Lacuna Coil-Dark Adrenaline

Post #229

Lacuna Coil released their latest album, Dark Adrenaline, on 1-23-12, and having enjoyed their last two albums I was eager to hear this one as well. As was the case with their last album, Shallow Life, this release is also an essential addition to the music collection of any fan of female-fronted heavy metal music.

With Dark Adrenaline, Lacuna Coil establish a heavier, darker vibe than they have in quite a while. Not so much so that you cannot tell it's Lacuna Coil. The essential formula is still there. In fact, this album is quite consistent with their previous one. Any changes to their sound are subtle ones. Fans of Shallow Life will easily take to this album, as it is filled with similar heavy riffs and dynamic vocal melodies traded off between Andrea Ferro and Cristina Scabbia, very much as LC fans are accustomed to. If anything, the most difference may be that this album is a bit less 'pop', and more purely metal than Shallow Life was.

The first single, 'Trip The Darkness', is classic Lacuna Coil from the get-go. Choruses are mainly handled by Andrea, with his scratchy, alt-metal voice, and the bridges and choruses are sung in Cristina's captivating contralto voice. This number is melodic heavy metal, driven by rhythmic, heavy guitars and complimented by subtle synthetic effects.

As with many of the band's previous albums, the mood from song to song ebbs and flows between near-thrash heaviness, and operatic soft melodies. There are some notable highlights, and unique songs that stand out. One of my favorites being 'End of Time', where we hear Cristina dwell in the lowest ranges of her vocal ability for most of the song. In atypical fashion, this is perhaps the most I've heard her push herself in mastering the limits of her vocal range. My other favorite song is 'Intoxicated' where, if anything, Cristina does the opposite. Some of the lines are delivered with true vocal acrobatics that retain melodies you're repeating in your head hours after listening to this song. It keeps pulling you back to play it again!

So in summing up, Dark Adrenaline may not be dramatically different from Shallow Life, but different enough that you need to hear it for yourself. Lacuna Coil may have mastered their craft, and niche, in metal music years ago, but that's all the more reason you need to hear what they've been up to lately. Personally, I can't wait for their next album already!

My top picks from Dark Adrenaline:
-Trip the Darkness
-Kill the Light
-Upsidedown
-End of Time
-Intoxicated
-Losing My Religion (A cover of R.E.M.'s classic. As Lacuna Coil did with 'Enjoy The Silence' a few years ago, they put their unique stamp on this one too. They truly make it their own. If you wouldn't have known the song before, it would be hard to tell it is a cover!)