Lake of Tears
Encyclopedia
Lake of Tears is a Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 band, generally considered to play gothic metal
Gothic metal
Gothic metal or goth metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that combines the aggression of doom metal with the dark melancholy of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy metal music...

 and doom metal
Doom metal
Doom metal is an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres...

. However, their sound has evolved considerably over the course of their career, expanding to include psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...

, progressive metal
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...

, and, most recently, death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....

.

The band broke up in 2000 amid creative differences, but reunited in late 2003, releasing the acclaimed album Black Brick Road
Black Brick Road
Black Brick Road is the sixth studio release by the gothic metal band Lake of Tears. It was released in 2004, after the band's reunion and signing to Noise Records...

. They released their eight studio album, Illwill, in April 2011.

Early years

Lake of Tears was founded in the early 1990s by Daniel Brennare, Jonas Eriksson, Mikael Larsson and Johan Oudhuis. Their first album, entitled Greater Art
Greater Art
Greater Art is the first studio album by gothic metal band Lake of Tears. It was released in 1994 and, unlike their later albums, Greater Art is stylistically straightforward doom metal.- Track listing :# "Under the Crescent" - 3:42...

, was released through the record label Black Mark in 1994. An excessively rough recording, the album is prototypical doom metal
Doom metal
Doom metal is an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres...

 featuring coarse, ragged vocals and crushing guitars. The band would subsequently steer away from such a directly categorized style, only revisiting it on their 2011 release Illwill.

Lake of Tears wowed critics and fans alike with their second recording, Headstones
Headstones (album)
Headstones is the second studio release of the gothic metal band Lake of Tears. It was released in 1995 and still has many doom metal influences; future albums have a more gothic and melodic approach in music, though there are songs up to the band's latest release that still take inspiration from...

, released in 1995. The music suffered important changes, sublimating the heavier riff-laden clichés of the doom metal
Doom metal
Doom metal is an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres...

 genre to achieve a more melodic and melancholic sound. The lyrics also went through important changes, betraying Brennare's preoccupation for fantasy motifs, also to be found on future releases.

Mid-career success: A Crimson Cosmos

1997 brought the release of the band's most popular studio effort until then, A Crimson Cosmos
A Crimson Cosmos
A Crimson Cosmos is the third studio release by the gothic metal band Lake of Tears. It was released in 1997. Its melodic sound with psychedelic influences reappeared in most of the band's later releases. The song "Lady Rosenred" was released as a single, also in 1997, with "Devil's Diner" and "A...

. If Headstones
Headstones (album)
Headstones is the second studio release of the gothic metal band Lake of Tears. It was released in 1995 and still has many doom metal influences; future albums have a more gothic and melodic approach in music, though there are songs up to the band's latest release that still take inspiration from...

had been a revision of their earlier sound, A Crimson Cosmos was a complete rebirth, being a hypnotically melodic album. The release's closing track, "A Crimson Cosmos", reflected a marked influence by progressive
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...

/psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...

 luminaries Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...

, while other tracks, such as Lady Rosenred and Raistlin and the Rose reflected popular fantasy themes. Rhythm guitarist Jonas Eriksson had left the band before the release, being replaced by guitarist Ulrik Lindblom. After recording A Crimson Cosmos and touring with Lake of Tears until 1999, he also left the band and had to be substituted by Magnus Sahlgren
Magnus Sahlgren
Magnus Sahlgren is a Swedish musician. He was the lead guitarist of the metal band Lake of Tears, whom his name is most associated with, until 2009. He also played with Dismember from 1998 to 2003 and with Tiamat during the recording of the acclaimed Wildhoney album in 1994...

, who played as lead guitarist, but only as a guest artist. Although he played on Forever Autumn
Forever Autumn (album)
Forever Autumn is the fourth studio album by the Swedish doom/gothic metal band Lake of Tears. The album is dedicated to the memory of Juha Saarinen, who died four years prior to the album's release...

and every subsequent Lake of Tears album, often composing the majority of lead guitar riffs, Sahlgren was only formally accepted as a band member following the release of 2004's Black Brick Road
Black Brick Road
Black Brick Road is the sixth studio release by the gothic metal band Lake of Tears. It was released in 2004, after the band's reunion and signing to Noise Records...

.

Lake of Tears' 1999 album, Forever Autumn
Forever Autumn
Forever Autumn may refer to:* Forever Autumn , an album by Lake of Tears, or the title song* Forever Autumn , a song by Jeff Wayne, Gary Osborne and Paul Vigrass...

, did not follow the trend settled by Headstones and A Crimson Cosmos, resulting an intensely quiet and introspective album. Keyboardist Christian Saarinen was briefly included as an official band member, adding an extra layer to the band's sound. Fantasy imagery was rife and the album's overall effect was sedate and sorrowful.

The breakup

Because of personal and creative differences, but also (and perhaps more-so) because of the lack of attention the band received from their label, the band went their separate ways shortly after the release of Forever Autumn, though they were still contractually bound to deliver one more album for Black Mark. This being the case, Brennare and Sahlgren retreated to the studio to record The Neonai
The Neonai
The Neonai is the fifth studio release by the gothic metal band Lake of Tears. It was released in 2002, being finished off by Daniel Brennare alone, with little help from the other band members. The album was hastily completed to honor the band's contract with Black Mark Productions...

, an electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...

-influenced album relying on drum machines and uncharacteristically slick production values. The resulting album was released in 2002, and ironically featured some of the band's most inspired songwriting and memorable melodies, regardless of the hasty manner in which it was composed and recorded.

