{"id":41036,"date":"2014-05-27T16:48:21","date_gmt":"2014-05-27T21:48:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=41036"},"modified":"2014-05-27T16:48:21","modified_gmt":"2014-05-27T21:48:21","slug":"lake-of-tears-the-black-sea-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2014\/lake-of-tears-the-black-sea-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Lake Of Tears | The Black Sea<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska<\/span>
\n– Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"LakeThe Swedish act Lake Of Tears, active since the mid-\u201890s, is labeled anything from \u2018Death to Doom to Gothic\/Dark metal \u2013 and there is no doubt about their sound and specific atmosphere being targeted at a particular, tight circle of rock music listeners. Speaking shortly \u2013 your girlfriend might not like them and your grandma perhaps won\u2019t. But if you\u2019re into the somber, somewhat disturbing climate of their songs supported with a crunchy guitar sound music-wise, Lake Of Tears\u2019 latest release \u2013 a live album By The Black Sea<\/em> \u2013 may become your concert album of the year. The material for this album was recorded during the group\u2019s gig in Bucharest, Romania in 2013 and is comprised of 16 songs, representative to the different stages in the Lake Of Tears\u2019 collective history.<\/p>\n

The first track is the atmospheric instrumental intro \u201cTo Die Is To Wake,\u201d featuring some outstanding lead guitar work against the background of muscular, heavy riffs and lumbering, gloomy sound of the rhythm section. The next in the set are: a groovy, dour \u201cTaste Of Hell\u201d and raw, raucous \u201cIllwill\u201d (both from Lake Of Tears\u2019 most recent studio album Illwill, released in 2011). \u201cThe Greymen\u201d is one of the earlier tracks (of 2004 album Black Brick Road) – with slightly more emphasis on melody music-wise, what makes it a good choice for the set list. <\/p>\n

More highlights? The monumental, sinister metal ballad \u201cRaven Land\u201d (of the band\u2019s 1995 classic Headstones) laden with some tasteful guitar wizardry can certainly be the one. The other particularly outstanding tracks are these released originally on Black Brick Road album: \u201cMaking Evenings\u201d with some interesting guitar effects against Daniel Brennare\u2019s rough vocals and fast-paced \u201cCrazyman\u201d. The crowd\u2019s enthusiastic roars and applause towards the end of every song in the set is nothing surprising \u2013 a combination of the band\u2019s unique style and quality musicianship results in a performance which is undeniably of high quality. <\/p>\n

Additionally, the edition comprised of two discs \u2013 CD\/DVD set \u2013 offers an insight into the visual sphere of the band\u2019s live performance. It stands for both a valuable souvenir for those present at a Bucharest gig a year ago, and a teaser for those who plan to attend Lake Of Tears\u2019 concerts in the future. Included are also two official video clips \u2013 \u201cIllwill,\u201d its somber story illustrated with a sophisticated black-and-white film, and the live performance kind of promo to \u201cThe House Of The Setting Sun\u201d. There\u2019s also a special treat for those particularly interested in the band itself \u2013 a \u201cmaking-of\u201d footage and an in-depth interview with the band.<\/p>\n

With their first-ever live release By The Black Sea, the Swedish dark rock\/metal masters Lake Of Tears add more variety to their live performance by revisiting their entire output, from \u201cAs Daylight Yields\u201d of their debut album to a bite or two from their most recent effort Illwill. Apart from their flexible approach which makes their concert set balanced and varied, another advantage of the recorded Bucharest gig \u2013 and supposedly, the overall balance of their live performances \u2013 is the solid musicianship and vivid interaction with the audience. All these combined, By The Black Sea may stand for a flagship of the Swedes \u2013 the best of their catalog played live with prowess and fineness. If you\u2019re into death metal-infused, doomy guitar riffs and the atmospheric, somber ballads, it\u2019d be right for you to start your adventure with Lake Of Tears from their concert album. It surely has the potential to make a number of listeners dig a bit deeper into the band\u2019s musical past.<\/p>\n

Genre: Dark Rock, Metal, Doom Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nDaniel Brennare \u2013 vocals\/guitar
\nJohan Oudhuis \u2013 drums
\nFredrik Jordanius \u2013 guitar
\nMikael Larsson \u2013 bass <\/p>\n

Track List:
\n1. To Die Is To Wake
\n2. Taste Of Hell
\n3. Illwill
\n4. The Greymen
\n5. Boogie Bubble
\n6. Cosmic Weed
\n7. As Daylight Yields
\n8. The Shadowshires
\n9. Raven Land
\n10. Sweetwater
\n11. Demon You \/ Lily Anne
\n12. House Of The Setting Sun
\n13. Making Evenings
\n14. Crazyman
\n15. So Fell Autumn Rain
\n16. Forever Autumn<\/p>\n

Label: AFM Records<\/p>\n

Website: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thelakeoftears<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 7\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska – Columnist — The Swedish act Lake Of Tears, active since the mid-\u201890s, is labeled anything from \u2018Death to Doom to Gothic\/Dark metal \u2013 and there is no doubt about their sound […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":41037,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10848],"tags":[8645,9377,2317,9378,1093,9376,2267],"class_list":{"0":"post-41036","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2014","8":"tag-afm-records","9":"tag-by-the-black-sea","10":"tag-cd-review","11":"tag-dark-rock","12":"tag-doom-metal","13":"tag-lake-of-tears","14":"tag-metal"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41036\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}