Music
Store

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 töten 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.


What can I say?   January 19, 2000
 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.


gothic and more   November 2, 1999
 3 out of 7 found this review helpful

If u came here by chance, typing the word lacrimosa in a sudden burst of latin (remnants of past, whatever this past is, roman or your childhood), u have to know dat this album is gothic, and surely the best of Lacrimosa, mixing classical, metal, and gothic (have a look at the booklet...), and more. Moods are strong, lyrics in the very genre, and the feeling after the last "song", is dat, hum : when does LAcrimosa sends us a new chef d'oeuvre?


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.


The best of the best: Elodia   January 16, 2000
 2 out of 3 found this review helpful

Obviously I'm a Lacrimosa fan but this new CD is really incredible. No single second can be wasted. Impossible to read or whatever while listening to it. At once clasical music can go by hand with drums, electric guitars, bass, etc...

Tilo made a miracle with this new albu,

BUY IT!