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Lacuna Coil – “Sleepless Empire” Review

LACUNA COIL- Sleepless Empire Review

“Run.”

Myself and this band took different paths long ago. I’ve got a great “Once Upon a Time” story that I’ll save for another article. My golden days with this band start way back when they were fresh faces on the Ozzfest tours and Metalcore scene. They had a unique sound that hadn’t really been heard before – at least in my circles. For us, the breakout year for the Italian band and biggest introduction the US audience was via Ozzfest 2004, after they had already been a band for a decade.

I was drawn to do this review when it was offered, mostly out of nostalgia or pure curiosity. It’s been a while since I’ve heard Lacuna Coil, but seeing as how they’ve been around since the mid 90’s, they have to be doing something new, right? Even with a band that has the timeline and longevity that they do, they’ve had a moving platform of members in the guitar and drum departments. Three original members remain and truly pulled my ear again the way they did back when.

The synchronicity between old and new membersĀ is there.

I’ve always considered Lacuna Coil as something of a “stepping stone band”, that nudged me into searching for something heavier. Revisiting them with Sleepless Empire does feel nostalgic, but also shows that they can go into some other directions, mixing a variety of different genres into their classic sound.

Early on in the album, the track “Oxygen” has that double bass, head bang slow-motion kind of groove. It’s a lot of fun. They sought a deep, heavy drop in the song “Scarecrow” – mixing near-techno to create a sound reminiscent of Fear Factory in slow motion. The diversity on the album keeps things fresh, and I never once had a single feeling of “eh, this is the same as the last song.”

Another interesting note is that nearly the entire album is radio friendly. My favorite track is the title track of the album, “Sleepless Empire”, which feels the most classic. Whereas the only track I really didn’t love was “I Wish You Were Dead”, due to it’s poppy feel.

What’s a new release without a few guest spots? Randy Blythe (Lamb of God) and Ash Costello (New Years Day) provide guest vocals on the tracks “Hosting the Shadow” & “in the Mean Time”, respectively. I’ve linked to the final track, “Never Dawn” below. Give it a spin, it’s a killer track and a great way to close out the album. It also seems like it’d be great to see live.

Lacuna Coil are veterans of the game, and I hope to see this lineup stick around for a while and let the band grow as a cohesive unit.

In summary, listening to Sleepless Empire causes me to make a few mean mug faces, do some toe tapping and drum the occasional air drum. I’ve always been a fan of their drumming, and their approach on the two singer front. There are not many Male/Female duets in metal that can do it quite as well. Sleepless Empire is the band’s first new full release since 2019 (although they released a Comalies remaster in 2022). It’s very solid and easy listen.

Sleepless Empire will release on Valentines Day, Feb 14th, via Century Media records.

Preorder it here: https://lacunacoil.com/shop/

Until next one, Cheers!

-S. Hernandez (SixsixpntSix)

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