Apoch's Metal Review - The 11th Hour: Lacrima Mortis CD Review

Discography	Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed.
Full-Length(s):	Burden of Grief (2009) • Lacrima Mortis (2012)

Review

After their mildly received debut album, Burden of Grief, The 11th Hour return roughly three years later with their follow-up release. Sticking with Napalm Napalm Records to get it out to the masses once more, we find the group putting together another group of longer Death/Doom Metal tracks under the title Lacrima Mortis. But, unlike the previous effort, this one features a full line-up. Former Gorefest member Frank Harthoorn has joined the band on guitar, replacing short lived member Petra Guijt, as well as newcomer Daniël Huijben on Bass. But, will this additional input and change of line-up impact the music in a more profound and positive manner, or is this going to be a similar experience to their debut offering?

Lacrima Mortis has a surprising mixture of deep and mid-range audio qualities and traits. Overall, the production itself has a nice heavy and somewhat deep audio quality that is captured well with the bass and the guitar, though the latter doesn't have the deepest distortion, giving a slightly higher pitch to the music that accomodates the the lighter clean singing that feels more suited to a Progressive Rock or Metal act than a Doom Metal one. The guttural performances, however, sound fantastic. Usually at this point the music can feel a little heavier too, which is how it works on the opening song "We All Die Alone." These growls simply sound primal and intimidating, acting as a polar opposite of the clean singing. There also are times where keyboards also come into play, again catering to that slightly higher pitch. On top of that you have the drumming, which comes through pretty loud. The snares can easily be picked out with a dominating tighter sound, the cymbals are pretty clear with authority and a matching audio level as the snares and the bass kicks, which prove to have a decent click to them that, given how loud the music is in general, can be masked a bit into being more of a thud than anything else. All this met with a slightly muddied sound to the audio that does give both pitches, subtle or not, a decent edge that they both use well.

But, right off the bat, this album simply is not too impressive. Yes, the music itself is pretty loud and can sound somewhat intimidating, but that doesn't automatically make this release great. Honestly, the biggest drawback here comes from the lighter, nasal singing that comes off more as if it's from the back of the throat. Again, it's better suiting to a Progressive Rock album than here. The obvious concept of stark contrasts in the vocals is undeniable, and shortly after Lacrima Mortis starts you'll get the point, but the entire time you'll wish that a less higher pitched approach was utilized. Something a little deeper to match the various mid to low tone music would have been great, as well as some better audio levels on the clean singing. When the music is not as rich, such as with the starting song "We All Die Alone," they do come through a lot better. However, on the heavier and richer "Rain on Me," you can have a really hard time hearing them clearly as they simply don't match the levels the rest of the album is at, including the guttural performance. But aside that, it just clashes horribly. The clean singing does not really come out in the mix as being off-key with the rest of the music, but it just doesn't work in any way you look at it, and sadly they make up a good majority of the vocals on the album, taking away from the impact that the music can often have.

There are times where the music clearly seems to go in a lighter direction, and those clean singing vocals do work, but it then becomes how they are performed. "The Death of Live" does still have those varying tones to it, but they are clearly more distinct than "We All Die Alone." Here the lighter sections do feel more as if is some kind of Doom Rock style with a Metal edge to it, but the more casual singing approach still feels off to the serious tone of the music despite how it better suits the different pitch. But, when the song finally kicks into the trudging, crushing heaviness once more, the guttural performance kicks in, and it all sounds perfect. Much like "Rain on Me," the abrasive tone of the crawling guitars and thundering drums work well to create a devastating sound, and the additional keyboards that do pop up here and there throw in a more melancholic atmosphere to the already depressing tone.

And that atmosphere is one this The 11th Hour really have going for them. Of all the songs here though, "Reunion Illusion" makes for a stand out track for just that reason and more. Those lighter clean singing vocals are backed nicely during much of the performance by some of the deepest growls you'll come across here, though pushed further in the background as meerly support. This does kind of diminish that clashing sound as the slightly lighter, yet still trudging tone with depressing, yet somewhat grand guitar chords play against the two of them. These slightly uplifting moments in the guitar work do appear throughout the album, but it largely occurs when the chorus finds the vocals to be clean singing, and these moments are what better suit this style in the long run.

One of the other issues here becomes the track length. Given some of the faults, you can't help but feel that there are times where the songs would have been better if kept to roughly four minutes instead of an extended upwards of eight, nine minutes of various clashing ideas, or random things such as the guttural conclusion of "Nothing But Pain" that sounds more like a belch that wasn't edited out of the final mix. There's no way to deny that many of the songs here simply sound fantastic thanks to solid performances that never really get sidetracked outside of grand moments, but even those are built up well musically. One of the big factors is that The 11th Hour doesn't abuse the keyboards, and they are not always in the same spot, though when they close out a song they typically do sound better, such as with the closing of the album on "Bury Me," which brings in a slower, somber tone for a suiting, yet very subtle closing.

Lacrima Mortis has both positive and negative elements to it. Admittedly, the music here is fantastic. Much of the album caters to the heavier side of things with a slightly muddy production that gives everything a nice edge, even when the music is lighter or treads into grand territories that seem to leave behind the dismal, melancholic tones. As far as that goes, the band does a superb job of varying all aspects into a solid Doom Metal experience. However, the vocals are predominantly a style that simply is not the most amazing approach, and even greatly clashes with the music, especially when performed in a more casual Rock manner. The 11th Hour have the talent to really create something fantastic for this style, and while it's clear the group is trying to be unique, at the same time they end up hurting themselves by not really working together all the time to coincide with the variety brought to the table. Overall, Lacrimas Mortis will appeal to some listeners, but really, over time, even those fans may get a little tired of the clashing material found within.

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	Digital review copy of this release provided by: Napalm Records.

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