I thought for this review, we would take a trip down to Milano Italy. The band on the chopping block is Lacuna Coil and since seeing them at the 2025 Aftershock, I thought I would give their albums a listen. Now I’m not super familiar with very much of their material aside from maybe one or two songs so with that let’s take a look……….
In A Reverie- this is one of those debut albums where they’ve already seemed to have established their sound. By that I mean, we have the two vocalists but Andrea Ferro doesn’t really go for the harshness that we would hear on later albums. Still though it is a nice trade-off and it’s interesting two singers with clean vocals. Musically, it has almost a Gothenburg kind of feel to it (think Jester Race era In Flames) and overall it’s a somewhat interesting record. I’ll give it 7/10.
Standouts: Honeymoon Suite, Circle, Falling Again
Unleashed Memories- again this is another one of those albums that feels like a continuation of the first record. It’s kind of more of the same, but it does feel a bit more structured. There’s not a lot of change in terms of vocals and even the music sounds a bit more straightforward. Overall, not a bad follow up and I’ll go ahead and give it another 7/10.
Standouts: Heir Of A Dying Day, 1:19, To Live Is To Hide
Comalies- this is definitely the album that broke them. Again, it doesn’t reinvent the wheel or anything like that but you can tell their somewhat stepping out of their comfort zone. There are elements of electronic, and this one’s even a bit more atmospheric while staying true to their original sound. If you’re a fan of Goth metal then you probably have this album/had this album in heavy rotation when it released. I’ll go ahead and give this one 9/10.
Standouts: Tight Rope, Swamped, Unspoken
Karmacode- out of all their albums thus far this one probably is the most diverse sounding. Yes there are still those golf metal sounds, but there’s also some Middle Eastern music and hard rock elements as well. I’m pretty sure this is the album that introduced me to this band because this is the one that has a majority of their hit singles one of them being a cover of Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy The Silence.” And for those that are wondering if Dave Gahan liked it or not well then the answer is yes he did. I did read somewhere that the previous album is the fan favorite but I’ll be honest if I had my choice between Comalies or Karmacode, I’d actually prefer the latter. It just feels like they’re trying to go in a slightly different direction and that’s something that I can appreciate a lot more. I’m gonna give this one 9/10.
Standouts: To The Edge, Devoted, Fragile
Shallow Life- I would say this is probably their heaviest sounding album up to this point. It’s certainly their most modern sounding album and that’s not to say that the other ones sounded dated, but there’s less of a European sound/influence. I’ll give this album 8/10.
Standouts: Survive, I’m Not Afraid, The Maze
Dark Adrenaline- I don’t wanna say this one’s a full on return to the Gothic roots, but it’s more of a combination of that sound with a metal edge. I would say that this album does a pretty good job of staying true to what made this band who they are, but it doesn’t feel tired or stale. I do feel like there’s a little something for everyone which is great because if you’re just getting into this band, this would be a good album to listen to. I’ll give this one 8.5/10.
Standouts: Trip The Darkness, Upsidedown, Fire
Broken Crown Halo- what I like about this album is it has a sound that’s similar to a band like Goblin (they’re famous for writing all of that music for those bad ass Italian horror films). What I really like about this album is that it has a very cinematic sound and of course the Italian horror inspiration. I mean any metal band that shows love to Italian horror films definitely has my vote. Overall, a very cool record and I’ll give it 9/10
Standouts: Die & Rise, Zombies, Nothing Stands In Our Way
Delirium- oh apparently this is a concept record that being about insanity taking place inside an asylum. Much like the last record it’s also a very dark sounding record however, this one didn’t quite catch my ear like the last one did. I’m not saying it’s a bad album but overall, I just thought this one was OK. The songs just seem to drag on a bit and a few of them could’ve been cut from the record. I’ll give it 7/10.
Standouts: The House Of Shame, Take Me Home, Ghosts In The Mist
Black Anima- the one thing I like about this record is that there is a good amount of harsher vocals, however musically, some of the songs are a little too slow for my liking. It does feel like they’re trying to go in a more kind of heavier new wave of American heavy metal sound and it actually works quite well, especially having the two vocalists. Aside from my preference of them wanting to speed up some of the songs it’s a pretty good album. I’ll give it 8.5/10.
Standouts: Layers Of Time, Reckless, Now Or Never
Comalies XX- this is basically just a re-recording of the Comalies album. If you were ever curious as to how that album sounded in 2022 versus 2002, then definitely give this one to listen. I think it sounds fine and I like the updated production but again it’s nothing special. I guess it’s one of those to listen to if you’re a hardcore fan of the band. I’ll give it 8/10
Standouts: Daylight Dancer XX, Tight Rope XX, The Prophet Said XX
Sleepless Empire- much like the last album you can tell they’re going for a more heavier/experimental sound. And much like the last album it actually works quite well. This one does remind me a lot of the previous record and it’s sort of a continuation of it. This album also has guest vocal appearances from Randy Blythe (Lamb Of God) and Ash Costello (New Years Day) and both those songs are pretty damn good, especially the one with Randy. Apparently the name of the record represents them embracing a heavier, darker sound while dry from their past and the modern world. This was one of those records that I was pleasantly surprised with, and I’ll give it 9/10
Standouts: Oxygen, Hosting The Shadow, Scarecrow
I remember there was a point in time where I absolutely could not stand this band. I remember always seeing them with other bands that I was there for and wondering why the hell are they even here? It really wasn’t until after Aftershock 2025 that I really kind of thought “they’re actually not that bad.” I’m really enjoying the heavier direction that they’re going in, which is something I think they should’ve been doing from the start but either way their albums are actually pretty good and if you’re into the Gothic thing, you’ll definitely enjoy them. I’m really glad I was able to see them this year because they put on one hell of a show and Aftershock this year Randy from Lamb of God even joined them for the song “Hosting The Shadow.”
Final Grade: B+
Album Rankings:
- Comalies
- Karmacode
- Broken Crown Halo
- Sleepless Empire
- Black Anima
- Dark Adrenaline
- Comalies XX
- Shallow Life
- Delirium
- Unleashed Memories
- In A Reverie
Sinister Reviews 