Forever Autumn

“So fell autumn rain …”

Forever Autumn is a beautiful work of art by the legendary Swedish pioneers in gothic metal - Lake of Tears (L.O.T.). It is an album that in my opinion sets in you a tranquil mood. This album expresses deep melancholic, yet soothing emotions and at certain instances gives you shivering chills, but with heart warm comfort. With its deep listening and understanding in the lyrics provided one can surely find that they relate mostly to darkness and nature’s third season.

Fitted with just the perfect cover art for the name of the album, it is important to point out also that the fascinating lyrics present in the outstanding starting song “So Fell Autumn Rain” and also on “Forever Autumn” establish much to why the album was named as such.

In my opinion, Daniel Brennare is a brilliant and charismatic vocalist. His guitar lines in Forever Autumn contribute a major role in acquiring this gloomy melancholic and atmospheric feel. It is the acoustics that mostly give the touch to all this created. Also important are the keyboards utilized that play a major factor many a times. The bass is more obtrusive than the drum beats, but believe me the light drumming is there too. At certain here and there, there is also inclusions of work done with the use of instruments like the cello, accordion and even the flute. With all these sounds combined the music produced gives the feeling of melancholy more than that of depressiveness. I certainly agree with others in finding similarities in the acoustic passages in the music of this album to that of Tiamat’s Wildhoney album due to the fact that Magnus Sahlgren was also present in the latter as a guest/session lead guitarist.

The song that is most spectacular is 'So Fell Autumn Rain'. This one I would rate a perfect score and clearly is my favorite. It starts off with that elegant sound produced by a cello and later the beats kick in with acoustic passages similar to A Crimson Cosmos song 'Raistlin and the Rose' only that it is better produced. It is a song full of emotions.

'Otherwheres' is an instrumental song with fascinating keyboard notes releasing very pleasant and quiet feelings to the listener. It picks up some tempo almost at the end of the song.

“A Pagan Wish”, in my view is the heaviest song in the album with the kind of aggressiveness like those songs from A Crimson Cosmos. "Demon You/Lily Anne" has its psychedelic nature of summoning along with its heaviness. ‘Forever Autumn’ and ‘Homecoming’ contain double vocals and are elegantly produced tracks. 'Come Night I Reign' is a remarkable song with nice riffs and good tempo and ‘To Blossom Blue’ is a slower song with some cello sound in it at the end. ‘Hold on Tight’ is a somewhat heavy song with some flute incorporated at the ending. Overall this album is awesome, perhaps it brought out L.O.T's true potential. A Crimson Rose was a great album I believe, but this one definitely exceeded it even production wise.

Well, after listening to so many melodic death metal I definitely found this album after a great friend's recommendation. Therefore, I recommend this one to anyone needing something more relaxing in metal. To close off, I leave this note for what i understood through the lyrics:

"... but all things must pass"

Before you turn this album on, get comfortable, as you will no longer have time to do it when the music starts. As the atmospheric intro of the track 'So Fell Autumn Rain' greets you, you'll move into another dimension, where forests bath in the rays of the golden sun before washing away all the pain by an autumn rain. Yeah, this album is really this good. It's their best album so far in my opinion. Also this is their most depressing album, too. Every riff, every verse, and every solo bears the atmosphere of grief and sorrow. To be short, this is one of the most melancholic albums I have ever heard.

Let's take a close look at the cover art of the album. This time they gave up pictures filled with fairy tale characters and showed us the scene of nature during autumn, when the leaves have already fallen and withered. Yes, that's a bed in the nature. I think this detail makes the cover art look more depressing.

The guitar sound hasn't really changed from the previous release, but here they added extra keyboards for atmosphere. Here is every type of song, starting from ones with heavily-distorted riffs ('So Fell Autumn Rain', 'Pagan Wish) and ending with acoustic-lead songs ('Forever Autumn', 'Homecoming', 'To Blossom Blue').

The vocals have changed somehow. Daniel still sings with a soft voice, but his singing has become deeper and more emotional. Also, in some songs the vocals double ('Forever Autumn', 'Homecoming). The keyboards are more masterfully done in comparison with their 'other releases. Also, there is the song 'Come Night I Reign', which is fully lead by keyboards that do not fail to create an amazing atmosphere of night and impenetrable darkness. Also, there is, sadly, for the last time, the instrumental track in the middle of the album. This is a really powerful track. It is played mainly by keyboards and acoustic guitars and they create an unimaginable atmosphere of forests and wilderness.

