Search - Lacuna Coil :: Comalies

The Best Gets Better!

Neal Thayer | Chicago, IL, USA | 07/11/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Best Gets Better!First of all, I want to say that I already have the ordinary version of Comalies. Great album! Yesterday, while surfing Amazon.com, I found this special Limited Edition 2 Disc set. And while I already have the first disc in its entirety, I was aching to hear the accoustic stuff, not to mention see the videos. So I went out & bought it :)Now, I could be mistaken, but the copy I got is somewhat different from the one listed here on Amazon.com. Nevertheless, I'll do a rundown of the copy I have, starting with the first disc (which you can find on its own as well). Anyway, here goes.DISC 1:1) Swamped - Powerful song! One of Lacuna Coil's heavier tracks but also one of their best. Trust me, you'll love this one! :)2) Heaven's A Lie - The first single from this album (I believe). While I'm still trying to figure out the inner message here, I love this track. Incredible melodies, great singing, great stuff all around.3) Daylight Dancer - Gorgeous singing by Cristina. As usual, outstanding melodies. Great song all around.4) Humane - Oh man, what an intro to this one! Really builds up nicely. Very atmospheric stuff. Guitar work and singing are incredible as always.5) Self Deception - Another great song with another great intro. Awesome melodies, and Cristina's singing is truly incredible.6) Aeon - When I first heard this song, I thought there was something wrong with my CD. That's not the case though. Has a long-ish intro, but one that's quite memorable. Great guitar work, melodies, and Cristina's contribution is more than worth it. Great track.7) Tight Rope - This is one of the first songs I heard when I first got into Lacuna Coil. The guitar work excels as always, and overall, this is a great song with great melodies.8) The Ghost Woman and The Hunter - Wow, one of Lacuna Coil's best intros. Very atmospheric. Awesome melodies as well. This is one of those songs you just can't get out of your head, and to be honest, why would you even want to? :)9) Unspoken - A somewhat heavier intro to this great song. Cristina continues to shine in her melodious singing, and the rest of the band contributes to another incredible song.10) Entwined - Another tremendous track. Lacuna Coil can do no wrong in their songwriting and outstanding delivery. Very emotional song (at least I think so).11) The Prophet Said - Another heavy-ish track. Guitar work rocks as always. Great melodies, great singing, overall really good song.12) Angel's Punishment - This was the song that introduced me to Lacuna Coil, and equally the one that got me hooked. Incredible intro, much heavier track overall. Cristina talks as well as sings, and to my knowledge, this is a rare case where Andi actually sings. In my opinion, this is a great song to get you started on the band.13) Comalies - Half in Italian, half in English, this track is still tremendous. Powerful, very melodic, absolutely beautiful song. A great way to bring this disc to an end!"Making of Comalies" Enhanced Portion - Great video footage of the band goofing off, as well as in the recording process. Really shows how cool they are.DISC 2:1) Heaven's A Lie (radio edit) - Shorter than the album version, but it's still Heaven's A Lie :) Great stuff.2) Swamped (radio edit) - Again altered some from the album version, but like I said before, it's great, heavy stuff.3) Heaven's A Lie (accoustic) - Simply, wow! Great accoustic guitar work. And a perfect chance to hear Cristina sing a little softer. Awesome stuff.4) Swamped (accoustic) - Again, much softer singing. This really puts an interesting twist on what was originally a much heavier album version. Tremendous version.5) Unspoken (accoustic) - One of my favorites on disc 2. The accoustic work is fantastic! Adds even more to the atmosphere of this incredible song.6) Senzafine (accoustic) - Senzafine was a song written entirely in Italian that was from the band's sophemore album "Unleashed Memories". It's a great song to begin with (even though I don't understand a word of it). But when you hear it played accousticly, wow! Tremendous stuff. Another priceless addition to disc 2.7) Heaven's A Lie (live accoustic version) - Really much the same as the previous accoustic version on this disc, except for the addition of crowd applause at the end. Not really needed when you have the previous accoustic version, but it's still cool to hear the crowd's reaction. Plus, I think the whole thing is played just a little bit softer.(8) Senzafine (live accoustic version) - Again much like the previous version. Again I think it's played a little softer. Not really needed, but considering this song is truly one of my favorites, it's still great stuff.9) Aeon (live accoustic version) - I loved the album version, and this is a great accoustic version (plus the added crowd reaction at the end). Truly awesome guitar work, singing, et al.Swamped Video (Enhanced) - Wow! Awesome video! Somewhat dark, very atmospheric. Worth having the second disc all by itself!Heaven's A Lie (Enhanced) - Another very interesting video. Again worth getting the second disc on its own. You gotta' see this stuff. And wow is Cristina hot! :)Overall, this 2 disc set is worth MORE than the 5 stars I've allocated. If you're a Lacuna Coil fan, and even if you have the regular version of Comalies, you'll want to get this version as well. If you're new to the band, this is a great introduction to their awesome style! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!"

