Goths can sometimes be one of the most closed minded groups around. Real Goths rigidly stick to a pre-set formular of which bands qualify as Goth and which do not, fake Goths simply fail to pick up on the better bands of the genre. Lacuna coil are a classic example of such a band. By any reasonable standards the music they produce would be classed as Goth, but quality Goth at that, and yet real Goths would not consider them one of the bands to follow, and fake Goths will not have heard of them. Musically speaking they write dark beautiful Gothic rock songs that rely heavily on minor chords, and combines with reflective signing from the excellent voice of Christina Scabbia. “Unleashed memories” relied heavily on Christina’s vocals to provide melody and beauty to some dark riffs, and failed to fully explore the avenues this talented band could pursue. It was nonetheless an excellent album that all Goths should own. This time around Lacuna coil have experimented a little with electronica and given Andrea ferro’s voice a greater role to play. Musically comparisons with “one second” era paradise lost would be appropriate.
A description of what all the sings are like would be a waste of time, as only one sentence is needed to describe all of them; Gothic rock songs with a sprinkle of electronica that all last about 4-5 minutes and create an atmosphere. Nevertheless the songs are varied enough in tune to keep things interesting, and as such to dismiss the album for lack of variety would indicate lack of time spent listening. Some tracks contain more electronica, some contain none. Some songs feature Ferro singing with Christina providing background vocals, other songs go the other way around. The one different track here is “angel’s punishment” which features a spoken word anti-war song with Christina speaking, though it never descends into the farce of a rap. Overall then this album acts as a continuation of Lacuna coil’s career, with nothing too different, and more of the same stuff. Nevertheless this stuff is simply excellent. Its not the masterpiece that we know this band will one day produce, but it gives a lot of hints that such a masterpiece is not too far off.
Overall then an excellent album that is highly enjoyable. If you like “gothic” music in any way whatsoever (that’s real Goth) then you will love this album, if you like the fake goth of Rocsoc then you should also get this album as it will teach you a lesson that you enjoy receiving. It isn’t necessarily an album for everyone however. Punk and ska fans will find it too dark and want something that is a little bit more upbeat. Metal fans may not like the lack of heaviness, but are more likely to enjoy it if they own anything by Anathema or Paradise lost. Lacuna coil can be congratulated on maintaining their standards for this album, it may not be a masterpiece that they will surely produce one day, but it still will be remembered as an excellent album in its own right.