To sum this up, this is the album that everyone will love. I can't imagine someone disliking this. Every album by Lake of Tears has something good inside, but this album has ten times more than any of them. Forever Autumn is pure masterpiece and a one of a kind album. There is no other album similar to it.

Following the stylistic trajectory of a number of doom metal bands, Lake of Tears have become more plaintive and accessible over the course of their recording career. Their fourth album, Forever Autumn, expresses a familiar melancholy within an equally familiar rock-oriented, chorus-driven form, but the overall expressive approach reveals a sense of maturity in the consideration of emotional responses to experience, resulting in a more reflective version of their defining style. The album will be associated with gothic doom metal because of the band's roots and the context of its development within a sad, atmospheric framework, but the music shares commonalities with naturalistic folk music and progressive rock which, subtle as they are, broadens this band's stylistic reach beyond its foundation.

Under the special charm of elegant simplicity in both song-form and instrumentation, these songs of gentle, unassuming enchantment work their spells through engaging chorus melodies and dreamy atmospheric backdrops, portraying a certain thematic ambiguity in designs that are refreshingly picturesque and finely representative despite their conventional design. There is genuine spirit and honest investment in these songs, which exude a sense of joy within the melancholy mood. The disc is strangely yet comfortingly calm in its presentation, never losing its clearly defined creative concept in needless esoterica, which admittedly sacrifices compositional adventure and conceptual depth for simplicity and catchiness, while making no pretensions to anything more.

"And the season of the fall begins
Out the nightlands when the thunderstorm sets in
The secrets clear in the cloudy night"

Simplistically arranged and delicately performed passages of folk-style acoustic guitars bring a pastoral feel to songs like the title track and "To Blossom Blue", graceful in motion and, with the accompaniment of background keyboards, serenely atmospheric in contemplative character. Tasteful and conceptually harmonious solos expand on melody, and if they remind the listener of Tiamat's Wildhoney, it's because session lead guitarist Magnus Sahlgren laid down equally atmospheric solos on that work as well.

The music moves along at a suitably moderate tempo, varying between a rock-style mid-pace to ballad-like slow rhythms, with basic, appropriately supportive drumming and bass playing that nicely compliments guitars in both melody and atmosphere, while the incorporation of accordion, flute, and cello enrich the band's sound in terms of atmospheric enhancement and musical texture. Brennare's singing is suitable if not remarkable, adequately complimenting the music's reflective mood with an expressive character of tender wistfulness. Warmly produced with a clear, properly balanced, and organic sound, Forever Autumn is Lake of Tears' most accomplished album to date, returning to the melancholic sound of earlier efforts that was largely absent on the more lighthearted and upbeat A Crimson Cosmos, while revealing promising growth in songwriting and expression.

You don't have to look far to realize how Lake of Tears have cashed in their chips for this album. Start with the cover, which is a huge downgrade from the psychedelic brilliance of A Crimson Cosmos, and the painfully minimum logo/title font (though, to be fair, the band had abandoned their old logo on the previous album). Then work your way inwards. As with most 'dedication' records, the lyrics here all carry a certain weight over a fallen one, but it's unfortunate that the music is honestly the most bland of their entire career. After an album that I considered one of the most original, inventive pieces of metal music in the 90s, Forever Autumn is a staggering letdown which fails to even scratch at the front gate of their prior efforts.

To begin with, the album is far too tranquil, and dull. Seeing that the two previous full-lengths had some extremely accessible, radio ready songs like "Headstones", "Sweetwater", "Devil's Diner" and such, the band might have felt some pressure to tone down the excellent, hard rocking doom of the older albums so they could assert themselves more directly into the mainstream. This is a bluesy folk/rock album with only a few hints to the band's past, taking the clean guitars and spacious, Floyd-like writing to an unfortunate extreme. If I were at some country dance in Sweden, late in the evening, watching the lanterns and trees, deep in my cups and mourning a lost love, or letting some ancient regret rattle through my brain like a mouse in a hamster-ball, the mood might fit. But the tunes are still rather weak for a band that was crushing my soul like a counter-full of hallucinogens just two years before. At the heaviest, Forever Autumn does little more than recycle riffs from A Crimson Cosmos and try to pass them off in a more mellow environment. Some of the lyrical lines follow suit. The stagnant ennui of this album is such that I find myself grasping at straws to even think of a single track which I enjoy more than any other. It's extremely consistent at being boring.

