LAKE OF TEARS „The Neonai”

It is a pleasure to have in my hands a new release from the always entertaining Lake of Tears. The Neonai is another great offering from the swedes, but I have to say that after listening to it several times, it is still far away from their greatest opus, Headstones, which in my opinion will never be surpassed by the band.

The Neonai starts with a good keyboard intro used to present “The Return of the Ravens” (familiar song title?), which is a melodic rock / metal song that has the typical Lake of Tears sound. This sound is maintained throughout the CD with no exception, aspect which is related Jennie Teblers unique voice pitch and of course, the bands composition.

Other great songs are “The Shadowshires”, “Sorcerers”, for its great dreamy atmosphere and female vocal delivery, and “Nathalie and the Fireflies”, which has a very 80´s / Pink Floydish feel and shows the richness that LOF can print in their music. Listen to the hidden track, you will be surprised.

This time the band decided to change the live sound they presented in Forever Autumn, for a more produced and modern one, but don't worry, it is good but different. If a had to criticize something in this department, it would be the drums, I really hate drum machines for their linear and artificial sound and The Neonai has them.

As I mentioned before, from the beginning you can tell that Lake of Tears is sounding through your speakers. This time they decided to incorporate some electronic elements in to their songs and this really raised the quality of the overall product (maybe we could hear more on the next one).

The fifth release from Lake of Tears is a good CD that will appeal to the old fans, but will definitely not gain new ones. They prove once again that you can write catchy songs with simple riffs. For the next one we hope to hear a little more experimentation guys. See you in Ravenland.

www.lakeoftears.net

note: 7.4 out of 10

Tracklist

1. Return of ravens
2. The shadowshires
3. Solitude
4. Leave a room
5. Sorcerers
6. Can die no more
7. Nathalis and the fireflies
8. Let us go as they do
9. Down the nile