Fassade

Fassade
Studio album by Lacrimosa
Released 2001
Recorded Impuls Musicproductions, Hamburg
Genre Gothic metal
Length 52:55
Label Hall of Sermon, Nuclear Blast
Producer Tilo Wolff
Lacrimosa chronology
Elodia
(1999)
Fassade
(2001)
Echos
(2003)

Fassade (English: Façade) is the seventh album by German duo Lacrimosa.

Contents

Themes

Whereas the previous album Elodia centered on love, Fassade's theme is that of a lonely individual feeling overwhelmed by society,[1][2] exemplified by the central song, Fassade, divided into three Sätze (movements), and the album's artwork. There are also a sound between symphonic gothic metal and funeral doom metal rhythms and patterns, as seen in Fassade's differents parts.

The album's cover shows a crowd of men and women identically dressed in what can be assumed to be grey (the album's cover is in greyscale), emotionlessly watching three women wearing gothic lingerie parade down a catwalk. Every single individual in the audience has his or her head wired to the person next to them, implying that they are all part of a hivemind. The only person present other than the models and the audience is Lacrimosa's trademark clown, standing in a side door. The back of the album's cover shows that the back wall of the theater has fallen away, revealing nothing but fog and the top of a skyscraper.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Exclaim! (favorable)[1]
Sonic Seducer (favorable)[2]

Fassade received positive reviews from the Canadian Exclaim! magazine as well as from the German Sonic Seducer. Exclaim! noted that the German vocals added to the overall "doom and gloom atmosphere" but was reluctant about the fact that all songs seemingly end too abruptly.[1] The Seducer marked a surprisingly intense singing by Tilo Wolff and concluded that both singers Wolff and Nurmi would demand much attention from the listener.[2]

Track listing

No. Title English title Length
1. "Fassade - 1. Satz"   Façade - 1st Movement 09:16
2. "Der Morgen danach"   The Morning After 04:17
3. "Senses"   Senses 06:03
4. "Warum so tief?"   Why So Deep? 09:11
5. "Fassade - 2. Satz"   Façade - 2nd Movement 05:34
6. "Liebesspiel"   Loveplay 04:38
7. "Stumme Worte"   Silent Words 05:57
8. "Fassade - 3. Satz"   Façade - 3rd Movement 07:44

Charts

Chart (2001) Peak
position
GER 20[3]
POL 31[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wolanski, Coreen (2002). "Lacrimosa Fassade". Exclaim! (2). http://exclaim.ca/Reviews/PopAndRock/lacrimosa-fassade. Retrieved 22 November 2011. 
  2. ^ a b c Abresche, Thomas (2001). "Lacrimosa – Fassade" (in German). Sonic Seducer (10). http://www.sonic-seducer.de/index.php/component/option,com_reviews/anzeige,5827/func,detail/. Retrieved 22 November 2011. 
  3. ^ "Lacrimosa Longplay-Chartverfolgung" (in German). musicline.de. PHONONET GmbH. http://www.musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/artist/Lacrimosa/14025/?type=longplay. Retrieved 21 November 2011. 
  4. ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży - Official Retail Sales Chart" (in Polish). OLiS. 22 October 2001. http://olis.onyx.pl/listy/index.asp?idlisty=53&lang=pl. Retrieved 21 November 2011.