Review by Adam M on July 30, 2019.

Lacrimas Profundere have a great grasp on the gothic side of things with their new album Bleeding the Stars.  There are a number of influences to be found here including Moonspell, Type O Negative and Katatonia, but the band manages to keep their own sound innovative enough regardless.  The melodies here are very sweet sounding and accessible, but they have a magical wispiness that makes them even more appealing. 

This is music for fans of Fields of the Nephilim that will also appeal to the metal bands mentioned above.  It was a pretty consistent and varied release, with several differences between songs that made them stand alone quite well.  The gothic mood conveyed is somewhat dark, but there is also an uplifting aspect to these songs that gives them even more appeal.  The music has a way of weaving its spell over you and making you feel the songs quite impactfully.  The mood of the songs is always convincing and different from the last one to make for a really varied and unique sounding album.  Even though the band carries a number of influences, they are able to make really original sounding music.  Could the music be improved?  Sure, more memorable moments in the vein of Anathema could still be found even though this is also very moving music.  I still feel it could be more emotional and gripping than it is. 

Still, this is a very atmospheric album that creates that right mood at each moment.  I actually felt the first song I Knew and Will Forever Know was one of the weakest, but the quality was increased with the exact next song.  Fans of gothic music and those that like atmospheric rock and metal bands will find a lot to like Bleeding the Stars.  This is surely one of the top albums of the year so far and needs to be heard by the appropriate fanbase.

Rating: 7.7 out of 10

Review by JD on January 2, 2015.

I have to admit, I am not up to date on the metal scene in Ireland but now getting a death metal band Ogre from Dublin onto my desk for review, I need to see what other metal comes from the Emerald Isles. But first I need to deal with Ogre and see just what I have gotten.

Ogre is a veteran band, started back in 1990, and took a thirteen year hiatus in 2000… and that might have been a clue to what lay ahead. With Lo-Fi production and massive amounts of sampling the band seems to be trying to be as different as possible from others in death metal, but failed miserably in the attempt they gave.

With nine songs and many samples, it seems Ogre was overreaching to the point that the album became bloated and had no cohesiveness. From bad production, predictable riffs that are way too simple and flat to vocals that sound like the cookie monster throwing up – it never gets any better throughout the playing of the disk. I have heard simplified death metal that is powerful and musically explosive but this record sounds like a cheap amateurish attempt from musicians that are lower than average.

My advice to the metal masses is to go pick up Chuck Schuldiners works and the whole Death discography, and leave Ogre to die hopefully a painful death. This album is not in any way a good death metal, or any other type of metal, it might be good for scraping ice off of your windshield on a colds winters night, but not for much else. Avoid and forget I even reviewed it. That album was a waste of time. That is the truth.

Rating: 1 out of 10