(RockAndMetal.com) (07/30/04)

By Michael Bennett

BORAS, SWEDEN - Swedish band LAKE OF TEARS will release their new album, "Black Brick Road," on September 14th via Noise Records.

When the band made their debut with "Greater Art" in 1994, there wasn't much of an indication of the band's true potential.

However, if their first release came across somewhat bumpy, Lake Of Tears made up for it one year later with their second recording, "Headstones."

The press honoured the disc with glowing reviews, and "A Crimson Cosmos" brought them their big breakthrough in 1997.

The material reflecting a broad musical range, paving the way for Lake Of Tears to secure themselves a prominent position on the European music scene, strengthened by a tour with Therion.

The band's next release, 1999's "Forever Autumn" (this time performed by a trio consisting of band leader Daniel Brennare, bassist Mikael Larsson and drummer Johan Oudhuis, joined by several different guitarists), didn't quite live up to its predecessor's success.

It was then that the Scandinavian outfit realized they had more to offer, but seemed unable to figure out just how to tap their sources at the time, and so the group broke up shortly after the arrival of their fourth album.

To fulfill their contractual obligations with recording label Black Mark Records, they had to record another album, 2002's "The Neonai" - Daniel Brennare cutting the final stroke all by himself.

What had originally been planned as an act of liberation from a stalemate position proved that the band still had plenty of good ideas, which they didn't want to use for this hasty effort.

It seemed difficult to believe that so much potential was about to vanish to the small Swedish town of Boras.

Luckily, fate still had a lot in store for Lake Of Tears, as the fire still burned in band leader Daniel Brennare and his two long-standing pals, Mikael Larsson and Johan Oudhuis.

After a joint rehearsal session in the Summer of 2003, originally intended to kill the boredom, Lake Of Tears got together again.

What the three musicians found was that the chemistry between them was as vibrant as ever, and -- once the rust was shaken off -- they set about working on ideas for new tracks.

Following their disappointment with their old label, they checked out their options carefully this time to avoid another setback.

Lake Of Tears found a new imprint in Germany's Noise Records, who left no doubt that they were happy to support and promote the band.

With competent backing and nine brand-new tracks up their sleeves, they ensconced themselves at the Studio Mega in Sweden (The Crown, Beseech, The Soundtrack Of Our Lives), the final result being "Black Brick Road."

To say the least, Lake Of Tears have delivered not only a very impressive comeback in Black Brick Road, they have outdone themselves with what should prove to be a successful offering.

"Black Brick Road" sounds very contemporary, yet still calls to mind the best of what originally made Lake Of Tears stand out from the crowd.

The band's catchy mix of goth, rock and metal with a neo-psychedelic touch is of itself very inviting in its atmosphere.

Next up for Lake Of Tears is to get down to business live.

First off, a number of Summer open air festivals have been booked.

A Lake Of Tears headlining tour is also in the planning stages.

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