Lacrimas Profundere

Like so many other bands, Lacrimas Profundere is caught up in the seemingly inevitable progression from doom metal to melancholy rock. Their fifth release, Fall, I Will Follow, abandons death vocals for good, and softens the metallic edge of the band's previous approach. Describing the album's dark, brooding melodies or more upbeat, catchy riffs doesn't really demonstrate where Lacrimas fits into a scene already glutted with dark rock, and listening to the CD, it's nearly impossible to avoid making comparisons. Lacrimas Profundere is more serious than Sentenced and less whiny than Entwined, more focused than Thine and more rocky than Anathema or Katatonia, but incorporates elements of all those bands. Although they've turned away from the intense contrasts of earlier albums like Memorandum, the members of Lacrimas Profundere have settled into their new, gentler sound so well that you can forgive them for the change and get caught up in magnetic tracks like "For Bad Times" and "Fornever." The more you listen to Fall, I Will Follow the more you'll want to.