HEADSTONES

Lake of Tears is a swedish band who has nearly 20 years in metal field. In the beggining they play a diifrent metal than today, they were mostly metal with doomy leanings here and there and a little prog influences on some pieces - like on this album named Headstones from 1995. I bought the album when was released nearly 15 years ago and was very pleasent surprise as I'm still today. They were in first line then going shoulder to shoulder with for ex Crematory. The music sometimes remind me in places of Metallica, specially on some vocal arrangements, but aswell on some musical lines. I never thought that this band will be here in PA at progressive metal, but after a release like Forever autum from 1999 ( an later album in their career) they are for good reason here. Abot Headstones, I consider to be the best Lake of Tears album by far, both in ideas and in manner of musical creativity. Great are the key and piano passages, who are only as background here and there but on some pieces take wings and we have even a smll solo, anyway great very catchy and interlude excellent with the rest of the instruments. Another thing that I like here is the rougher voice of the main man of the band Daniel Brennare who fits very well in this kind of music, much better than on later releases when he is a little mellow and because of that a little boring in places. The best pieces are all with a plus on Headstones, Dreamdemons and The Path Of The Gods (Upon The Highest Mountain, Part 2). As I said the progressive metal elements are diffrent here puted on portative, not an usual prog metal band with lots of twist and breaks and complicated chops, but an intristing band that knew (not today) to create someting great in this domain without being boring or too complex. I will give easy 4 stars for this album, maybe another half for the cover art , excellent.

We still have a gothic rock with doom and stoner touches, but the psychedelic and progressive influences are increased with respect to the much more primitive "Greater Art", obtaining a sound much closer to the current Lake of Tears, but without reaching the level of mastery that would come with the later "A Crimson Cosmos".

However, it is a very enjoyable album, varied, with an excellent compositional level and that offers a perfect bridge between the most primitive stage of the group and its mature years.

Best Tracks: A Foreign Road (strong Black Sabbath influences), Headstones (intense and dramatic), Twilight (incredible keyboard interlude) and The Path of the Gods (second part of the song Upon the Highest Mountain from their first album, result in a 13 minute track which is definitely one of the reasons why this band is on ProgArchives under the progressive metal tag)

My Rating: ****