In line with the heavier emphasis on its natural, bleak rural vibe, the band have incorporated a few guest musicians to perform accordions, flutes and cello, rather than just use a keyboard pad like so many other bands would. Thus, a somber string section serves as the opening to "So Fell Autumn Rain", which is a redundant ripoff of songs like "Boogie Bubble" and "Cosmic Weed" from A Crimson Cosmos, but with no crunch or power to the guitars, and a chorus which is far less the payoff than either of the aforementioned. "Hold On Tight" is a mellow piece with even further repressed riffs beneath the flutes, as Brennare's imagination sails down whatever river he's dreaming. The bridge vocals here sound a hell of a lot like the pre-chorus to "Devil's Diner" from the previous album, but in all, this is one of the more lulling pieces on the album, with some shining synthesized simplicity and the burning tears of the blues in the guitar solo. "Forever Autumn" is a wholly symphonic folk/prog flow reminiscent of Pink Floyd's later days. I wouldn't listen to if it were James Taylor or Tom Petty singing (both of which you can easily picture), so I'm not much in the mood to put up with it here.

"Pagan Wish" is perhaps the one point on the album where the band tries to re-assert the booming psychedelic aggression of A Crimson Cosmos, and it's good to hear Daniel returning to the higher pitched, more intense vocals, but once more it sounds like a mish-mash of vocal melodies and chords used from songs the band had already written, re-organized with an organ and spiky clean guitar and sent one more to press. "Otherwheres" is an instrumental opening in piano and acoustic guitars with an ambient backdrop, first dark and then sunshine, with synth orchestra erupting as a finale. I hate to say it, but it's perhaps the climax of the album. "The Homecoming" is another 'Last Dance With Mary Jane' meets Pink Floyd type of track, while "Come Night I Reign" tries to build a subtle gothic metal momentum through the storm of minimal chords and piano, which is the only payoff. "Demon You/Lily Anne" feels like a "Raistlin & The Rose" with the wind stolen from its sails, and once again you'll notice the familiarity of half the riffs in the song, which the lush synths are unable to compensate for. "To Blossom Blue" is an unnecessary, 8 minute bore which seems like any other rustic segue on this album stretched into an intolerable lament, graced with more of Brennare's self-referential lyrics ('where the sweet waters flow') and Floyd vocal arrangements.

It's truly a pity, this Forever Autumn, for all hopes of another crushing, psychedelic, emotional masterpiece were silenced for nearly a decade, and Lake of Tears started to experience a career turbulence that resulted in the band's temporary dissolution, and another pair of average albums (I might have enjoyed The Neonai and Black Brick Road slightly more than this, but I cannot sing the praises of either). I'm not sure if there were troubles with Black Mark, or internal band squabbles, or simply a lack of inspiration left in the well. It's not entirely terrible, and it's not the end of the world, but Forever Autumn doesn't even register when I'm facing a dreary day and looking for some aural candy to take with my tea.

Highlights: Hold On Tight, Otherwheres

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

I had been intrigued with this band for quite a while, after seeing the really atmospheric cover artwork for the album. Being that autumn is my favourite season of all, the artwork along with the title kind of sucked me into it. A couple reviews said it sounded like Metallica crossed with Pink Floyd, both very good bands.

I can't say that this is exactly a metal album. Sure, there are some heavy guitars, but most of the songs rely heavily upon acoustics, except for "Pagan Wish" and the totally kick ass opener, "So Fell Autumn Rain." You could easily draw some parallels to Opeth's quieter works, and Tiamat's acoustic endeavours, but Lake of Tears comes across as really competent in writing genuine rock songs that are catchy and really honest. Both of the aforementioned bands never created an album so sublimely enjoyable as this, except perhaps Tiamat's Wildhoney, which was much more experimental and psychedelic. The tone of the album could be a more upbeat October Rust, seeing as how the whole album centers around autumn and catchy songs.

What you get here is a really laid back album, perfect for relaxing on a cold autumn day. The songs are all catchy, and hint at melancholy, especially with Daniel Brennare's smooth vocals. It's hard to pick a real highlight, but "So Fell Autumn Rain" is just excellent, driving music that kicks things off on a rather heavy note. "The Demon You" is also rather heavy, and kind of feels a bit psychedelic, even out of place on the album. "The Homecoming" is very down tempo, laid back, and beautifully expressive. But every song is really, really good.

