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Lichtgestalt

No matter what you say about Lacrimosa, it will not be enough simply because Lacrimosa is not just music - it's pure Art - a gothic metal/rock opera of emotions and experiences.

Tilo Wolff, the genius mind behind Lacrimosa, in combination with the fabulous Anne Nurmi, pours his soul to the majesty of this very unique band touching our fragile hearts with the beautiful "Lichtgestalt"! The familiar intense dramatic and poetic mood is still present, but how could it be missing since it has been the most important part of Lacrimosa since their very beginning? This time the happy/sad clown of Lacrimosa (happy smile, sad eyes) stands naked in front of the audience, exposing his esotericism, remaining on his knees and being unable to fly with his demon-shaped wings that "adorn" his back.

Lacrimosa keep on unfolding their grandeur on the composition, atmosphere and emotional levels. They drown the listener in an ocean of tears surrounding him in such a gentle way that he can't, actually, resist the call; and thus he follows, losing himself in the magic of Lacrimosa. The orchestrations are elegiac and classical music oriented and they harmonize beautifully with the deeply expressive and emotional vocals. Tilo Wolff, with his recognizable accent, and Anne Nurmi with her bittersweet enchanting interpretation escalate the emotional charge of the compositions, giving life to the poetic and doleful lyrics that play an important role to the Drama of Lacrimosa.

This time the guitars reclaim the throne they had lost on "Echos". They are heavy for one more time and they don't just have an accompanying role or remain in the background as an atmosphere-evoking instrument. They sound powerful once again, holding the compositions tight along with the rhythm section and from time to time the riffing turns to inspired soloing, which makes the whole feeling more soulful.

The overall aesthetic of "Lichtgestalt" is at the same time fragile and powerful. The orchestral pieces, along with the added choir, evoke a devout feeling, either dreamy or enriched with a sense of dismay, while the guitars, along with the dynamic rhythm section, lend power to the songs in the most ideal way. All in all, "Lichtgestalt" is an intense piece of Art with Tilo Wolff showing a more mature face on the song-writing front and, generally, with the whole entity of Lacrimosa sounding unerring and stunning, once again.

Although the album has a definitive, uniform flow, songs that might stand as highlights include the emotional "Sapphire", which gets more intense as it progresses, reaching an outburst in the end, and the hymn to pure love "Kelch Der Liebe". The lachrymose and sincere "Nachtschatten", the atmospheric and deeply pleasing to the soul "Letzte Ausfarht: Leben" or the long epic "Hohelied Der Liebe" are also stunning pieces.

"Lichtgestalt" is another brilliant release from Lacrimosa, an album every Lacrimosa fan must own. Nevertheless, if you are new to the sound of this band, I would recommend you to check out albums like "Elodia" and "Stille" first since they represent the grandeur of Lacrimosa in all aspects.

"Ein Leben ohne Liebe ist kein Leben…"
"A Life without Love is not Life…"

 

Written on 05.12.2005 by KwonVerge

www.metalstorm.net

Echos

2003 found Lacrimosa with a new album, the long-awaited "Echos". Usually on the covers of the band we could see the happy-sad clown (happy smile/the lie - sad eyes/the truth), but this time on the cover lies a ship, the ship of Lacrimosa amongst the angry waves of the sea, the waves that this fabulous band had to face through all these years to become the great and unique act they are. If you look carefully you'll see that the clown is still there, under the Lacrimosa flag on the back of the ship staring at the past while the ship sails to the future, a future that seems so bright and very promising.

"Echos" of the past and of tomorrow is what Tilo Wolff, Anne Nurmi and the ensemble of charismatic musicians taking part in the album have to offer. Lacrimosa show a more mature symphonic face and Tilo Wolff has progressed a lot as a composer and interpreter and thus "Echos" is a step forward through the past of "Lacrimosa". The guitar distortion is less heavy this time and though wonderful guitar solos paint the soundscape at times with beautiful melodies the guitar riffing has stopped being an important part of Lacrimosa's sound and by saying that I mean that the guitar riffing doesn't play such an important role in the sound of Lacrimosa as it did during their middle period after "Satura". As we can see, the structure of the compositions refers to the early years of Lacrimosa when their sound was based mainly on symphonic ideas but in a more complex and mature way with Lacrimosa diving deeper and deeper in the world of classical music in various ways.

"Kyrie" opens "Echos" and it is a pure classical piece with a wide variety of classical instruments taking part evoking an intense devout atmosphere leading to "Durch Nacht und Flut" that follows filling the atmosphere with beautiful-sounding guitar melodies and symphonies that float here and there in the air accompanying Tilo's descriptive voice interpreting the poetic lyrics expressing deep longing and love. The melancholic "Sacrifice" continues the album in a sad tone with Tilo's fragile voice painting the soundscape with dreary colors as the grey keyboard melodies wither all beauty paving the way for the guitars to enter and enrich the sound of the composition with their wailing melodies at times.

