THE NEONAI

"The Neonai" was composed, produced and recorded only by Daniel Brennare, the leader of the band, wich was disbanded at that time... The lack of interest of the discography, and some personal problems made the band to have a break in 2002. But to finish the contract with Black Market Records they had, Brennare released "The Neonai" under the name of Lake of Tears. It was recorded in a rush, only by Daniel with the help of Magnus Sahlgren and the female vocalist Jennie Tebler.

So the sound of the album is quite simle, revealing the fast recording sessions... The keyboards have more protagonism than any other Lake of Tears album, and the songs have a lot of samplers, and the drums are made by a drum machine. Some tracks are almost techno, and they sound very artificial... But the most surprisingly thing is that they sound quite good!

And it's because the songs have a lot of quality... "The Neonai" was supposed to be just a commitment album, but it has a lot of memorable tracks. The rytymic Returns of Ravens and The Shadowshires are strong and melodic gothic songs, Solitude and Sorceres are two great ballads, in the purest Lake of Tears melancholic style. Nathalie and the Fireflies has some folk influences, like Forever Autumn's The Homecoming... And the rest of the album is also great: the catchy Leave a Room, the great riff oriented Let Us Go as They Do, the odd and decadent Down the Nile... After two great albums like "A Crimson Cosmos" and "Forever Autumn", Brennare managed to make another fine recording, wich will delight any Lake of Tears's fan, and every techno-gothic metal fan!

Best tracks: The Shadowshires (a memorable chorus, in a heavier style than the pr evious band's records...), Solitude (curious ballad, with an odd chorus...), Can Die No More (very catchy like the rest of the album...), Natalie and the Fireflies (I love this acoustic Lake of Tears themes...) and Let Us Go ad They Do (one of most "classic" Lake of Tears sounding tracks... Great riffing!!!)

Conclusion: "The Neonai" was destined to be just an anecdotic album, made only by Brennare and a couple of collaborators the finish a contract, and without the rest of the band... But it's surprisingly good, with a lot of coomendable tracks, and some memorable ones. I miss the rest of the band (specially the drummer, because I don't like drums machines very much...), and some of the tracks sound more repetitive than it's usual in Lake of Tears, but it's a very recommended album, specially to every gothic rock lover, who don't care to hear a lot of techno and electronic influences!

My rating: ****

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