Lake of Tears Forever Autumn

For those not familiar with the band Lake of Tears, they are a band that mixes vocals similiar to those found in bands like Iced Earth and Metallica. Strong but a little gruff, although the singer in 'Tears has a much more melodic feel to his vocals, which suits the music. The music they play mixes psychedelic 70s keyboard sounds with a nice paced thrash crunch and a dash of bluesiness. The result is something rather unique, which I love, and this is normally not something I would warm up to so quickly and keep on loving it. Their music is extremely accessible, lots of hooks and swinging grooves keep the songs gelled together, while extremely solid performances by all band members beckon the listener back for more.

There is a common theme played by violin that is strung throughout the album, and can be found in the very first tune, as well as the last two songs among others to name a few. This reoccuring melody gives the album a continous feel and is the final icing on the cake near the end. One of the standout features of the band however, is their rather bare yet infectious melodies. Some of their songs are so addicting that they stay with the listener for a very long time. I found myself swaying and singing/or humming the choruses to a handful of these (most notably "Demon You/Lily Ann". Lots of subtle hints of various instruments, woodwinds, acoustics and violins, fill out the songs and inject them with personality. It all flows together very nicely. The production is also very solid and nicely done.

1.] So Fell Autumn Rain - The violin theme kicks off song number one, a good progressive thrash crunch tune, the exact kind of thing the band does best. In the same vein as "Raistlin and the Rose" and the like. With lines the singer echoes in this flawless whipped out fashion.
2.] Hold On Tight - vocals a little offkey backed by acoustic, then some feedback guitar squeal, and the full sound kicks in on that cue. Not a real riproarer, but stays pretty much in the midpaced sound, with the sounds of flute to round the song out. Not a killer but a solid tune.
3.] Forever Autumn - lazily plucked acoustic with loud mixed vocals on the top, start off this tune. Rich and slow paced song, it eases along with lots of acoustic guitar, violins and 70s kind of vocal choruses. Its the expressive lead vocal performance that drive this one home.
4.] Pagan Wish - bass thump city! crunch and groove song with some of the most evil acoustic sounds you'll ever hear. This one sounds alot like LoT's older stuff, and hits about the hardest of anything else on the album. Some 70s synth lurks around in the background adding extra touches to the inner depths of the song and makes the outer shell sound much more interesting to listen to. Decent blistering guitar shred solo in the middle.
5.] Otherwheres - storm samples unleashing thunder and a wistful falling rain give atmosphere to this rather calm instrumental. It lasts almost four minutes, and is one of the tunes that showcase the writing talents of this band, for this instrumental doesn't seem tacked on in the slightest, and rather is an entire song, solid and interesting throughout, that progresses from its humble piano beginnings to add other instruments one by one to swell up to a huge sound. No wild playing here, its just beauty. And so the autumn rain falls.
6.] The Homecoming - Another laid back tune. Lake of Tears has gone soft in a big way. "na..nana.." starts out the song. I thought 'nananas' were left back in the 60s. Oh well, it doesn't detract from the song and this one is softly smashing. Violins carry the melody of this pretty little tune on about someone becoming a cosmic sailor (death), which is what I assume from the lyrics. Interesting and melodic, nothing particularly driving here, except the brittle toned electric axemaster solo. Yet it all blends and fits so perfectly.
7.] Come Night I Reign - acoustic beginning starts out yet another soothing packed with melody LoT tune. Bouncy, more great vocals and acoustic work, but this one steps it up a notch into crunch land and comes out being a midpaced tune with piano to lighten the overall sound and toss in an extra dimension.
8.] Demon You/Lily Ann - Bouncing light crunch song with a bit of psychedelic keyboard sounds in pure Lake of Tears fashion. Sing-a-long choruses delivered with a slight sneer, that get repetitive at times, but it sounds so good you don't even care, kind of like older LoT songs, "Bubble Boogie" and the like. A few slight hesitations in barreling back into the chorus leave the listener taken by surprise. Very nice touch. Nice symphonic sound back this one up. Infectious and very well put together. The masses of voices booming "summon (4x) the demon you" and then the lone voice of the singer belting out forlornly "Lily Ann" impacts effectively.
9.] To Blossom Blue - beautiful melancholy song. Very relaxed and laid back with outstanding pure blues guitar wallowing in sorrow. Very acoustic sounding but with a huge sound, and deep masculine vocals that pour out casually. The song is extremely blues influenced, and reminds me of a more laid back Great White song (coming to mind is "Maybe Someday"). Lots and lots of guitar soloing, and the violin that puts the finishing touch on the album that fades out the end is unique in the way it has pops like being played on a record player. Fantastic.