Lacrimosa - Schattenspiel - 2CD

release date: may the 7th 2010 After 10 studio- and 2 live-albums and more than 100 songs for the 20th jubilee it would have been more than expectable to release a best of album but instead of that LACRIMOSA surprises with the double album „Schattenspiel“ (= shadow play) on which they present 15 unreleased recordings from the past 20 years for the first time to their audience. And as if this wouldn’t be enough, they added two brand new songs, which were composed just for this new release. Reaching a 20 years jubilee is surely not ordinary. And when you keep in mind this jubilee becomes even more extraordinary because in all these years LACRIMOSA never signed a deal with a major record company depite a huge commercial success with Top 10 positions in the charts of various countries. The artistic freedom has always been the top priority for the band. Next to their cultural success several artists from rock, pop and classical music name LACRIMOSA as their source of inspiration. Thus the duo of the German Tilo Wolff and Finnish Anne Nurmi became the co-founders of music styles like Symphonic-Rock and Gothic-Metal and belong to the most important alternative music groups worldwide. So this is now the anniversary album for the 20th jubilee of this band. „Schattenspiel“ starts with the presentation of the first and so far unheard musical steps from the year 1990. Then they open their private archive with exclusive recordings from the following years and end their journey with the latest productions that can be currently heard from them. And what are we going to hear? I have to admit, rather exceptional recordings! Who would have thought that the band which is after all known as a rock band began their career with pure electro numbers like „Schuld und Sühne“ and „Seelenübertritt“ (both 1990)? And when one knows the more abundant arrangements of the last years albums songs like „Morgen“ (2003) and „Déjà vu“ (2007) have nearby a minimalist character, although the latter one aroused my special interest through its emotional enthusiasm. The original version of „Schakal“ (1994) surprised me completely! The song officially released in the same year is known as one of the first Gothic-Metal songs ever though this version doesn’t sound like it at all! The classical elements and the bombastic intention can be divined though the guitars seem inspired by punk rock while the drums have electronic roots! This combination surely needs getting used to but exactly this makes it pretty charming. So this is very much a shadow play just like „Mantiquor“ (2005): on one hand you hear the clear relatedness to classics like „Ich bin der brennende Komet“ or „Kelch der Liebe“ but still it has a note that is rather pleasant and therefore strange. Especially worth mentioning are the new titles „Sellador“ and „Ohne Dich ist alles nichts“ which are the most opposite to each other. While the first one is reviving the band’s electronic roots and combining these with classical and rock elements, „Ohne Dich ist alles nichts“ comes with all the strong and large emotions in a first-class musical and handcraft quality like we know this polemical but always consistent band. After all „Schattenspiel“ is an informative and touching double-album which impresses with its courage of being no best of album but an intimate view in a fascinating musical world which can not be compared.                                                                                                   Tracks: CD1: 01 1990: Seele in Not (Urversion) 02 1990: Requiem (Urversion) 03 1990: Seelenübertritt 04 1990: Schuld und Sühne  05 1992: Dreht Euch  06 1993: Dem Ende entgegen  07 1994: Schakal (Urversion)  08 1994: Vermächtnis der Sonne (Urversion) 09 1996: Copycat (Extended Version)                          CD2: 10 2002: Ein Hauch von Menschlichkeit (Late Night Remix)   11 2003: Morgen   12 2003: Schönheit straft jedes Gefühl   13 2004: Ein Fest für die Verlorenen 14 2005: Mantiquor  15 2006: Der Verlust  16 2007: Déjà vu  17 2010: Sellador  18 2010: Ohne Dich ist alles nichts  LINE-UP: Tilo Wolff (Vocals, Piano, Synthesizer, Trumpet, Flugelhorn) Anne Nurmi (Vocals, Keyboards) GUEST MUSICIANS: Sebastian Haussmann (Guitar, Bass) Michael N. (Bass) Arturo Garcia (Drums) David Erlen (Drums) Andrea Musetti (Solo Violin) Caroline Schwiers (Solo Cello) Spielmann-Schnyder Philharmonie (Orchestra) Christopher Clayton (Head of Orchestra)