Lake of Tears a Crimson Cosmos

Sometimes heavier, and generally more traditionally structured, Lake of Tears' third Black Mark release A Crimson Cosmos, turned out to be the band's breakout recording. In Europe (where the Lake of Tears brand of dour but traditional metal never fell completely out of favor), critics and fans finally began giving some respect to the group and their rapidly improving sound. Songs like "Raistlin and the Rose" and "Cosmic Weed" are some of the most musically satisfying efforts from the band. But strange numbers like the curious and hokey "Lady Rosenred" and other singalongs, like "Devil's Diner," almost go too far. After starting out with a debut marked by its aimlessness, the turnaround of Crimson Cosmos - released just four years later - is profound for sure, but not always comfortable…

After breaking up in 2002, releasing an album made only by Danniel Brennare ("The Neonai"), Lake of Tears returned in 2004 in top form with "Black Brick Road"!
The style of "Black Brick Road" is the typical Lake of Tears gothic metal mixed with a lot of 70's influences. But this time, maybe even darker than before, being the album not so depressive like "Forever Autumn", but with more sinister melodies (wiht the exception of Sister Sinister, a very animated rock track.) The using of keyboards and the dominance of hard riffs is what makes "Black Brick Road" similar to "A Crimson Cosmos". Nevertheless, the amazing track Dystopia could have been in "The Neonai", just like A Trip with the Moon… The dramatic and retro-gothic The Organ, has the style of "Forever Autumn". The rest of the tracks have the Lake of Tears typical that they have made since "A Crimson Cosmos".

Don't be fooled by the heavy riffs and scratchy semi-throaty vocals. The Lake of Tears of "Greater Art" are the same ones that would later bring excellent retro-gothic albums like "A Crimson Cosmos" and the masterpiece "Forever Autumn". 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.

Lake of Tears' fifth album, The Neonai, is also set to be their last, with singer/guitarist Daniel Brennare announcing that he will be moving in a different direction, possibly with a new project also named Neonai. And what a pity too, since many would argue that the band was still in its prime. Considering this is the end of the line makes Lake of Tears' trajectory all the more interesting to look back on - especially since their drastic evolution from depressive doom metal to spacy, post-Pink Floyd goth rock took place without compromising the quality of their music, something other respectable bands like Paradise Lost and Tiamat have failed miserably at. Brought home by the album's fantastical, psychedelic artwork (a bright, colorful, mirror-opposite of the dark collages often used by Cathedral), the truth is that there's little left in Lake of Tears' sound that even resembles heavy metal…

The most instrumentally dense, musically accomplished release from Lake of Tears, Forever Autumn is probably the group's finest accomplishment. With its metal-cum-folk dramatics and melancholy harmonicas, Lake of Tears draws what must be an unintended comparison to American alt-rock prankster outfitWeen. It's very doubtful that members of either band even heard of - much less listened to - the other, but Forever Autumn's high-contrast folk/prog/metal (especially the sedate and conversational vocals on tracks like "The Homecoming") bears an eerie comparison to many a Ween classic. All random musical associations aside, the dense, well-arranged "So Fell Autumn Rain," "Hold on Tight," and "To Blossom Blue" stand out as career bests for Lake of Tears…