Band:	Lacrimas Profundere
Album:	Burning: A Wish
Style:	Gothic doom metal, Gothic metal
Release date:	2001

01. Melantroduction
02. Without
03. Adorer And Somebody
04. A summer's End
05. Solicitude, Silence
06. 2 Sec. And A Tear
07. Lastdance
08. Morning... Grey
09. Diotima
10. Re-silence

Who could have expected such a good album from the German Lacrimas Profundere? After their LP Memorandum, which was quite good but has gone reasonably unnoticed, no one could really have foreseen that this unknown band peering at My Dying Bride and Anathema would explode to the face of gothic/doom fans. Not that they reach the level of the famous previous two bands, but Lacrimas Profundere now ranks itself among the five best bands of this style.

For this album, they have fired the harpist and the female singer, even if a woman still appears on some tracks like ?Melantroduction?. This introduction is a perfect mirror of what Burning: a wish is going to be, and gives no doubt about the influences of the German band: The plaintive guitar riff instantaneously reminds of Anathema, Christopher's deep voice sounds a bit like Aaron Stainthorpe's of My Dying Bride [and is enhanced by the female vocals], the lyrics are in the usual mood of doom bands, I mean not really happy...
Then comes ?Without?, one of the most representative tracks of the album. If you want to know how the main riff sounds like, just listen to Anathema's ?Fragile dreams? and you got it. To be noticed, this song is one of the few [with ?Solicitude, silence? for example] on which Christopher Schmid growls. This is an improvement compared to Memorandum, where he used to scream almost everytime, and often out of the rhythm. The third track, ?Adorer and somebody?, is one of the saddest ballads I?ve ever heard. And it is also one of the most beautiful. Still you can hear Anathema's influence, but the chorus is so beautiful, the lyrics so desperate, and the piano fits so well in it that it is, in the end, nothing but astounding. Undoubtedly the highlight of the album.
?A summer's end?, after that, sounds a bit repetitive, above all because the spoken words [another trademark of Lacrimas Profundere] are just boring. So, no really interest in this song. ?Solicitude, silence? improves it all, with the acoustic introduction, the depressing spoken words and the growlings on the chorus that make of it a very good track. And still the piano kicks ass. ?2 sec. and a tear?, with a slow pace and female vocals starts very well, but as usual, the spoken words are boring. ?Lastdance?, on the other hand, is a very good mid-tempo track, on which the vocas reach the essence of desperation [here it really sounds like Anathema with My Dying Bride's singer].
?Morning...grey? [cool title...] is a good ballad with only piano, violin and a few drums in the end. Christopher Schmid does not sing, he only speaks but his words are covered by a beautiful female voice. ?Diotima? has the same type of composing as ?Without?: arpeggios at the beginning, a mid- tempo riff, a catchy chorus, and still this deep, doomed, sad voice that can make the less sensitive minds shiver with emotion. But, in the end, the spoken words make it all collapse... Finally, the outro ?Re-silence? is only a cover of the riff of ?Solicitude, silence? with some different lyrics, and a more present rhythm guitar: a good closing track, in the tune fo the whole album.

So, what can I say about Burning: a wish? It is a good album, but it could have been better: the spoken words are boring and completely inefficient, and some tracks sound repeating and without interest. Maybe next time...

Highlights: Without, Adorer And Somebody, Last Dance