Lacrimas Profundere returns to bring melancholy to life.
Created in 1993 in Germany as Dark Eternity, the band will quickly change its name to become the one we now know. In 2022, Oliver Nikolas Schmid (guitar), Dominik Scholz (drums), Julian Larre (vocals) and Ilker Ersin (bass, ex-Freedom Call) announced the release of their twelfth album, How to Shroud Yourself with Night.
The album opens with the dark Wall of Gloom and its majestic tones. The haunting sound mixed with the singer’s expressive vocals welcomes female backing choirs as well as some more aggressive bursts of screams, creating a heady diversity on the heavy choruses, letting airy leads drive us to A Cloak of Woven Stars, a more energetic composition which offers some heavy riffs to create a contrast with the most motivating elements. Vocals reveal again a wide range of tones going from visceral screams to softer parts before Nebula comes to revive this disturbing quietness in which the band develops soaring sounds, exploding during choruses. Choirs give relief to the track again, just like on In a Lengthening Shadow and its perfectly identifiable and almost joyful Gothic influences. The sound will be perfect to federate audiences from all over the world before knocking them out again with The Curtain of White Silence, on which the vocalist offers us a raw performance followed by devastating Death Metal influences to create a wave of incredible intensity. Unseen follows with some mysterious keyboards on which the rhythmic is ignited, tempered by some more hypnotic elements accompanying vocals, then The Vastness of Infinity unveils a majestic sound populated by mysterious touches. Impressive riffs welcome quieter and more melodious leads before To Disappear in You brings this energetic touch to the attractive darkness. There are also more aggressive parts dominated by a lively double kick and massive screams, then An Invisible Beginning carries us again in a soothing quietness accompanied by these thick riffs and heady choruses. The band closes the album with Shroud of Night, a last composition which draws from its first influences while adding this more modern touch to the as heavy as attractive and hypnotic Gothic sounds, combining heaviness and raw efficiency.
When I discovered Lacrimas Profundere, I was immediately caught by the sincerity of their music. Over the years, the band has evolved, and How To Shroud Yourself With Night somehow sounds like a comeback to the roots of melancholy and darkness we all enjoy.
95/100