The whole album, Elodia, is sung in German, except for one song, sung by Anne Nurmi. Tilo has a somewhat unusual voice and a very marked German accent, many people find Tilo's voice unsuitable, I find it an interesting fit for this kind of music. Lacrimosa uses guest musicians for their recording sessions and on the more recent albums have utilized the symphonic orchestras as well as choirs. On Elodia they used the The London Symphony Orchestra and the Rosenberg Ensemble and Westsachsische Symphonic Orchestra. Each succeeding album seems to get more complicated, lush and at times Bombastic

Lacrimosa is not for everyone. It's somewhat of an acquired taste, not particularly accessible. As mentioned, Wolff's voice is unusual, they sing in German and the music is not always beautiful, as say Therion. It is, however, extremely catchy, loaded with hooks, haunting and generally captivating, plus the music is somewhat varied

The songs of Elodia actually break up into three ACTs. Here is a breakdown of the ACTs.

ACT I
The album opens with "Am Ende der Stille", an instrumental number, with a Mozart influence, next is "Alleine zu zweit", which is a lovely medium paced song, with a great chorus. Even if you don't know German, you can hum along. It is followed by the powerful "Halt mich", the strings and flutes describe a desperate attempt to breathe new life into their love. It starts out Classical but ends on a Rock/Classic fusion note. The only English song "The Turning Point" is next, Anne Nurmi sings this song that recounts days of intimacy that have been lost and leads inevitably to the fateful events of the second act.

ACT II
"Ich verlasse heut' dein Herz", this my favorite song is an escalating, emotional piece that evolves into a really heavy song, with extraordinary piano and guitar solos. A must for guitar affectionados. This is followed by the somewhat mysterious "Dich zu toeten fiel mir schwer" a strong classical number but with a heavy riffing in the middle part. This is sung by Tilo and Anne.

ACT III
The opera reaches it's apex when the first strings announce the arrival of the sad requiem "Sanctus", which is approximately 14 minutes long. "Sanctus" has all the elements to make it a memorable song, choirs, strings, winds, heavy parts, soft parts, great soloing, a wonderful piece. "Am Ende stehen wir zwei", a slow, heavy, maudlin song wraps things up but describes a farewell full of hope.

Conclusion

Rather unusual but extremely satisfying Neo Classical Melancholy Symphonic music. Elodia contains Symphonic Orchestras, Choirs and all the elements of powerful music.


one of the best   July 26, 2003
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

I personally consider this the zenith of Lacrimosa's carrier so far. They are my favorite band and this is my favorite album.
The music of Lacrimosa in general is a unique mixture of classical orchestral/chamber instrumentation and somewhat unusual gothic metal. I say it's unusual because it's not about horror or misanthropy and it's not grotesque - at least not the way other gothic bands are. Lacrimosa's "gothic darkness" consists of the deep sadness of the human soul, that's expressed in the music.
Elodia is "eine Rockoper in drei Akten" - a rock opera in three acts. It's a strange love story. As written on their homepage, "tells the tale of a love that is doomed to fail, culminating in the question of whether love in excess can become a force that ultimately has the power to destroy itself, whether too much love will kill..." The lyrics are excellent, the music as well; dramatic, lyric and 'heavy' at the same time.
If you usually like not-so-heavy metal music, you'll love this CD, wether you understand the text or not.


Super!!!   November 14, 2001
maxnik (NH United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

The album is really incredible. Goth metal with classical music are mixed absolutely perfectly. All lyrics but one song are in German, but it's just great. Tilos singing is very emotiional and just listening to the music you can understand what is going. Tilo also has very unusuall quality in his voice. The orchestra sounds really good and it blends ith guitars flawlesly, they do not get in each others way. Buy it!!! (...)


If this doesn't make you feel good, check your pulse.   September 26, 1999
lordazazel@aol.com
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

The blending of classical and metal musics is superb. Tilo and Anne's vocals bring forth a myriad of overwhelming emotions. This is a must buy!!


What can I say?   January 19, 2000
Benjamin (antwerp, belgium)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful

First of all: I'm amazed, but very pleased to see a Lacrimosa album listed here. This album is their sixth, and it's incredible to hear how Tilo Wolf still manages to evolve, how his musical ideas have grown beyond anything you can imagine. Normally, I'm not a fan of symphonic rock music, but this really is an exception. It's not just guitars with some violins added, no, Lacrimosa uses the complete orchestra: clarinets, oboe, trumpets, percussion,... you name it. The first song doesn't even include guitars or drums; other songs sound like Pink Floyd is making music again, better then ever before. Even Tilo's piano-playing is great. The first three tracks were recorded with the London Symphonic Orchestra, which is, I believe, a good reference.

If you're not afraid to try something new: buy this album.