SATURA

Out of the first three albums, 'Satura' is perhaps the most accesible for prog rock fans. It contains the most guitar work and it'll probably please fans of other genres. According to Tilo, "Satura" means a sacrifice to the gods, and that theme is quite evident throughout. The album has a strong religious theme, judging from the church bells in the songs, the album title, and the artwork. The album opens with piano and violin, and then ascends into a drum and guitar stomp, with Tilo's singing. The second song, 'Errinerung' (Memory) is an all-out rocker complete with baby noises and a shrieking Tilo. This song contains two e- guitar solos, which is pretty cool. The next song is a slow, keyboard based stomp. It has some impressive vocal parts, but besides that this song is pretty mundane. 'Versuchung' (Temptation) is perhaps one of Lacrimosa's darkest songs. It begins with a slow throbbing bass-line, then the snarling e-guitar enters and a wailing organ. Tilo's vocals are extremely dark and desperate sounding, and for most of the song he is shrieking in a falsetto voice. Overall, an extremely well done song, if not a little dark. 'Das Schweigen' (The Silence) is a string and piano based piece. It feels a little out of place with the rest of the album, but it's good to hear some piano. The final song, 'Flamme im Wind' is perhaps the best. It's a perfect balance of bass, keyboards and electric guitar and is a suitable ending for 'Satura'. Overall, I recommend this album above the other first two. Prog rock fans might even find themselves enjoying 'Satura' if they keep an open mind about it.

Satura represents the point where Lacrimosa begin to incorporate metal into their sound, but - alas - they hadn't yet learned how to do it interestingly. Some fairly basic riffs are offered to spice up their sound but the overall effect is flat and unimpressive. This is in stark contrast to the far more successful darkwave/metal mashup they hit on in Inferno. Once again, Lacrimosa prove to be a decidedly hit-or-miss band, with their shaky quality control here resulting in an album which feels as though it's constantly just about to really let loose but never quite gets around to it. Not recommended.