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You know that feeling when you have had a problematical debacle to overcome? It keeps your skin taut, your mind rapt, and your nights sleepless. But when that glorious day finally arrives, the day that little predicament disappears; you feel the burden dissipate like steam from a freshly pressed iron. Isn't it overwhelming? Too right. And why am I blathering on about broken sleep patterns and personal obstacles? Because I consider it a personal victory that I don't have to insult my ears with this musical manure ever again.

Gothic Metal, by definition, should be one of two things: strangely uplifting, or crushingly melancholic. This is neither. For what appears to be the sixth time in their careers, Germany's Lacrimas Profundere have crafted an album of boring, plodding, faux-gothic sentiments in the name of bands like the 69 Eyes, Type O Negative, and the Sisters of Mercy, without a trace of the dark outer casing they provide, but merely wallowing in bouncy, energetic, soulless Hard Rock-infused buffoonery that is so falsified even HIM fans will lap it up. "The Shadow I Once Kissed" hits harder with a Sinamore like groove, and the enveloping ballad "And God's Ocean" delivers a solitary darkness with its subtle use of orchestration and climactic machinations, but that's pretty much all we get in a long line of identical mid-paced dance floor fillers. It is boring, turgid, and as much fun as going meat shopping with Grandma. If low, droning vocals, diluted four-chord guitar arrangements, and 4/4 pop drumming is your bag, Songs for the Last View is a worthy purchase. But don't bother coming back here. Your admission card will have been punched for the last time.