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lacunacoil blackanima
Artist: Lacuna Coil
Title: Black Anima
Genre: Gothic Metal / Metalcore / Nu Metal
Release Date: 11th October 2019
Label: Century Media


Album Review

For LACUNA COIL everything seems to be going well at the moment. The 2016 ‘Delirium’ album tour was a big success and last year the book ‘Nothing Stands In Our Way’ was released, which tells the story of the band. After 20 years of band history, the Italians no longer have to worry about how their music and visuals will be received by the crowd. This strength and self-confidence is, what their latest work, ‘Black Anima’, embodies. The 9th studio album consists of 11 songs was produced by multi-instrumentalist Marco “Maki” Coti-Zelati.

The first song ‘Anima Nera’ triggers some scary moments. Influenced by synth elements the intro seems dark and sinister. It creates a real tension before the band gets to the point with ‘Sword of Anger’. The first notes of this song may be a bit more Djent-ish, but the contrast between Cristina’s strong, bright voice and Andrea Ferro’s bestial growls underlines the whole. Undoubtedly LACUNA COIL wants to show here that they have become harder, which they also prove well throughout the album. This hardness is proven by Cristina’s vocals and the massive use of guitars.

The samples at the beginning of ‘Reckless’, cut abruptly by a hard bass, inevitably remind of KORN from the 1990s. Even some of Cristina’s lines are reminiscent of some of Jonathan Davis’s. This song convinces all along the line. The single ‘Layers Of Time’ is a bit out of the ordinary with its high tempo, but has enough bite, as some passages remind of GOJIRA. There are also strong moments in ‘Apocalypse’. One of them is when the strong guitar solo, which clearly has the handwriting of Marco “Maki” Coti-Zelati, invites the listener to dive into the deep and wide world of guitar art. Also ‘Now Or Never’ and ‘Under The Surface’ are great and will be a lot of fun performing live.

‘Veneficium’ begins with classical, choral-like songs, which one is not used to from the band. But this is exactly what makes it exciting and could even be used more often. Also, the experimental and gloomy ‘The End Is All I Can See’ is praiseworthy as it gives a credible and gloomy impression of the work. ‘Save Me’ has some pop tendencies and seems a bit simple, but it gives the impression that the song wants to bring out exactly that, ergo that simplicity is often enough. With ‘Black Anima’ the band traditionally sets a rather melancholic final touch at the end of the album. The latter also gives the impression that the title ties in with the opening song, so that the work is complete.

‘Black Anima’ is an album that you have to listen more than once in order to let it flow in properly, because it may not sweep the listener away instantly. But the new album of the Italians offers a fresh cross-section of the band’s development. It is in many ways more powerful, rhythmic and vocally stronger than its predecessor. Both Andrea Ferro and Cristina Scabbia deliver an outstanding vocal performance that fits the instrumental. All in one, Black Anima is a varied and complex album, which at the same time remains true to the style of the band.


Tracklist

01. Sword Of Anger
02. Reckless
03. Layers Of Time
04. Apocalypse
05. Now Or Never
06. Under The Surface
07. Veneficium
08. The End Is All I Can See
09. Save Me
10. Black Anima


Line-up

Cristina Scabbia – Vocals
Andrea Ferro – Vocals
Marco Coti Zelati – Bass, Guitar, Keyboard
Richard Meiz – Drums
Diego Cavallotti – Guitar


Website

https://www.lacunacoil.com


Cover Picture

lacunacoil blackanima


Rating

Music: 7.5
Sound: 8.5
Total: 8 / 10




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