Lullacry "Be My God" Album Review: This Gothic Rock Band's Last Album With Tanya Kemppainen

Finnish hard rockers Lullacry return with another solid release with Be My God. The album is the last one to feature Tanya Kemppainen on vocals before her departure due to musical differences. Tanja Lainio would take over the vocal duties for the band’s next album. The album has 11 songs for just over 43 minutes in length. This is the follow-up album to their debut called Sweet Desire which has been out of print for a long time. This is one of those albums that should and will be in your CD player for a while. If you need any more proof that in fact women can sing very well too make sure to give this album a very good listen. The band’s lineup was pretty much consistent throughout their career. Lullacry disbanded in 2014 after more than two decades of playing and touring. Be My God is the very first Lullacry album that I bought and this was a solid choice!

Looking back, yes the year 2001 seems like ages ago because we are in 2023 but to this day, Be My God is one of those classic albums in the Gothic Rock genre that has a chance to be forgotten but as I revise this review I am an optimist that some of you will read this and enjoy listening to 2001’s Be My God album.

From the opening song called "Embrace Me" you know this album is going to be special. This is probably a cliché but Lullacry just knew how to play heavy, exciting hard rock. The first song talks about a love that is so strong that the woman wants her man to embrace her. She would rather be alive than dead in heaven.

The album contains the essential elements and style of Lullacry. These include powerful vocals, thunderous, pounding drum beats and really high quality songwriting. The title track is an example of this as Tanya shows that her soft vocals are even nice to listen to. There really isn’t a bad song on this album. The next really great song is the one called "Trust." I’m sure everyone can relate to the lyrics on this one. The song describes stages of a not so good relationship as the amount of lies turn to hate and lust where the person that is hurt does not want to deal with the person that hurt and betrayed them. The song has a great rhythm to it and is one of the catchiest songs I’ve ever heard. The drums on this song are really awesome too.

"Bonfires of Time" show the melodic nature of Tanya’s vocals. It is never too late to put out the fires of deception, hurt, and betrayal and restore the trust in your love for the other person. That is the message in this catchy rock song.

In fact several of the songs on this album deal with depression or dysfunctional and broken relationships. "Pain Walk With Me" is about someone who is so depressed that they want to end their life. They are in such shock that they can’t believe that their life has turned out like this. But the songs are really good. The song after that is called "I Don’t Mind." This one deals with the fact that in a relationship when you give your heart and soul to the person you love only to be hurt and taken advantage of, you are left wondering what to do. You are left wondering whether what you did was good enough or not. This one is a sad song but it is a good one for sure. The last song "Firequeen" is a great song to end the album. Tanya shows her vocal prowess again as she is able to really make the listener excited with her soft, romantic vocals. There is also a very catchy guitar solo that you would love to play over and over again. Be My God is a fantastic release from a great band and it is highly recommended.

The heavy rocking song called "Damn You" may be overlooked by some listeners. Some people want to hurt others by lying to them excessively and we have to let these people know that they are not worth our time.

The rating for this album was 80 out of 100 points the first time that it was reviewed. However, the appreciation for this album has seen a steady rise therefore, we will give it a solid 90 out of 100 points. There are no bad songs on Lullacry’s second album and this one is the highlight of Tanya’s career with the band.

Note: It is still better to be alive as the song Embrace Me says. The bass lines in the title track are solid as well. Tanya Kemppainen also has a good soft, soothing voice but Tanja Lainio I would have to give the slight edge to. However I felt back in 2016 about this album Be My God, I really think that it is an even stronger album now. The fill style drums by Jukka Outinen are something to be impressed by as well.

"Trust" though starts slow and then gets into a very catchy mid-tempo rock kind of song. Even the crunchy guitar filled song “Into Your Heart” is a good song in spite of the somber feel to it.