Search - Lacuna Coil :: Comalies

LACUNA COIL, EUROPE'S VERSION OF EVANESCENCE , WITH ATTITUDE

Mr D. | Cave Creek, Az United States | 01/22/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"LACUNA COIL (Empty Spiral)



Remember that name! If I'm right,(and I think I am) you are going to be seeing it and hearing them a lot in the future.



I know, you're dubious. Lacuna Coil? What's a Lacuna Coil, never heard of them. Well if You've read any of my other reviews then you may remember that I mentioned Lacuna Coil in six of my reviews and categorically stated (actually predicted) that Lacuna Coil had an inside track to be the first European (they're Italian) Femme Fronted Goth Metal band to crash the American vinyl curtain in two of my reviews.



When I first predicted that Lacuna Coil would make it big here stateside, the odds makers in Vegas were giving Fifty to One odds that I was all wet and I wagered two root beers(I grew up in Vegas and I never bet money) on this sure shot/long shot. Now that Lacuna Coil is touring the East coast with the likes of Type 'O' Negative and Anthrax and their single "Heavens a Lie" is starting to get airtime, look out. The odds have dropped to Ten to One and I like my position.



Why do I think Lacuna Coil has such a good chance to make the charts here? For starters let me quote my 42 word prediction from the my semi-infamous Evanescence review from June 21st, "I think Italian prog/gothic metal band Lacuna Coil has the best chance of making a breakthrough since they will be touring the country this summer and fall and their hit single "Heaven's a Lie" is now getting air time on some radio stations." Next I'd like to quote my Lacuna Coil review on In a Reverie, "It seems to me that of all the wonderful goth-metal bands of Europe, Lacuna Coil has the best chance of making an impact in America. They have many songs that would not be out of place on an alternative, heavy metal or even top 40 radio format and they have a small but growing following in the states. This summer they are touring the states as the opening act for Danzig. It seems that Lacuna Coil is bigger than Danzig but I guess not in the states." Enough braggado, the reason I feel so confident in Lacuna Coil's American future is that they and all of their albums are just so damn good (I know a lot of epinionators would say fu*king here but damn works for me), that it's, well, INEVITABLE!!!



LACUNA COIL



Lacuna Coil has made a S/T debut EP and three full albums, chronologically, In a Reverie, Unleased Memories and Comalies and to be perfectly honest I can't say one is better than the other. They are the most consistent group I've ever come across.



Band Members



Cristia Scabbia (female vocals), Andrea Ferro (male vocals), Cristiano Migliore (guitars), Marco Coti Zelati (bass) and Cristiano Mozzati (drums), Marco Biazzi (guitars)



Lacuna Coil is somewhat of a non conformist for an Italian band. Most other Italian bands, like Rhapsody, concentrated on epic power metal, Lacuna Coil devoted themselves to progressive, melodic, gothic style. Lovely singer Cristina Scabbia and singer Andrea Ferro share the mic and do a very good job at it. They compliment each other perfectly and give each song a special emphasis. Cristina's voice, while not quite on a par with other European divas such as Floor Jensen, is quite pleasant to listen to. It is deeper than most and a quality that fits Lacuna Coil's music(which is somewhat progressive)perfectly. Needless to say Lacuna Coil probably would not be where they are today without Christina.



I should point out that Lacuna Coil's brand of metal is not speed or even fast. Their tempo is generally in the medium/slow to medium range, which gives it time for slow minded individuals, like me, to absorb, sort of like Creed and like Creed, the music and delivery is powerful.



"Heaven's a Lie", begins with a lush symphonic introduction, before Christina's sultry vocals along with a strong beat and Andrea's backing on the chorus's.



Other notable songs, in their order of appearance follows;



"Swamped", is an exotic medium slow song with a definite near eastern flavor, with passionate vocals by Andrea and soaring ethereal vocals by Christina.



"Daylight Dancer", is a medium tempo piece where Andrea takes the lead vocals and Christina in a ethereal mood does backup



"Humane", my vote for second best song, is a Quasi-ballad with Andrea and Christina swapping lead and backing vocals.



"Tightrope", a mid tempo song with a slight mid east feeling. For some reason this song reminds me of that fabulous Polish femme-goth metal group Artrosis but sans Andrea.



"The Ghost Woman and the Hunter", has my vote for most interesting title. Another very pretty quasi-ballad with all the trimmings. Of course, Christina could make London Bridge sound good. Seriously this is excellent.



"Unspoken", Medium pace with Christina leading to way and as with most of the songs a full lush sound and a catchy syncopated beat.



"The Prophet Said", Starting to sound a little like previous songs but still good.



"Angel's Punishment", some reviewers claim this song sounds like Garbage and it does a little. Christina does sound a little like Shirley Manson but also Medeah from Artrosis again.



"Comalies", The title track, a medium slow, quasi-ballad with a big intro but slows for the singers.



SUMMATION



If I may borrow and paraphrase the title to an old 60s song "To Know Them is to Love Them" I think that explains all. YES, BUT WOULD I LOVE THEM? Fair question and I'll answer that by saying that if you like or love any of the following bands, yes, you would love them; Evanescence, Garbage, Roxette, Pat Benetar, Joan Jett, Concrete Blonde, even Stevie Nicks.



If my "Prediction" comes through, here is my next prediction. Watch out for Within Temptation, they are already on their way. I did a review on Within Temptation's, Mother Earth (link below) back in June. They are similar to Lacuna Coil but more strident, more symphonic and generally more up tempo."