The album flows beautifully with the emotional "Apart" and sadness fills the air through Anne's lovely interpretation evoking an intense sense of melancholy as the symphonic ideas accompany her harmonizing wonderfully with her voice and the desperate lyrics referring to a situation when you desperately need love like never before in your life. "Ein Hauch von Menschlichkeit" follows, a composition based on the inspired symphonic ideas that float in the air like a siren's song accompanying the descriptive voice of Tilo Wolff that for one more time sounds so expressive and unerring. And you are ready to cherish "One Night In Eternity", a deeply emotional composition with the melancholic piano pieces and the bittersweet violin melodies overrunning your soul, caressing your heart with their fragile sound as Tilo's utterly descriptive voice makes the whole atmosphere more intense giving meaning to every single word he utters dancing with emotions.

"Malina" lets the album continue in a groovy way with the bass lines holding tight the song as the inspired and various symphonies along with the guitar riffing that appears at times accompany Tilo Wolff's intense interpretation sounding really impressive. The 13-minute opus "Die Schreie Sind Verstummt" leads slowly "Echos" to its end. Every sound a tear, every word Tilo utters a bleeding wound, every second that passes an eternity of pain. The melancholy-evoking piano pieces, the bleeding violin melodies, the guitar riffing and solo ideas, the emotional symphonies and Tilo's chanting almost crying at times whilst at others desperate ecstatic voice evoke a unique devout melancholic atmosphere harmonizing in perfect entwine with the poetic and esoteric lyrics making "Die Schreit Sind Verstummt" one of the most beautiful Lacrimosa compositions.

"Echos" is a classical piece of Art and inspiration. All we can do is wait the next step of the genius mind of Tilo Wolff, the Mozart of Gothic music; in the meanwhile, I will press the repeat button and let "Echos" float in the heavy air…

Written on 25.11.2004 by KwonVerge

www.metalstrom.net

Elodia

Lacrimosa, well known and established German Gothic act surprise us once again delivering an exquisite piece of art, an astonishing, overwhelming gothic opera which no words can describe.

Let's start by warning that the root of this album is pure classical music in the vein of Mozart, so if you absolutely hate classical music, stay away from this one. Lacrimosa recorded this one with the London Symphony Orchestra, the result, a classical opus divided in three acts that tells the story of an impossible love doomed to fail, culminating in the question of whether love in excess can become a force that ultimately has the power to destroy itself, whether to much love will kill.

The whole album is sung in German, except for one song, singed entirely by Anne Nurmi, female singer of the band. The counterpart of Anne is Tilo Wolff, founder and mastermind behind Lacrimosa, Tilo has a somewhat weird voice, and a very marked German accent, many people find Tilo's voice disturbing, I find it perfect for the kind of music this band deliver. Let's analyze this piece of art act by act:

Act 1
The album opens with 'Am Ende der Stille' [at the end of silence], a long instrumental piece, in this one you can hear the Mozart influence in this band, this one describes The slow disruption of love overwhelmed by harmony. Next is 'Alleine zu Zweit' [together alone], a beautiful song, you'll find trying to hum the chorus even if you don't know German! This one is followed by the powerful 'Halt mich' [hold me], the strings and flutes describes a desperate attempt to breathe new life into the past, to regain what have been lost. The only English song 'The Turning Point' is next, Anne Nurmi has a very striking accent, which fits perfect in this song that recounts these days that have been lost in a mood of intimacy and leads finally to the inevitable events of the second act.

Act 2
'Ich verlasse heut' dein Herz' [I take today leave of your heart], is an escalating, emotional piece that evolves into a really heavy song. This one describes almost indulgently the emotional separation that is experienced in the touching, followed by the act of separation itself, which take place on the different levels of the somewhat mysterious 'Dich zu toten fiel mir schwer' [killing you was hard], a song with a heavy riffing in the middle part.

Act 3
The Opera reaches it's climax when the firsts strings announces the arrival of the requiem 'Sanctus', this one clocks around 14 minutes, but it has all the elements to make it a perfect song, choral piece, strings, winds, harsh parts, softer parts, nice soloing, just perfect. 'Am Ende stehen wir zwei' [at the end, there are the two of us] wraps things and tells of a farewell full of hope.

So, what are you doing reading this? You should be out buying this album! If you like gothic metal and classical music, you can't go wrong with this one! If I have one word to describe this album. It would be: perfect. Still reading ? GO !


Written by Undercraft | 19.09.2003
 
www.metalstorm.net