LACUNA COIL „Shallow Life”

Music: Gothic rock
Website: http://www.lacunacoil.it
Country: Italy
Duration: 48:12
Cool Songs: Spellbound, Survive, I Like It

Since “Comalies” made them metal household names in 2002, LACUNA COIL have proved that they are not – to paraphrase the opinions of pretty much every popular music magazine – in any way comparable to other female fronted bands on the scene, namely NIGHTWISH or EVANESCENCE. Frontwoman and object of many a metalhead’s lust Cristina Scabbia and her male cohorts (yes, there are some guys in the band too, who knew?) have a string of successful albums to their name and, unlike a certain aforementioned commercial, one hit wonder, pop rock band, they didn’t feel the need to dangle Cristina off the side of a building in her nightie to make them sell. It’s her technique of sensuously layering her ethereal voice (and its newly found strength and range) over Cris and Maus’ wall of guitars, which seem to become bigger, thicker and more confident with every album they release. Much in the same vein as 2006’s “Karmacode”, a slightly heavier album that put them on the receiving end of some frankly unfounded criticism, LACUNA COIL lace “Shallow Life”s opener “Survive” with some decent heavy riffs and double bass drum action, so it seems like they’ve made a very safe manoeuvre by not venturing too far from their previous efforts, with Andrea and Cristina’s vocals perfectly arranged to assure you that this is the same old LACUNA COIL we know and love. First single “Spellbound” is equally foolproof; not too riff-heavy but still catchy and exciting enough to make it a probable staple at future gigs. The trademark ballad of the album, “Wide Awake” showcases Cristina’s otherworldly vocal abilities in a simple and gentle piano/guitar ensemble, beckoning a notion that the only thing missing from this well-balanced track list is an equivalent of a hit like “Senzafine”, sung in their native Italian tongue, which is always doubly alluring. By no means is this a predictable or entirely unadventurous effort from the Milan six-piece. Aside from how they continue to audibly mature and grow in confidence on this album, they’ve also slyly tossed in a few subtle surprises to shake things up a bit, like “Underdog”s funky keyboard intro riff and Cristina’s rather American-sounding crooning in “Unchained”, and “I Like It” which sees her voice take a peculiar turn in a hypnotic, chanting verse, before briefly giving way to my favourite big, singalong chorus on the whole album. Not one to be written off before several thorough listens, “Shallow Life” encompasses enough familiarity to not discourage any new or fair-weather LACUNA COIL fans but enough little twists and turns to maintain the attention of the more dedicated listeners; and keep everyone captivated.

note: 8/10

Tracklist

1. Survive
2. I Won't Tell You
3. Not Enough
4. I'm Not Afraid
5. I Like It
6. Underdog
7. The Pain
8. Spellbound
9. Wide Awake
10. The Maze
11. Unchained
12. Shallow Life

Line-up

Cristina Scabbia – Vocals
Andrea Ferro – Vocals
Cristiano Migliore – Guitars
Marco 'Maus' Biazzi – Guitars
Marco Coti Zelati – Bass, Keyboards
Cristiano Mozzati – Drums