacrimas Profundere releases an album I won’t be pondering the purchase and will use my $14 on the band which puts more emotion in its music.

Killing Songs :
None stand out, but Ave End, Sarah Lou, Amber Girl and Black you can at least dance to after you pop some Ecstasy pill
Alex quoted 40 / 100
Other albums by Lacrimas Profundere that we have reviewed:
Lacrimas Profundere - Fall I Will Follow reviewed by Jack and quoted 85 / 100
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