Satura

This album is not a big deal in my opinion. I only got it for one song actually, "Flamme im Wind". I'd recommend only getting this album if you're a hardcore Lacri fan. This album is not for the mainstream.

First of all, I love Lacrimosa, But even with this , a third album, I would not recommend it to start into this wonderful artist yet for a new Lacrimosa curious. Even if the cover is monumental, beautiful, worthy, etc. And it is a little more “metal” by the way... Just saying. If so, should get the EP as well, to balance. More on that later. I’ll name song titles in English:1st track “Satura”: Beautifull poem sung in rock music. According to your mood, you’ll like it or it will bore you. Metal guitar with a violin (you read it right). Simple melodies embraces the listening for a few moments, then Church’s bells… there must be some idea here…. Sadly (for us Engligh as second language fans) it is in german. Let us imagin the lyrics and feel the music. It is like an Addagio (slow) metal piece from start to finish. No climax. Need to follow the lirics if possible. The cd booklet contains the traslation. It is a poem. Very dramatic and felt.2nd track “Memory”: You may skip this one. Starts with baby voices, then some common europop. A filler wannabe-hit. Horrible just to remember it while I am writing . Contains a nice little guitar solo, though.3rd track: Crucifixio: A march-like song with a long introduction (goes with the cover). Then a chorus like sung by either monks or vikings in a ship sailing rhytmically… what is this? Again, same tempo from start to end.4th track: Temptation: A (sadly) reminder of the previous albums. Has two sections: incidental music then mediocre gothicpop. Skip it. Unfourtunatley, after the first cut, nothing shows improvement here. I would say Side One ends here. Let’s go to Side Two (vinyl lovers!.. ooops, have I showed my age?)5th track: “The Silence” . Please 5 stars here (meaning, best track for this album). Piano and voice only. I think does not belong to the Lacrimosa cannon, but it is one of the best tracks in their (his) carreer. It begins with a beautiful piano with strong melodies. This is different. (But please, remember to give this voice a chance). If you are in the mood for a night for a piano a voice soloing, you’ll LOVE this song! Specially if you read the lyrics… and that last line.6th Track: “A Flame in the Wind” This is the evolution we were expecting from Lacrimosa. Sadly it is the last track (better now than never!). After the previous (did I mention excellent) track, this ones comes prefectly balanced. Tilo vocals are present, now as a real front man for a band that would make their future –derserved- succesess. But I think it all starts here, in this song. In my opinion.Now, my cd version contains the “Alles Luge” EP, with the same title song. A Gothic-Euro-Pop tune. But it gets into your mind! Nice melody. It seems like he is following an advice, to aproach the consumer – sell (in a good way, my friends). This is a nice song, Tilo showing he is able to write a single if he puts his mind into it. Gladly, from now on (mark my words) at least one song on EVERY album will contain a nice “single” or “hook song” (collect them all! They are fantastic!!). This one should have been included in the album, instead of “Temptation” (wondr why?). Just saying. It would have ranked the album (and the tone overall) way higher.(the rest of the EP is for completists only) (But the new mix of “Alles Luge” is nice too).CONCLUSION: Stars: 3. Starting the new direction. But still…

The album begins with the haunting keyboards of "Satura," and ends with the somewhat lighter keyboards of the amazing "Flamme im Wind." I consider this one of Lacrimosa's more challenging albums to listen to. What is great about this band is that they are deceptively simple, simultaneously playing background music and music you have to pay close attention to or you will miss something.Fans of Fassade or Echos or Lichtgestaldt may be disappointed by this because it is definitely less accessible. It is dark, brooding, and Tilo's voice moves through it like a cat's claws across bare skin. I have no idea what he is singing (it is all in German), but there is no mistaking the emotion behind it."Erinnerung" starts with some kind of chilling baby noises before a Eurythmics-like bassline settles in. The baby noises remind me of the song "Possessed" by Venom for some reason. This song, German for memory, is quite a bit more upbeat than anything on this album, but that is not saying a whole lot. It's not something I can see many people trying to dance to..."Crucifixio" is a truly strange song, beginning with a church bell, or perhaps a death knell, and another haunting keyboard sound that moves slowly up and down your spine. It's hard to describe the emotion behind this, but it is heavy and difficult to listen to all the way through despite its beauty."Versuchung" is one of my favorite songs on the album, with a driving bassline at about the four minute mark (all these songs are rather long and complex). It begins slowly, however, building up to a point of climax and then...purposefully not delivering, at least not where you expect it to."Das Schwiegen" is a piano bit with Tilo's kermitty vocals sailing over."Flamme im Wind" is my favorite song on the album, and a fitting closer as it is the climax the album has alluded to but not delivered so far. Yet it still restrains itself, and still has that creepy vibe to it.The album delivers depression and meaning without sounding melodramatic, shying away from the sound on Lacrimosa's earlier albums. I believe this is the album that set the precedent for Inferno, which is one of my favorites by them, but because the album is so slow and brooding it is difficult for me to listen to it all the way through. It is worth the price for just "Flamme im Wind," however.If you are new to Lacrimosa, I recommend Inferno, Echos, Fassade, or Lichtgestaldt. This album, while good, is really for completist fans of Lacrimosa. It is when they were in a transitional period, moving a little further from their classical roots and more towards their faster-moving poppier sounds later on.