LAKE OF TEARS

If the previous and disappointing "Illwill" delved into the more metal sounds of the project, "Ominous" turns out to be much darker, with numerous passages that delve into doom metal and gothic metal, leaving even more aside psychedelia and influences from the 70s that made famous records like "Forever Autumn" and "The Neonai".

It's possible that being diagnosed with chronic leukemia influenced Brennare's mood at the time of writing the record and that's why it's so depressing, but what's clear is that it makes for difficult and oppressive listening. And this would not be bad, if it were not also very boring.

So I could only recommend this album to absolute fans of Daniel Brennare who can connect with the shadows cast by this "Ominous". Unfortunately, I haven't connected with this proposal, and I don't think I'll listen to this record again.

Best Tracks: At the Destination (recovers some of the style that made Lake of Tears famous) and Ominous One (the best song on the album, in the vein of what was "Illwill" and which partly recovers the rhythm and those good vocal melodies from the past)

My Rating: **

With the excellent guitarist Magnus Sahlgren unfortunately out of the band, Daniel Brennare decided to return to the purely heavy roots of his first albums, resulting in a truly monotonous record, which delves into gothic metal almost completely leaving aside the excellent keyboard arrangements and the psychedelic touches that suited his previous albums so well.

So, in my opinion this album was a step in the wrong direction that not only didn't win new fans for Lake of Tears, but alienated existing ones.

After this, it would take ten years to release a new album, which I still haven't heard. I hope it's better than this clearly failed "Illwill"!

Best Tracks: House of the Setting Sun (recovers the dark and melancholy tones of songs like To Blossom Blue), Behind the Green Door (now we're talking! The best track of "Illwill", and the only one which retrieves some of the lost magic from the past) and Out of Control ( a short and effective one. Good guitar riffs, and a great solo)

My Rating: **

We still have a gothic rock with doom and stoner touches, but the psychedelic and progressive influences are increased with respect to the much more primitive "Greater Art", obtaining a sound much closer to the current Lake of Tears, but without reaching the level of mastery that would come with the later "A Crimson Cosmos".

However, it is a very enjoyable album, varied, with an excellent compositional level and that offers a perfect bridge between the most primitive stage of the group and its mature years.

Best Tracks: A Foreign Road (strong Black Sabbath influences), Headstones (intense and dramatic), Twilight (incredible keyboard interlude) and The Path of the Gods (second part of the song Upon the Highest Mountain from their first album, result in a 13 minute track which is definitely one of the reasons why this band is on ProgArchives under the progressive metal tag)

My Rating: ****

What happens is that here the influence of Celtic Frost and Black Sabbath is still very long, and the true personality of the band was yet to emerge. A somewhat raw production, too ethereal lyrics and a similar structure in almost all the songs do not help too much either.

In any case, if you enjoy doom-gothic metal with progressive and seventies touches, you can give this "Greater Art" a try, although without a doubt the best of the group was yet to come.

Best Tracks: Under the Crescent (a very powerful riff and a trademark chorus) and Upon The Highest Mountain (fine keyboars arrangements)

My Rating: ***

Many bands come across more vital live than on album. There's something about the live performance and the interaction with the audience that tends to bring out the best in some bands, and the often rougher and more vibrant sound you get when playing live can often lead to material getting more tension and gain an edge when compared to the studio versions, especially if a lot has been adjusted when the studio album was recorded. Live performances can be a double edged sword however. Every band member needs to have at least a fairly good day, there's a lot of equipment that needs to be tuned correctly, the monitors for the band needs to be set right, and technical mishaps needs to be catered for in a snappy manner. A lot of more or less uncontrollable factors have to be in place and in line for the concert to be a quality experience for all parties concerned. In the case of this live recording, my main impression is that not everything was quite lined up when this concert was recorded.

The music explored is a compelling one at the core. This being my first exposure to this Swedish band, I got generally good vibes from the material performed. Generally speaking I'd describe the greater majority of the compositions as fairly straight forward heavy metal creations at the core, slow to mid-paced affairs with chugging guitar riffs and slower, almost drone-like riff textures as key elements, with nice flowing guitar soloing and some instances of more fiery delivery, nice use of harmonizing dual riff and guitar solo ventures, and occasionally with careful keyboards as an almost ethereal presence on top. Light toned and acoustic guitars are used for the gentler passages, alongside some occasional piano motifs, and many of the songs comes with a doom-tinged expression or a slight touch of Gothic inspired moods or atmospheres.

There are a few aspects of this live recording that for me becomes rather detrimental however. There are backing vocals present for instance, but you have to dig rather deep into the mix to get them, as they more often than not drown in the mix. The guitars have some odd sounds at times, which may be due to the compositions rather than the recording quality, but for a band sometimes described as symphonic I would have thought that the keyboards should have been more prominent in the soundscapes. These are minor issues though. A major one are the vocals. Too dominant in the mix for starters, and in addition I get the impression that vocalist Daniel Brennare have had better days at work. That he has a raspy voice that makes him croak more than actually sing at times is one aspect, and a feature that may as well be intended. But that he doesn't quite manage to hold tone suggests to me at least a monitor that could have been better, and that his voice breaks up at times also indicates some additional challenges. A cold perhaps, or just good, old fashioned exhaustion? Anyhow, the net result for these detrimental features combined is a live album that all in all just isn't that interesting. There's no real nerve, and I found myself wondering if I should take the time to listen to the studio albums by this band instead, as they presumably will give me a better presentation about what this bad is truly all about.

