Lacuna Coil return with a new album “Black Anima”, once again setting the standards for dark, atmospheric gothic metal. As the years go on, it seems this band keeps getting better and better, and also darker for that matter as we discovered upon hearing these new tracks.
Lacuna Coil have built a solid foundation over the years as one of the top bands in the melodic metal format, a feat that was instigated by smashing boundaries with vocalist Cristina Scabbia and forging their own unique path that has seen countless copycats try to follow in their footsteps. But the Italian maestros have kept a solid path and evolved over time as well, going deeper into the realms of the darkness that Lacuna Coil seem to relish in and in all honesty, it works brilliantly as evident in their latest release “Black Anima“.
As impressive as their last album “Delirium” was, “Black Anima” take things further into a wide variety of atmospheric, riff driven grooves and dark ambient sounds that sees the veteran act go into electro tinged goth rock, stepping into heavier aspects when needed. The opening track “Anima Nera” merely serves as the gateway into the rest of the album and from there, the band smash their way through 10 more songs that carry the trademark of the band’s current mantra.
Going through the tracks, there’s plenty to dissect and indulge in with “Sword Of Anger” providing a heavy start crammed with plenty of string bending grooves. The lush production adds to the experience of hearing these songs but that’s something Lacuna Coil have always had pretty consistently. The two singles previously heard, “Reckless” and “Layers Of Time” are definite highlights and some of the strongest tracks on offer, with brilliantly swaying grooves and plenty of dynamics. The duo vocal team of Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro works so good too, bringing a whole other dimension to the music and effectively pushing everything to new levels.
On through the rabbit hole as we sink deeper into the darkness of this album, “Apocalypse” slows thing down letting the atmospheric sounds take over and really show the other side of the band outside of the guitar driven melodies. “Now Or Never” has the biggest punch with a 1-2 hardcore attack and a killer main riff that is gloriously headbanging worthy. “Under The Surface” has a little 90’s electro going on but also features some face meting guitar parts and a hook-laden chorus line delivering some of the best of what Lacuna Coil does.
Three more tracks round things off before we get to the closing title track which caps things off on a high note. It’s a dark and tantilisingly heavy song that encapsulates a lot of what this album has to offer, certainly in the way of the conceptual idea surrounding the overall vibe on this collection of songs. It’s another winner from Lacuna Coil with this album, such an enjoyable listen and one can only imagine how they will go down on the live stage given the calibre of their last tour. We can’t wait!
8/10
TRACKLIST
Anima Nera
Sword Of Anger
Reckless
Layers Of Time
Apocalypse
Now Or Never
Under The Surface
Veneficium
The End Is All I Can See
Save Me
Black Anima