The reunion and recent activity

In 2003 the band reunited out of boredom, participating in several jams. They were quick to realize that the brief hiatus had reinvigorated their collective spirits, and began to tentatively compose the material eventually released on their 2004 endeavor, Black Brick Road
Black Brick Road
Black Brick Road is the sixth studio release by the gothic metal band Lake of Tears. It was released in 2004, after the band's reunion and signing to Noise Records...

. Feeling that Black Mark had failed to market them appropriately, Lake of Tears began shopping for a new record label, and eventually settled on Noise Records
Noise Records (Germany)
Noise Records was a German record label founded by German music industry personality Karl-Ulrich Walterbach in 1983 as an expansion of his company Modern Music Records. Noise Records specialized in thrash and melodic speed metal. It was sold to the Sanctuary Records Group in 2001 and ceased any...

. The subsequent release of Black Brick Road found the band exploring fresh concepts -the majority of the songs are highly abstract in nature, focusing on emotional states and dream- like imagery over specific nods to fantasy fiction and narrative structure. Following the album's release, Magnus Sahlgren
Magnus Sahlgren
Magnus Sahlgren is a Swedish musician. He was the lead guitarist of the metal band Lake of Tears, whom his name is most associated with, until 2009. He also played with Dismember from 1998 to 2003 and with Tiamat during the recording of the acclaimed Wildhoney album in 1994...

 was finally accepted as a member of the band, making his almost five years association official.

Lake of Tears released their 7th studio album Moons and Mushrooms
Moons and Mushrooms
Moons and Mushrooms is the seventh studio album by the gothic metal band Lake of Tears. It was released in 2007, and was the first Lake of Tears recording to feature Magnus Sahlgren as an official member of the band...

on April 26, 2007. The album featured an increasingly heavy approach to guitar-work, unlike Black Brick Road whose melodies were primarily conceived via keyboard experimentation. The more aggressive feeling of the album was the result of its music being created directly in the rehearsal room, a new approach for the band; as such, Moons and Mushrooms
Moons and Mushrooms
Moons and Mushrooms is the seventh studio album by the gothic metal band Lake of Tears. It was released in 2007, and was the first Lake of Tears recording to feature Magnus Sahlgren as an official member of the band...

 has a heavier, darker sound, though Brennare's lyrics continued to lean towards the vaguely melancholic and conceptual.

A new album titled Illwilll was released on April 29, 2011. It features a darker death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....

 approach, eschewing the band's typical evocation of mournful themes in favor of bleak, violent, and disturbing imagery.

Current line-up

  • Daniel Brennare - Vocals/Guitar (1994–present)
  • Mikael Larsson - Bass (1994–present)
  • Johan Oudhuis - Drums (1994–present)
  • Fredrik Jordanius - Lead guitar (2009–present)

Former members

  • Jonas Eriksson - Rhythm guitar (1994–1997)
  • Christian Saarinen - Keyboards (1999–2000)
  • Ulrik Lindblom - Guitar (1997–1999)
  • Magnus Sahlgren
    Magnus Sahlgren
    Magnus Sahlgren is a Swedish musician. He was the lead guitarist of the metal band Lake of Tears, whom his name is most associated with, until 2009. He also played with Dismember from 1998 to 2003 and with Tiamat during the recording of the acclaimed Wildhoney album in 1994...

     - Lead guitar (as a guest artist: 1999 / officially: 2004 - 2009)

Full length

  • Greater Art
    Greater Art
    Greater Art is the first studio album by gothic metal band Lake of Tears. It was released in 1994 and, unlike their later albums, Greater Art is stylistically straightforward doom metal.- Track listing :# "Under the Crescent" - 3:42...

    (1994)
  • Headstones
    Headstones (album)
    Headstones is the second studio release of the gothic metal band Lake of Tears. It was released in 1995 and still has many doom metal influences; future albums have a more gothic and melodic approach in music, though there are songs up to the band's latest release that still take inspiration from...

    (1995)
  • A Crimson Cosmos
    A Crimson Cosmos
    A Crimson Cosmos is the third studio release by the gothic metal band Lake of Tears. It was released in 1997. Its melodic sound with psychedelic influences reappeared in most of the band's later releases. The song "Lady Rosenred" was released as a single, also in 1997, with "Devil's Diner" and "A...

    (1997)
  • Forever Autumn
    Forever Autumn (album)
    Forever Autumn is the fourth studio album by the Swedish doom/gothic metal band Lake of Tears. The album is dedicated to the memory of Juha Saarinen, who died four years prior to the album's release...

    (1999)
  • The Neonai
    The Neonai
    The Neonai is the fifth studio release by the gothic metal band Lake of Tears. It was released in 2002, being finished off by Daniel Brennare alone, with little help from the other band members. The album was hastily completed to honor the band's contract with Black Mark Productions...

    (2002)
  • Black Brick Road
    Black Brick Road
    Black Brick Road is the sixth studio release by the gothic metal band Lake of Tears. It was released in 2004, after the band's reunion and signing to Noise Records...

    (2004)
  • Moons and Mushrooms
    Moons and Mushrooms
    Moons and Mushrooms is the seventh studio album by the gothic metal band Lake of Tears. It was released in 2007, and was the first Lake of Tears recording to feature Magnus Sahlgren as an official member of the band...

    (2007)
  • Illwill (2011)

Compilations and singles

  • Lady Rosenred (1997)
  • Sorcerers (2002)
  • Greatest Tears vol. I (2004)
  • Greatest Tears vol. II (2004)

Sources


External links

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