While I cannot really vouch for the quality of the DVD part of this package, not having the DVD at my disposal for review, the quality of the audio recordings for me leaves quite a bit to be desired, and the performance as such doesn't strike me as a vital one either. As this is the sole live production released by this band, this should still be a production that will be of interest though, but then primarily for existing fans of this band as I regard it. Others should approach this one with a bit of caution.

To be fair, this has been the first I have heard of the Swedish gothic metal band Lake of Tears, and as a result, I have not heard the best that they have to offer. By all accounts I have heard, they have done some great work with the album 'Forever Autumn', and some of their other earlier work is quite good. Unfortunately, I have had no such experience with Lake Of Tears' latest effort, entitled 'Illwill'. Here, the band falls into a sorry category of artists who sport excellent production values and pretty of polish with what they do, but at the sacrifice of inspired songwriting and performance. Perhaps it was different for Lake Of Tears at some point, but here, the impression I am getting is one of rhinestones painted gold; a fairly mediocre hard rock album that the studio engineers have done everything to save.

Although going for a more accessible and melodic take on metal is not necessarily a bad thing at all, there is a point where things get so streamlined that it almost feels like an insult to the listener; as if they cannot handle much more than one or two half-baked musical ideas coming at them at once. The first four tracks of 'Illwill' help best to illustrate this; each being driven by conventional song structures, James Hetfield-wannabe vocal delivery, and guitar riffs that would border on drone music if they were made any more simple. With the apparent intention of sounding edgy, Lake Of Tears dishes out the distortion with each riff, but it never changes the fact that at their core, these ideas are incredibly tired even from the first spin of the album. With the exception of a few guitar solos here and there (that are admittedly quite tastefully done), it does not feel like the musicianship invests any soul into playing; even the drums seem there only to keep a sense of rhythm to the tracks, and nothing more.

Of course, 'Illwill' is not without its greater moments, and these almost always come in the form of the more mellow moments, where it ironically feels like Lake Of Tears has put most of their efforts into arranging and developing into something nice. After four pianfully mediocre tracs to kick off the record, 'Illwill' presents its fifth track, 'House Of The Setting Sun'; a doomy ballad of sorts which even for its plodding tempo and very mellow approach, is the most musically interesting track on the album. Besides that, Lake Of Tears unfortunately reverts to their cheesy gothic hard rock, which- to their credit- does get progressively heavier and more intense as the album goes on, but never manages to hold my interest even by the last track.

Despite one pretty good song and some solid production courtesy of whoever recorded this album, Lake Of Tears has come up short with 'Illwill' in most respects. Expect mediocre songwriting, uneventful execution, and a couple of interesting ideas along the way, and you may not be disappointed.

Lake Of Tears went down the doom metal path on this album. References is Candlemass, Pentagram,Solitude Aeturnus, Cathedral, Anathema + countless other male vocals doom metal bands. The music also have some Celtic Frost influences. The music is guitar based with some additional keyboards. The tempo is sludgy and sirupy. In other words, doomy.

Doomy also means lack of dynamics and variations. In the case of this album, lack of any real good melodies too. The vocals is pretty tiresome. The guitars and bass is pretty basic. So is the drums. With the benefit of seventeen years since the release of this album, I get the feeling of having heard this music before. The title track is very good. But the rest of the songs are pretty dire. Hence I am not that in awe of this album. Sorry.

2 stars

"The Greymen" kicks in before a minute with vocals. Some nice guitar before 3 minutes. A catchy,uptempo tune. "Making Evenings" has more bottom end to it but it's still a toe tapper. I like the instrumental section before 3 minutes to end it. "Black Brick Road" opens with a dark guitar line as the organ and drums join in. Vocals follow. Lazy guitar with organ before 3 minutes then it kicks back in. "Dystopia" is upbeat and uptempo like the first track. Catchy stuff. "The Organ" is melancholic with organ (surprise). Reserved vocals join in. The guitar before 3 1/2 minutes soars.

"A Trip With The Moon" is again upytempo and catchy with synths on the chorus this time. "Sister Sinister" has some guest female vocals trading off with the male vocals. A fun tune. Gothic is not supposed to be fun people ! "Rainy Day Away" and the last track are my two favourites. This one has a full rich sound to it as he sings "Let's take a ride in my green machine" over and over. And yes i've taken many trips in the green machine my friend. "Crazyman" is the best track i've heard from the band. Maybe that says a lot about how i feel about them because we have a guest vocalist and a much heavier and intense sound here. How about an album full of songs like this ? Ripping guitar 2 1/2 minutes in pretty much to the end.

3.5 stars. I like this quite a bit but I tire of the catchy tracks really fast.