1. One Hope´s Evening
2. Ave End
3. To Bleed Or Not To Be
4. Sarah Lou
5. Amber Girl
6. Testified
7. Astronautumn
8. Evade
9. Wake Down
10. Black
11. Come, Solitude

preview - review  by dalia "gryphon_spirit" di giacomo____   

This time Lacrimas Profundere perform a reliable Gothic Rock , a Rock which is sorrowful and intellectual. There are no peaks of innovation or infinite genius, but deep feelings of sadness, a wonderful piano, a constant good work, good bass sounds, a well emphasized rock attitude among much depression. The production is flawless, the care for sound is crystal clear.

review -  The ambassadors of the Sad Gothic Rock finally deliver a convincing album that provides the Gothic rockers with some oxygen, from the moment that in my personal opinion there isn't much brilliant around, concerning this genre in this very moment. Only few bands propose some good  Gothic Metal, many propose on the contrary Gothic Rock but only the best ones in this scene can really make something good of it. Lacrimas Profundere are becoming reliable: a band that finally could definitely propose itself as Gothic Rock protagonist. After 2 albums that delivered  little strokes of brilliant songs but also disappointment, Ave End, is  more valid, also because it has not so many "highs and lows". Said that, i must also underline that much is still to do: Lacrimas Profundere  talented like they really are ( i will always say it), should be even more innovative, cause in Ave End we don't listen in average to something really new, nonetheless a big step  has been done. The influences coming from the Gothic Rock scene are many but unified,  synth's are never excessive, melodies are enjoyable and peaks of crunchy rhythms emerge from the sea of depression. The  songs Astronautumn and Black  are an example for this. All in all a person like me still finds the tracks a bit weak, but it's also Rock and a sad emotional, intellectual one. Melodies are nothing transcendental for a genre that bases itself on melodies, so all who wants to create mainly melodies and harmony should work a lot on them, nevertheless the melodies in Ave End are  enjoyable, varied enough, with vibes of sorrow, with an agreeable solid rocking attitude, with credibility. The piano is really excellent and adds a touch of class, while there are even moments of crunchy riffing where guitars and rhythmic section get alive in a call for dark heaviness. Both instrumental characteristics mix well together  in  the track Black, one of the best proposals of this album. Vocals are not bad at all but, and urrah!! no trace of Ville Valo: they are nice and velvety  yes, though a bit neutral. Very few synthetic distortion are given to vocals (and fortunately! cause when the Gothic and even the  Cyber world will stop with those filter distortions that don't improve  the atmosphere, it will be always too late) while in the title track Ave End there is a  try to offer stronger vocals, but  in the wake of the new Goth- disco scene, a try that makes me appreciate more the yet neutral vocals of almost all other tracks. That kind of timbre should be left indeed to those who can do it better, see Deathstars or Secret Discovery. Anyway we are going better having left Ville Valo similarities.

 
In the opener One Hope's Evening there is much of a desperate feeling, counterbalanced by a good bass sound and a strong piano that fortunately is everything but moaning. Feelings of sadness are moreover morphing into something "religious" and metropolitan at the same time. 

Ave End increases the tone of the album a lot pushing on the accelerator pedal, delivering practically an uptempo-oriented song that rocks a lot with a certain crunchy dancing attitude (but  unfortunately it could be seen as disco attitude too, attention), with a propulsive amazing piano and a great heavy bridge. 

To bleed or not to be, ah well this is the track that has such fine quality and temperament that towers on everything else of the first  part of this album  already at a first listening : good solid bursts of drums, awesome loops mix with Paradise Lost-ian influences and that Nickelback nice immediate catchiness. Excellent also the way the guitars follow the loops. 

Sarah Lou is lively, cadenced, rhythmed, another catchy song, only thing: imo too easily catchy (not the best choice  to present this track as  sample song in their site, sorry). Amber Girl is not interesting: commercial and nothing more imo, so better to pass to Testified that really makes honour to the mark of the band as Rock'n Sad: in general slow but emotional and intense. 

Astronautumn (maybe the autumn of our lives?) "sees" a burst of rhythmic and guitars, while the lively rhythm is carried on by Evade . Wake down  gets a balance between untouchable sadness and sprays of strength that launch a deep refrain; here again the piano features lots of  feelings.

Like mentioned before Black is another remarkable song, maybe the heavier of the album and the best of the second part, the one with more riffing guitars without losing sorrow, emotionality or decadence. Indeed "riffages" and piano sensibility underline a good melody that acts as a bridge with the very best aspects of the previous releases. 

The piano is the absolute protagonist of the final mournful, funereal Come, Solitude: the end emphasized by a touch  cello tones and calibrated sidereal sound and gloomy effects.

Lacrimas Profundere are really Rock'n Sad throughout the whole CD. There is some "already heard", sometimes the band really  "play safe", we don't find peaks of amazing rarities,  but also NO awful lows, never,  even the 3 songs i don't like aren't after all that dramatically bad.  Important is that we can taste  moments of  intensity and authentic sensibility with a nice determination to rock. Therefore i think that Ave End can be truly appreciated by the Gothic Rock audience, in particular to the  more reflexive and INTELLECTUAL part of it, we could also say this is a "Gothic rock  wearing glasses",  maybe i've just  found a new definition, for what it is worth, being labellings almost impossible. 

Mastered at  the Finnvox Studios, the care about sound is flawless and undisputable, the same goes to  technicality and extreme care for sound. Ave End, Alpha Omega, for an alpha launch of this sorrowful band with, now, a more mature (and constant) flair.

Rating: 8/10