Lacuna Coil
The EPs

THE REVIEW

Nothing to say. These Lacuna Coil do not remotely resemble those of "Karmacode". Completely different music, completely different mentality, pure originality, zero commercialization.

Lacuna Coil is a Milanese quintet, composed of the beautiful Cristina Scabbia (vocals), Andrea Ferro (vocals), Marco Coti Zelati (bass), Cristiano Migliore (electric guitar), and Cristiano Mozzati (drums). A respectable career behind them, which began in 1994 when they were still called Sleep Of Right, and recently sullied only by the already mentioned Karmacode. First of all, it must be said that this is not an original album: in fact, it is an unusual mix between their debut album ("Lacuna Coil", 1998) and the subsequent "Halflife" of 2001. In simple terms, this album was essentially created to gather some euros, but leaving aside the economic issue, this CD is a fusion between two masterpieces of Italian and gothic music in general. The first six songs belong to "Halflife", the next five to "Lacuna Coil". And all eleven songs reflect truly exceptional skill, to paraphrase Abatantuono, and above all are made with the intent to entertain and have a good time without secondary purposes (such as attracting the favor of fifteen-year-olds).

The album starts with "No Need To Explain", a song that begins quite eerily and then opens with a gothic riff halfway between a dark sound and a bright sound. The combined voices of Cristina and Ferro are accompanied by sporadic piano interludes, of rare beauty, and the violence of Coti Zelati's five-string bass. Undoubtedly a piece that reflects more than good harmony between the two singers and positively highlights the extraordinary vocal qualities of our fellow countrywoman Scabbia (no jokes, please). The second track is "The Secret..." and it's a somewhat unusual song at the beginning, as it opens with a bass line decidedly out of the ranks of the Spiral Void, followed by a guitar riff that unpleasantly recalls fake punk, fake pop, fake rock bands (you get the idea). But the chorus is decidedly enjoyable, with Cristina and Andrea's voices blending perfectly once more, splitting the singing parts equally. The astonishing end-of-song solo, performed by Migliore with a slight background of castanets, is a highlight. You arrive feeling fully satisfied at the third composition, namely "This Is My Dream", which this time leaves you a bit disappointed, as it resembles the previous piece very much regarding the vocals and especially the bass riffs (exactly the same as "The Secret..."), and the only thing that stands out from this song is, once again, the successful solo.

"Soul Into Hades": a fourth song that starts with a harsher cut and once again flows into softer verses, with the lightening of the guitars and the insertion of imperceptible piano nuances. Around two and a half minutes, Coti Zelati explodes in a sufficiently fierce solo to bring us back from the gothic dreamy mists of our thoughts to reality. But it's a flash in the pan; soon the guitars leave space once again to the intertwined voices of the two Milanese. The end is a bit abrupt, as the song stops suddenly without warning, but all in all it's once again a well-done performance. The fifth song is a fairytale, the masterpiece of the entire EP in my opinion, titled "Falling" (and notice that Evanescence, two years after this song, will title their album "Fallen"). This is a track steeped in melancholy, with dark guitars in the background while Cristina dominates the scene with her superb voice once again. Instruments such as the piano and even harp are present, never so icy and melancholic (indeed, listening to the track gives an idea of golden coldness), and the final result is undoubtedly wonderful, with the concluding part bringing back the sound of a whistling gust of wind. The sixth track has a misleading title ("Un Fantasma Fra Noi") since there's no Italian (all lyrics are sung in English): it's an instrumental lasting over five minutes, in perfect gothic style, with Migliore and Coti Zelati outdoing themselves, cutting raw riffs and sweet chords simultaneously. For those who understand poetry, this is a continuous oxymoron, ending with the sound of muffled cymbals. A masterpiece. The seventh composition, titled "Halflife", has a wonderfully oriental beginning (System of a Down in gothic style) that persists throughout the song. It is definitely the rawest piece on the album, as instrumental virtuosity alternates with Ferro's growls and Migliore's violent segments: a definitely unusual but, in my opinion, very fitting experiment.

The eighth song, titled "Trance Awake", arrives, and this time the title is not put coincidentally, as it’s another mystically flavored instrumental, completely devoid of big guitars and dominated by keyboards and distant violins. You cannot recover easily: "Trance Awake" ends after very little time, and the magic of "Senzafine" begins peremptorily, a song entirely in Italian that is light-years away from the obscenities of "The Game". The verses indeed sound very suited to the song (contrary to the Karmacode track), which is accompanied once again by just right violent guitar riffs and dreamy keyboards that swirl in the atmosphere. Definitely a positive surprise. "Hyperfast" is the tenth composition, and unfortunately, it’s a downside, since the melody is not immediately assimilable, unfortunately similar to the previous tracks. Cristina Scabbia has once again free rein to exalt her voice, only sporadically interrupted by Ferro's hoarse shouts, which are also repetitive. We remember, however, that this is a track from their debut album, so they were still inexperienced Lacuna. And we reach the concluding song, "Stars", which has an absolutely identical beginning to "No Need To Explain", but subsequently veers in a completely different direction. The guitars do not cut as they should, and the result is that, instead of being gothic, the song slightly declines into pop. Not that this is a very serious defection, since Cristina sings divinely again, but surely they could have done better.

In conclusion, an album of which I highly recommend the purchase, as with a bit more than fifteen euros you can have two milestones of the career of our native quintet. I don't regret it, and if you follow my advice, I don't think you will either. In any case, enjoy the continuation.