Here it is

Tom Fins | Scranton, PA | 04/13/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have to say, Comalies by itself is not worthy of a 5 star review. It's not that it's bad music by ANY stretch, it's simply not as experimental as their last several discs. All the songs, incidentally, are very close in tempo... although the feel of songs change.



That being said, the original Comalies has some wonderful offerings, such as the first 4 tracks, The Prophet Said, etc. But the real magic in this set is in the second CD.



First off, I got this in the US domestically for the price of a normal CD. Don't let this price fool you as the only way to get this set. Secondly, I'm beginning to believe that Lacuna Coil's signature sound should not have been the stuff you hear on the radio. I think it should have been the acoustic sound you hear on the last 7 tracks of the second CD. The 12 string guitars combined with the mellowness of Cristina's voice (which at long last doesn't sound forced due to softer music), and the true range of Andrea Ferro's voice, which is nice and low, instead of the higher pitched stuff he usually "pulls off", make these songs which fans will already know a whole new experience. I actually heard the acoustic version of Senzafine before the hard version, and between the two I'll take the acoustic most days. This is where they actually shine brightest; where they never meant to. Aeon, by the way, should never have been electric based on what I heard of the radio acoustic version.



Incidentally, the videos run kind of funny, which might be only me and my friend's computers, but they're very well made, with some awesome effects and scenery. I haven't found the desktop themes... I'll have to look through that later. Buy and enjoy, folks. And stop comparing them to or with Evanescence... dark lyrics and a female voice doesn't make two bands alike."

A good introduction into the goth-metal scene

Sugarplumeferry | Pittsburgh | 11/09/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Lacuna Coil's 3rd and best-selling album, 2002's Comalies, refines the bands sound from the previous release Unleashed Memories, adds heavier riffs with more accessible choruses, deletes the use of guitar solos, and has spawned two successful radio singles.



This is what happens when bands get popular, I'm sorry to say. The music changes for the worse. As I said, the absence of guitar solos is a big no-no, and causes some of the songs to sound bland. Cristina's vocals are still there, but do not capture the same effect as the previous album, which was significantly better in terms of instrumentalism and songwriting as well. The bass is easily obscured, and the drumming is slow and boring. Any of the progressive elements of the last two records have been thrown out, and the music has become rather predictable. There you have it, the negative.



Now on to the positive. The album does provide a change from the previous material. Not necessarily a good change, as I (and probably others who enjoyed Unleashed Memories and In A Reverie) may have grown accustomed to their old signature sound, but a change nonetheless. I must also mention the improvement of male vocalist Andrea Ferro, who, yes, is still annoying, but still sounds a hell of a lot better. Most importantly however, I find the album's accessability suitable to those who are unfamiliar with the gothic metal scene, but want to learn the basics before they progress into bigger and better things.



Now, am I saying Comalies is bad? No. Three stars is not bad in my book (actually my original review of this album was a full 5-star). Hell, this band rocked the stage at Ozzfest (they are much better live than on disc). All I am implying is that there are other lesser-known bands that have been around longer and have done better musically. I personally prefer the intricacy and beauty of After Forever and Within Temptation, the orchestral accompaniment and progression of Lacrimosa, and the experimentation of the Gathering and Nightwish. This is an opinion from someone who has familiarized himself with a numerous amount of gothic metal bands (it's my favorite genre if you didn't know) and whose tastes have evolved dramatically over the years.



So, as I said, this is a good start into the gothic metal genre. If you were to get one Lacuna Coil album though, I would highly recommend Unleashed Memories over this, as it reaches emotions not capable on Comalies (this is no exaggeration).



However, no CD has moved me quite like Within Temptation's (dare I say) perfect Mother Earth, and probably never will."