It’s been a minute since I’ve listened to Lacuna Coil, but their latest offering, “Sleepless Empire”, will change that pretty quickly. Synonymous over the years with great melodic metal due to the fantastic vocal duo of Ferro and Scabbia and their great musicianship, they have expanded the repertoire by shifting to a heavier style which combined with their original sound is excellent.
“ The Siege” gets the album underway with an ethereal vibe as Scabbia’s haunting vocals welcome you before Ferro takes over and melts your face to the backdrop of pounding drums, thumping bass and massive riffs, the vocal toing and froing between Scabbia and Ferro is outstanding and sets the tone for the album.
“Oxygen” bursts into life with a crushing bass line and Ferro’s savage growling vocals, the drum beat picks up and smashes you right in the face just as Scabbia comes in with her trademark melodic vocals at the chorus before dropping back to the heavy dark side with a pulsating rhythm, the vocal juxtaposed vocals are class once again and that hook in the chorus will stick in your head for days, a cracking track. An early favourite has to be “Scarecrow”; when the beat drops it is unreal, and the rhythm is infectious as the bass and drum beat grabs hold of you and refuses to let go with heavy guitars backing it all up, Scabbia is at her melodious best as Ferro screams and roar his way through the track, there is something so primal about his vocals that just resonates, this is a beast of a track. “Gravity” leans a bit on their older style with a haunting orchestral vibe and lots of synth while still managing to be heavy as hell thanks to a monstrous low end and Ferro’s vocals. “I Wish You Were Dead” is a short sharp burst of melodic metal that has an anthem written all over it; with its catchy chorus and punchy rhythm that you can practically hear it being roared along to when played live, short and sweet. “Hosting The Shadow” features the incomparable Randy Blythe of Lamb Of God, this is a blistering track with an incessant drum beat, booming bass and cutting riffs, the interplay between Scabbia’s amazing vocals and Blythe’s savage screams is unreal making the track even more powerful.
“In Nomine Patris” is a heavy number that has a deep groove, due to the massive bass line thunderous drumming, and killer rhythm, Scabbia’s soaring vocals are a beauty to behold while Ferro’s restrained screams that come in over the top are brilliant but the highlight of the track is the insane solo towards the backend of the track, just phenomenal, a contender for track of the album. “Title track “Sleepless Empire” simply crushes from the off as Ferro obliterates all in his way with his guttural roars tempered intermittently by Scabbia’s melodic tones, built of a solid low-end section that will shake you to your core it so heavy and savage riffs, this is the epitome of the evolution of Lacuna Coil and it is amazing. “Sleep Paralysis” has a brooding borderline darker edge to it that some of the previous tracks come into their own midway through when Ferro goes on the rampage and the odd riff in the background develops into a full-blown epic solo, Scabbia’s vocals, at times, haunting, are on another level, this is class. “In The Mean Time” features another guest vocalist in the shape of Ash Costello of New Year’s Day fame; much like “Hosting The Shadow” the contrasting styles of both singers is amazing as they go back and forth and the bouncing rhythm from by the bass, guitars and drums is unreal, creating a scintillating groove, this is another standout track.
The album closes with “Never Dawn” which opens with an atmospheric eerie synth and vocalisations before is explodes in a blast of staccato drums and crushing riffs with a thumping bass line, Ferro is at his most feral as he roars his way through only to be checked by Scabbia’s fantastic vocal range as they play off each other to great effect all to a monstrous wall of sound, a cracking ending.
Lacuna Coil is always a great listen and this album is no different, this is up there with some of their best material.
“Sleepless Empire” is out on the 14th of February
Review: Conor
Track Listing:
1. The Siege
2. Oxygen
3. Scarecrow
4. Gravity
5. I Wish You Were Dead
6. Hosting The Shadow (feat. Randy Blythe)
7. In Nomine Patris
8. Sleepless Empire
9. Sleep Paralysis
10. In The Mean Time (feat. Ash Costello)
11. Never Dawn
Band Members:
Cristina Scabbia – Vocals
Andrea Ferro – Vocals
Diego Cavallotti – Guitar
Marco Coti Zelati – Bass
Richard Meiz – Drums
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