A new release by Lacrimosa always comes with extremely high expectations and “Revolution” is not an exception. Throughout Lacrimosa’s successful career, the band’s absolute mastermind Tilo Wolff has spoiled us with irresistible baroque musical style, high quality musicianship and strong creative force. As the previous albums, “Revolution” is a passionate an intricate work of art that deserves an attentive listening in order to fully appreciate each facet of its musical complexity and to capture the inner beauty of each melody. All the metalheads out there would also be glad to know that “Revolution” features Mille Petrozza from Kreator on guitar and Stefan Schwarzmann from Accept on drums.
“Irgendein Arsch ist immer unterwegs” is the undoubtedly majestic opener of this album. Do not waste your time trying to pronounce the title correctly, instead you should relax and savor each and every note of this highly symphonic song. The introductive piano melody is definitely theatrical but never pretentious and even when distorted guitars kick in everything keeps on flowing like a daydream.
On “As the world stood still for a day” Anne Nurmi delivers a flawless interpretation with delicate angelic vocals. This is a soft melodic track but there is a solid classic metal rhythmic section to support the stellar orchestration.
“Verloren” has a distinct metal vibe that dominates the rhythmic section. The main guitar melody is quite catchy and raw but everything gets polished by the layers of classical orchestrations. Tilo Wolff’s vocal style is very raspy, at times desperate, and certainly matches the overall highly dramatic and somber atmosphere.
“Feuerzug” is an odd yet interesting track. It is introduced by the beautifully decadent piano melody of “Interlude” but it changes mood quite drastically. There is still some classical melancholic orchestration but the song’s main theme is influenced by Nordic folklore.
“Refugium” brings back some much needed somber melodies. This is basically a piano and vocals piece that relies on Tilo Wolff’s passionate interpretation and on the uncontaminated beauty of the sound of a classical piano.
“Rote Sinfonie” is the most complex track on the album as it is full of attractive style variations and intense musical surprises. The delicate violin melody at the beginning serves as a stunning intro and a declaration of intent, as this song is a lengthy ambitious symphonic piece. In fact, the musical core here is classical as the orchestra plays always a dominant role, yet there is still a lot of goth and metal influences in the guitars style. Nevertheless, the classical side filled with majestically somber orchestrations and exquisitely captivating piano melodies is the inevitable highlight of the song.
The title track has a much more modern appeal with dark gothic rock melodies, highly distorted groovy guitars and eerie atmospheric synths. The guitar riffs are more rocking and powerful while the extremely addictive chorus is certainly the catchiest moment of the whole album.
Lacrimosa is the one and only band who is capable of blending harmoniously the aesthetic perfection of classical music and the obscurity of gothic metal. “Revolution” embodies all the elements you need to achieve a passionate addictive collection of songs that is destined to satisfy even the most demanding listeners.