LACRIMAS PROFUNDERE

Germany's LACRIMAS PROFUNDERE are the quintessential goth metal hangers-on. Active since 1993, the band hit their stride somewhere around the early-to-mid aughts, particularly with 2004's dark-cloud-filled "Ave End" and 2006's "Filthy Notes for Frozen Hearts". At that point, LACRIMAS PROFUNDERE fully embraced the "rock and sad" tag. No matter how one views such a tagline, it was fitting: LACRIMAS PROFUNDERE was cutting some serious sad-boy (or "sad boi") tunes that were gripping and memorable. Unfortunately, founding lead vocalist Christopher Schmid left the band in 2007. Since then, it's been a steady stream of underwhelming releases, continuing with "Lay Me Down O Silent Fear".

New-ish vocalist Julian Larre (he's been in since 2018) is perhaps more versatile than Schmid or Rob Vitacca, Shmid's replacement, primarily because he can go deep (like Peter Steele),notch a good clean chorus and dole out some extreme metal vox. But they don't fit here. When Larre uncorks his roar on the opening "Days Of Doom", one would be forgiven for believing LACRIMAS PROFUNDERE had turned into a modern deathcore band with syrupy goth vocals. He's back at it again on "Faceless" and "Arcane Promises", the latter even tossing a hardcore mosh breakdown. Modernization isn't helping LACRIMAS here, these moments sound forced and at best, ill-advised.

The tough part here is that when LACRIMAS stays right smack dab in the swooning goth metal lane, like on "Nevermore", the results are top-notch. "Nevermore" is an ace stroke of MOONSPELL tugging at the heartstrings of H.I.M. , even going as far as to lay down the patented goth metal down-picking trope in the verse. Then again, "Heart I Will Break You Before You Break Me" (what a title!) gets soft and moody, yet once again, here comes Larre with some feisty growls to spoil the broth.

"Lay Me Down O Silent Fear" gradually winds down with "Veil XV" and the unfocused "At The End Of A Dream Lies The Hope You Once Killed" (another great title),where the band can't make up its mind about whether they want to be brooding goth rockers or a modern metal act.

There is rarely a bad time for a band to reinvent itself. That much is true. Yet, LACRIMAS PROFUNDERE's willing embrace of modern deathcore and its ilk is a sign of a band experiencing some kind of mid-to-late-career crisis. Whatever eloquence was displayed on "Ave End" and "Filthy Notes For Frozen Hearts" feels like a distant memory when listening to what was once a formidable gothic metal band try to be cool and keep up with the younger generation.