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Century
Media have struck gold with Lacuna Coil. Unlike a lot of their
contemporaries who use the female voice/male voice combination, they
just might last a while longer. They get better with every release. And
you shouldn’t underestimate the value of a female media darling, of
course.
Admittedly,
Lacuna Coil’s previous releases weren’t REALLY bulls-eyes in the
ears of this humble hag, but they had their qualities, especially the
much acclaimed “Comalies” from 2002. “Karmacode”, on the other
hand, has real earworm potential. The first single from the album,
“Our Truth”, is definitely one of these with its catchy chorus.
One
of the pleasant surprises of the album is the fact that Andrea Ferro has
changed his role from the growler behind Cristina Scabbia to a vocalist
in his own right. “Within Me” is a beautiful semi-ballad that starts
out with Andrea’s clean vocal. Not bad at all. Also on “Devoted”,
another semi-ballad with a horror-movie atmosphere, Andrea takes a
dominating role.
It
is also interesting to hear that the Coils inspiration from Korn shows
through quite clearly throughout “Karmacode”. Marco’s bass sound
in particular comes through here and there with the same feel as Fieldy
does. Also on “You Create”, an otherwise floating, almost ethereal
tune, there are sudden bursts of pure nu-metal riffing.
This
does in no way mean that Lacuna Coil have turned into a Korn clone.
Their expression is in my view quite unique. It is the kind of metal
that never gets offensive or provoking – it’s simply a pleasant
experience to sit back and listen to the controlled heaviness.
80s
pop music is not too far from the world of Lacuna Coil. Listen to a song
like “Closer” – it’s just so 80s (and I’d put my money on that
one for the second single from the album). The affiliation with the 80s
is punctuated by the inclusion of the Depeche Mode cover “Enjoy the
Silence”. A great song, and indeed a decent cover version by our
Italian friends.
But
on the whole, it’s great to lay ears to a band that breaks the goth
chains and plays around with their art. E.g. the Steve Vai-ish solo by
Maus on “The Game” or “Without Fear” which is song entirely in
Italian. In many ways, “Karmacode” is a masterpiece.
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