CoC : Lacrimas Profundere - Burning: A Wish : Review

Lacrimas Profundere - _Burning: A Wish_
(Napalm, 2001)
by: Pedro Azevedo (7.5 out of 10)

This record's predecessor, _Memorandum_ [CoC #43], already showed a strong Anathema influence. _Burning: A Wish_ is even closer to Anathema at times (the beginning of "Solicitude Silence" and its reprise of sorts "Re-Silence" could have fooled me); some other times it harkens back to a style more identifiable as Lacrimas Profundere's own (including some faster sections and death growls); and the rest of the time shows the band moving into a more atmospheric, melodic and gothic style of doom than before. This is saying quite a bit considering _Memorandum_ was already quite melodic, but there was a harsher edge to it which is all but gone now. Melancholic and occasionally somewhat goth-like clean vocals are used a lot more often than death growls this time around. The way the vocalist sometimes drags his voice tends to annoy me, as does the drowsy quality it tends to have when he does that. Some other times the clean vocals bring to mind Anathema's Vincent Cavanagh, which is not very surprising given the influence they have in Lacrimas Profundere's guitar work and style to begin with. There is less musical contrast in the record (not enough of the old "light and shade" for my taste), and it is also more chorus-oriented. However, while it is a fact that the music of Lacrimas Profundere has become softer and for my taste less enticing, its quality remains undeniable. Whether it will be to the taste of everyone who enjoyed _Memorandum_ I cannot say for sure, even though that's likely to be the case -- but Lacrimas Profundere don't seem to be heading in a particularly original or unpredictable direction at all, so it should be reasonably easy to figure out whether you're likely to enjoy what they're doing these days before you buy the record. If you've never heard anything by the band, then I'd say _Memorandum_ is clearly your best bet, unless you're really looking for something on the softer side of doom metal.

(article published 12/8/2001)

ALBUMS
7/20/2006	J Smit	5	Lacrimas Profundere - Filthy Notes for Frozen Hearts
10/12/1999	P Azevedo	9	Lacrimas Profundere - Memorandum