Search - Lacrimosa :: Elodia

Melancholic Symphonic Rock

Mr D. | Cave Creek, Az United States | 04/18/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Elodia, LACRIMOSA'S sixth album is a Rock Opera, dedicated to a demigoddess inspired by Greek mythology, who has been involved in both of their previous albums, Inferno and Stille from the years 1995 & 1997. The mistress of love and death, herein tells the tale of a love that is doomed, leading to a question, if "love in excess can become a force that ultimately has the power to destroy itself, whether too much love will kill..."



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."

Beyond comparison!

Clarissa | Ontario, California | 06/06/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Lacrimosa is a German duo that consists of Tilo Wolff & Anne Nurmi and I'm not sure why, exactly, but every album I've ever been privileged to experience by them has taken forever to grow on me, but when it does it's instantaneous. I currently own just three of their records but the stunning 'Elodia' has proven to be my favorite thus far. The intricacy of the melodies are deftly woven and I think the way they blend neo-classical (strings, piano, flutes, ect.) in with modern rock instruments such as drums and electric guitars is just brilliant. Adding an inevitable Gothic flare to the overall sound that's at times sensual and a little dark, they mix all of these different elements so that they twirl in a strange sort of dance that fit together immaculately. There are many groups that try to execute these exact fusions of style but, in my opinion, none have been as successful as Lacrimosa. They are simply beyond comparison! The musik they create is a hybrid of symphonic compositions and flourishes of heavy metal with an end result that's always gorgeous."

Elodia - Another Work of Art By Lacrimosa

Mr D. | Cave Creek, Az United States | 05/21/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Lacrimosa is a German duo consisting of Tilo Wolff and Ann Nurmi formed in 1990. They have started their own record label, Hall of Sermon and have managed to produce eight studio albums, six EPs and one Live album in that time. Lacrimosa's music is dark, melodious, atmospheric and symphonic in what could be described as Melancholic dark metal or Darkwave with forays into progressive, even heavy metal. Overall though, it is Classical in every sense of the word. Wolff seems to be the creative force and he is both exceedingly creative and prolific having fifteen releases in twelve years. I understand he even does the artwork for his albums. Wolff and Nurmi share the vocal duties with Wolff doing approximately two thirds of the vocals, despite the fact that Nurmi's voice is better. Tilo and Ann make a striking couple, they act like a couple, I'm sure they're an item. Darkly handsome, Tilo with his Prince style 17th century clothes and two toned hair and seductive Ann with her pretty, full, low cut, always black dresses present a royal appearance as if they the King and Queen of Goths or maybe the Vampires. Of course sometimes Ann appears in sexy under clothes and leather like a Dominatrix. But don't let their peculiar appearance fool you. This couple play music suitable for a Symphonic Hall. In fact their 2003 release, Echoes, sounds like that's exactly where it came from. Elodia, LACRIMOSA'S sixth album is a Rock Opera, dedicated to a demigoddess inspired by Greek mythology, who has been involved in both of their previous albums, Inferno and Stille: http://www.epinions.com/content_114265525892 from the years 1995 & 1997. The mistress of love and death, herein tells the tale of a love that is doomed, leading to a question, if "love in excess can become a force that ultimately has the power to destroy itself, whether too much love will kill..." 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 ConclusionRather unusual but extremely satisfying Neo Classical Melancholy Symphonic music. Elodia contains Symphonic Orchestras, Choirs and all the elements of powerful music. As I earlier stated Lacrimosa is not for everybody and it may also be an acquired taste. An interesting thing about this music is it doesn't demand your attention. It works very nicely as background music."