For the most part, the musicians are incredibly competent, even though this music really doesn't demand technical wizardry. Even when they choose to put the distortion on, the riffs are simple strummed doomish parts. The lead guitars are rather sparcely scattered through the album, and always done tastefully...if memory serves me correctly, it's the same guy who did the leads on Wildhoney. There is a very restrained use of keyboards as well, often sounding like vintage Hammond organ. This gives the album a vintage 70's feel, and even timeless charm to the songs.

I really enjoy this album, even though it is really far from my usual extreme metal tastes. It's instantly enjoyable, varied enough to keep your attention, and without anything jarring.

I picked this album up at one of the local CD exchange stores (appropriately named "The Exchange") around here, expecting a decent doom CD based upon the band's name, and considering it was only $2.50, I figured at the very least, I'd gotten some sort of metal for pretty cheap. What I got, however, was nothing like I had expected.

Prior to this album, I'd never even heard of Lake Of Tears, and apparently, not too many people have. This is beyond shocking to me. I've since acquired the band's entire discography (sans-"Greater Art", of which I've neard nothing but good things), and I have yet to be let down, even a little. Although not the crushing funeral doom I had been expecting by the band's name (and thankfully, not some overly-emo piece of shit as well), "Forever Autumn" is a phenomenal piece of depressive/doomy gothic metal, with lots of progressive influences thrown in.

The tempo of the album is unsurprisingly slow, although it's positively laden with well-done acoustic passages, and the tone of the album is not depressive so much as it is...melancholic, I suppose. No harsh vocals are to be found, which is usually not my cup of tea, to say the least, but rather, a soothing, sad-sounding clean male vocalist is heard throughout. The songs themselves have considerable emotional depth, and are quite moving. Catchiness, while something to be avoided at all costs in doom metal, is epitomized perfectly in this album, but not in a shitty radio-esque/mall-metal sort of way, by any stretch of the imagination.

The guitars, while not overly-technical by any means, are played very well. The acoustic passages are peerless, and the electric portions are equally soothing, creating a beautiful atmosphere of melancholy and sadness. The drums are relatively insignifcant, although in a nondescript sort of way, without them, the songs would just fall apart, despite the fact that they're barely noticeable unless one listens particularly for them. Even the bass is more noticeable, and, rare though that may be, this is not a bad thing. Rather than serving as an unheard and unnoticed background instrument, the bass in Forever Autumn's purpose is to emphasize the guitars, and it does that quite well. Also featured on this album is one of my favorite musical touches out there - the oft-nonexistent bass solo. Scattered throughout the tracks, but by no means added as a mere gimmick, Mikael Larsson's highly talented work with his four-stringed wonder can be heard al by itself, kicking ass and furthering the already-thick atmosphere of depression created by the music.

Although "Forever Autumn" sounds quite accessible, and the band's name may be a put-off to many, I cannot recommend this enough to absolutely anyone with so much as an ounce of good musical taste.

This album is one of those you don´t want to miss in your collection, if you ever listened to it. The songs are pretty calm musically, but very deep emotionally. This means, nearly every song on this record makes you want to close your eyes so you can start dreaming. As usual, the music is on the edge of melancholy and depression, especially the title track, which is nothing but a heartwrenching piece of music. Each and every song features melodies that must have to be labelled as "earcatchy", which is not to be meant as a fault. In general, this record hasn´t these loads of 70´s vibes one could hear on their previous album "A Crimson Cosmos". Instead of that Lake of Tears turn out to be more fragile and quiet. The atmosphere presented on this album is gloomy and sad and the title fits really good! All in all "Forever Autumn" is an album you can perfectly relax to!
As I said before, the music on “Forever Autumn” differs from Lake of Tears´ previous works. Most of the songs are played on an acoustic guitar accompanied with slightly distorted electric guitars. But there are also some “non metal” instruments in the songs, e.g. cello, violin and a piano or keyboard. Nearly every song has a slow drumming with one exception: track 4 (“A pagan wish”) has a powerful drumming and lots of distorted guitars. This song can be compared with their debut, for it is a simple but effective rock song. Another song that has to be observed is the instrumental “Otherwheres”. This song is a keyboard based track with a few samples such as a thunderstorm or laughing children.
Finally I´d like to state, that the production of this album is brilliant. Every instrument can easily be distinguished. It sounds as if this production was very expensive, but it supports the great music!