[Album Review] Lacuna Coil - ‘Sleepless Empire’ LP.
Lacuna Coil - Sleepless Empire
Author: Dean
Label: Century Media
Release Date: 14th February 2025
Get your bounce-and-roll on, ‘cause Lacuna Coil are back with an 11 track EP. On the surface, these Italian Masters of Alt Metal are still relevant, dishing up 46 minutes of emotionally delivered angst, tempered with some broody goth/metal-inspired sing-along - like they’ve been stuck in late adolescence since 1994.
Lacuna Coil are dependable to the core (not quite metal-core). They have a signature sound thanks to Marco Coti Zelati’s compositions and vision, coupled with Christina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro’s dynamically matched vocal styles. This unique fusion, once again evidently demonstrated as a benchmark of Alt/Goth Metal on this album. The recent departure of guitarist Diego Cavalotti to be replaced with Daniele Salamone heralds a subtle reinvention of these veterans of the scene.
The Intro track - ‘Siege’ begins with distorted reverb vocals which sound like female Middle-Eastern singing. Considering the title I would assume that this may be carrying a subtle reference to recent political developments however it seems equally resonant as an introspection regarding life's struggles and possibly extricating oneself from a messy relationship. Whatever, the track absolutely rocks.
As soon as the riffing sets in, Andrea’s monstrous growls accent the frenetic rhythm like a punch to the jaw. Christina’s fever pitch singing soars sonically over the aggressive gravel tones balancing the unison spectacularly like a follow up aural kick in the balls! It’s a heavy upbeat, pounding track that sets the tone for the album.
Put your headphones on, pump it up - on a bad day, you’re invincible.
‘Oxygen’ starts with Christina’s frantic scream before quickly descending into a thumping detuned bass line and some nasty tight drumming from Richard Meiz.
This track really has an aggressive groove which ascends and descends through the octave bouncing around like a demented puppet on a pogo stick from an Italian pantomime. Andrea’s vocal’s provide that level of intensity to compliment the ferocious rhythm beckoning you into the mosh pit. Christina’s vocals pull you up out of this blood frenzy into an ethereal, emotional chorus at slower tempo, deliberate punchy strokes on the drums and wide open power chords and then you drop back into the absolute chaos of the groove again. Load up the barbells, rev up the bike etc, this is going to get you moving.
“Standing like a Scarecrow” - Andrea blasts this out, heralding in the next track, ‘Scarecrow’.
A couple of bars of kick bass and some open, swirling guitar-chords hint at the chorus melody, right before you're smacked over the cranium with some heavy, twangy, distorted bass, djent-tinged rhythm and sonically soaring notes peeling off the high-end of Salamone’s fretboard. The chorus spotlights Christiana’s expansive and sweeping vocals, underpinned with Andrea’s growls, further backed with the predictable, epic lift in heavy, full chords. This is consistent with a band at the top of their game and confident in knowing less is more when it comes to delivering the central melody. Nevertheless, it did leave me feeling that they could have upped the vice on this one a bit more.
‘Gravity’ has a slower doomy feel throughout the track, and is particularly hypnotising during the chorus with a little flourish of violin/synth.
But don’t worry … we're not in a Rondo Veneziano collab.
‘I Wish You Were Dead’ is a short goth/pop-infused track that comes in under 3 minutes. It was probably my least favourite, but the tune Christiana sings is getting stuck in my head ("I wish you were dead - inside of my head..”). I get the sense of what LC were doing placing this midway through the tracklist as a bit of a brain-break (or heartbreak). It’s compatible with a good radio tune and despite the malicious title and themes it has a pretty easy flow to it. Heck, play it to Nonna. Nonna’s probably got a list of dipshits she wishes were dead at some point.
Wasting no time, we launch back into some heavier groove-laden tracks with ‘Hosting The Shadow’. The heavy, syncopated rhythm and quick flick-flack over the frets gives me a melodic-death vibe that is reminiscent of our revered friends from Gothenburg (well, an Italian version). The chorus, not to mention the way Christina sings over those guitar harmonies, particularly conveys this comparison. The following track, ‘In Nomine Patris’, has a chorus featuring a deep, running bassline with a classic heavy rock sounding guitar, Christina’s vocals are powerful and evocative. The verses are quicker and boppier and suits Andrea’s vocal delivery well. The stand-out in this track is the captivating (but not overstated) guitar solo at 3:26. I personally feel that this track should have been the album closer.
Never mind the closer. The title track ‘Sleepless Empire’ follows - and it is a banger. It’s gravelly again, and we’re back to that chugging sound on the guitars which rise to carry a nasty, mean feel with it into the chorus. I think this track is a stand-out due to the differentiation of the chorus structure, compared to other tracks. Christina almost warbles over a heavy instrumental backing, whilst Andrea accentuates his growls. Deservedly the title track - and definitively Lacuna Coil.
‘Sleep Paralysis’ has a similar feel to ‘Sleepless Empire’. However, it also contains a catchy riff-section and tasty lead melodies pairing up like a fine red with your spaghetti and meatballs.
The album closes off strongly with ‘In the Meantime’ (which has an infective bouncy groove not dissimilar to ‘Oxygen’), and ‘Neverdawn’.
So. Back to the closer. ‘Neverdawn’ is an epic conclusion to this admirable work. This track has actually been out for a year, so many of you may already be acquainted with it. With the guitar, bass and drums cutting through like a pneumatic drill, this track hits hard! Christina’s message is passionate and extremely relevant.
We are living in a Sleepless Empire. A ‘Neverdawn’. Slaves, beholden to our devices.
Lacuna Coil remains impressive and relevant.
7 Espressos out of 10!
You can order a copy of Sleepless Empire here, or via the official website below.