Lacuna Coil
Sleepless Empire

More than five years have passed since the release of their last studio work “Black Anima”, apart from the release of “Comalies XX”, a powerful dark reinterpretation of the famous 2002 eponymous success, on the occasion of its twentieth anniversary.

In between, there was a pandemic, an album recorded in a deserted Alcatraz in Milan (Live From The Apocalypse), all accompanied by the unconscious fear of having to rely indefinitely on fate. Once the clouds dissipated, they were able to return to normality, full of inspiration.

Year 2023. A brand new single is released, after more than three years of silence: “Never Dawn”. From here onwards, amidst rumors and promises, another year will pass and, one single after another, we will arrive at the creation of a mini EP, as these days (fortunately or unfortunately) Major commands.

We arrive at the present day. On February 14, 2025, Valentine's Day, Lacuna Coil releases their tenth studio work, “Slepless Empire”. The change of direction made with “Broken Crown Halo”, now thirteen years ago, continues full sail towards even more turbulent and dark waters. The vocals of Cristina Scabbia are experiencing a second youth, as is Andrea Ferro, who has now completely embraced scream and growl, leaving us at times amazed by the "demonic" vehemence with which he pushes his vocal cords.

After the mysterious departure of Diego Cavallotti, the six strings have passed into the hands of Daniele Salomone, thus maintaining a completely Italian lineup, despite the nebulous stage presence of the new guitarist increasingly convincing us that it is an interim solution, awaiting a stable figure.

But let's get to the album. Behind the dark and minimal cover, there hides a powerful and sophisticated work, with eleven tracks featuring illustrious collaborations. “Hosting the Shadow” hosts Randy Blythe from Lamb of God, a friend and admirer of the Milanese band. Instead, Ashley Costello from New Years Day features in the verses of “In The Mean Time”, enhancing the female presence and charisma, if ever needed, amidst darkness and melody.

The opening “The Siege” immediately clarifies the intentions. The sensation is that it emerges from the shadows, propelled by double pedal and vocals that take us back in time.

From here on, it will be a journey between blinding light and deep darkness. Cristina's voice, with its melodic emphasis and the usual dreamlike rises and falls of octaves, contrasts with Andrea's dark and abrasive singing. There is anger and suffering, along with melancholy. They speak of the evil ingrained in a society seeming to have set aside hope, beyond the anesthetic infused by the recent pandemic. “Oxygen” tells us this, through a video directed not without difficulty by the frontwoman, immersed in a bathtub, while simulating (though not too much) the anguish of living without being able to breathe, oppressed by the negativity and superficiality of our times.

“I Wish You Were Dead” addresses those who have experienced a toxic relationship and wish to be freed from its memory. In this case too, like for all the singles composing the mini EP, a very significant and eloquent video was made.

Piece by piece, we notice a return to the sounds and melodies of the beginnings, with those strings recalling the never-denied gothic spirit of the band. It is evident in “Gravity” or after the choral introduction with a Latin opening of “In Nomine Patris”, which seems taken from the tracklist of “Karmacode”, an album almost twenty years old. On this occasion, as with “Scarecrow” or the title track “Sleepless Empire”, we once again notice the virtuous use of bass strings by Marco “Maki” Coti Zelati, founder, producer, soul and factotum of the band. If the four-string instrument usually has an almost marginal role in the sound's blend, for the entire discography of Lacuna Coil the music changes, making the bass the absolute protagonist. “Sleep Paralysis” is said by many to be the most complex and sophisticated track of the entire work. Cristina reaches an extreme level, taking the octaves to a tone so high it almost seems exaggerated in the chemistry of the refrains. The bridge is entrusted to Andrea Ferro's dark voice and flows into a pleasant solo by Daniele Salomone, before the last chorus.

As Cristina Scabbia explained in a recent interview, the album title refers to our world, an empire that never sleeps, prey to the frenzy of events, as well as to the speed that imposes keeping up with trends, fashions, and social relationships. This work serves as a reminder of where everything started, that is, from an analog existence, not devoid of struggles to survive and assert oneself, which led to an unexpected and at times complicated digital present, projecting towards a future of hope.

“Sleepless Empire” is a very well-made work, a result of the journey of the core of a group that, after thirty years, demonstrates it has not stopped growing.

No resting on laurels then, between lights and shadows, dreams and nightmares, starting from the niche of the Bel Paese, to infinity and beyond.