Lacrimosa - Revolution (2012)

At the end of the 90s, when my music-horizon expanded into the dark side (because of the cookies), Lacrimosa was one of my favourite "newish" bands I was listening to. I loved their particular blend of slow, doom-influenced gothic metal with complex arrangements and the bits of classical music thrown into here and there.

Sadly, around the year 2000, with their album Elodia, the classical bits took over and pushed the metal aspect into the background. It was for me all just too polished and - tame. So began to lose interest into the band until a couple years ago, when I started to rediscover some of the old stuff, I used to listening to. I guess for some people such rediscoveries can be quite a shock ("I was listening to THAT???"), but for me it was quite a pleasant experience so I began to delve into their more recent material.

Which brings me to their 2012 album Revolution. Its a much rougher record than what they did when I left them, and I am quite happy about this. Sound wise it is closer to albums like Satura and Inferno, but with a level of angst and aggression in its lyrics I did not expect to hear from this band. It is a bitter reckoning with our modern society. A society that is heading to self-destruction by vain ignorance and pure greed.

And it is brilliantly written. Take the song Feuerzug (Part 2), for example: The singer describes a burning train (a Feuerzug) that is jumping out of its tracks. First he appears to be a distant observer. Full of disbelieve about what he is witnessing, until he realizes the train is unstoppable; destroying everything on its path - and is heading towards him and everyone he loves.
Eventually he understands that he himself - and actually every single one of us - is sitting in the train and steers it into its doom.
Today, six years after the album's release, with all the recent political developments, his words ring more true than ever.

Revolution is probably Lacrimosa's bleakest album. It sounds so pressing and dark. Vicious at times. A more than welcome change in direction, if you ask me. It might not debate the nicest things in life and certainly is far away from any dark romantic sentimentalities of their past - but that's exactly what makes it so interesting and compelling.