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!)

GIGANTOUR 2012: Lacuna Coil, Volbeat, Motorhead, Megadeth

Post # 217
On February 12, 2012, it was time to hit the road for another great rock n' roll/heavy metal show... Our destination this time: Milwaukee's Rave/Eagles Club for Megadeth's GIGANTOUR!

We were cutting it a little close for our arrival time, rushing into the venue as we heard music blaring already. Lacuna Coil had already taken the stage! We arrived in the actual music hall in time to catch most of their set. My favorite part of their set came between Fragile and Kill the Light, as Cristina looked up the the lighting tech-booth and said, "I think it's time we Kill the Light..." She likes making plays on the words of their song titles. I thought it was clever, and the song was awesome!

Lacuna Coil delivered an excellent set, culminating with their hit 'Spellbound' from their Shallow Life album a couple years ago. During the intermission, we edged our way in a little closer, and segments of the crowd shifted either for drinks or the rest rooms. We agreed to repeat this practice between each band through the evening to see how close we could get by the time Megadeth came on.

But next up was Volbeat! From Denmark, Volbeat are a metal band not quite like any other. They are heavy, sure, but they blend in a lot of old-school rock n' roll (almost the likes of Elvis Presley), resulting in a heavy, melodic, and catchy style of metal that's almost impossible not to dig. Currently they are getting a lot of air-play on hard rock radio with their hit 'A Warrior's Call'.

It may be no surprise, then, to hear that they opened with that very song. The opening lyric, "Let's get ready to rumble!!" almost made it feel like we were at a WWF event, but the music was much louder and heavier! Volbeat had it cranked up pretty loud, and their choice of songs displayed their versatility. Their softer side came across best on the tune 'Fallen', which has since become a frequent radio hit for them as well. Check that one out if you haven't... it's a great song!

Just as they were about to wrap things up, in the middle of their last song, they broke into the main riff from Slayer's 'Raining Blood'. So the crowd whipped back up into a true frenzy just as they closed their set. Now we were totally amped for Motorhead...

During the intermission, my buddy and I again crept slightly closer to the stage. Better view, more centrally located within the venue, alright!

Motorhead came out to the stage in a nonchalant sort of mood. Lemmy Kilmister simply walked up to the mic and asked if we were ready for some rock and roll. Then he let us have it, Motorhead were off and rolling... or perhaps rumbling is the better word. Drummer Mickey Dee was like a machine, driving the locomotor-sized engine of the rock'n'roll-meets-metal beast that is Motorhead. Their set was mostly composed of older songs that are fan-favorites, but they did play 'I Know How To Die' from their most recent album, The World Is Yours.

Lemmy was the classic business-like front man, keeping any intros between songs very short in favor of getting to the music quickly. The only down side may be that their set flew by pretty quickly, with the exception of Mickey's drum solo. They closed with two of their best-known songs, 'Ace of Spades' and 'Overkill' before leaving us to gather out breath for Megadeth...

Megadeth took the stage to near-deafening cheers. By this point we had secured a spot on the floor much closer to the stage. We braced for some furious thrash-metal... and once the drums started to thunder, indicating the beginning of the first song, 'Trust', we became engulfed in a throng of moshers. The mosh pit had started in earnest now, and we to a few minutes to fight our war into a spot to stand. Cramped and sweating with the raw energy, we locked in and pumped our fists to some of Megadeth's classics, like 'Hangar 18' and 'Wake Up Dead'.

Unlike the last time I saw Megadeth, back on American Carnage, this time they mixed up their set with several of their more melodic-metal songs. As the opportunity was here, Dave Mustaine invited Cristina Scabbia to join him to sing the duet-version of 'A Tout Le Monde'. The more obscure song 'Foreclosure of a Dream' was played as well. They also performed a string of 3 tracks from their new album 13 before closing with the encores 'Peace Sells' and 'Holy Wars'.

What an incredible night of metal mayhem!
The set lists for each band were...

Lacuna Coil
-Our Truth
-Upsidedown
-Fragile
-Kill the Light
-Trip The Darkness
-Spellbound

VolBeat
-A Warrior's Call
-Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood
-The Human Instrument
-Sad Man's Tongue
-Hallelujah Goat
-Who They Are
-Fallen
-The Mirror and the Ripper
-Pool of Booze, Booze, Booza
-Still Counting (Raining Blood)

Motorhead
-Bomber
-Damaged Case
-I Know How To Die
-Stay Clean
-Over The Top
-The Chase is Better Than the Catch
-The One to Sing the Blues
-Going to Brazil
-Killed by Death
-Ace of Spades
-Overkill

Megadeth
-Trust
-Wake Up Dead
-A Tout Le Monde (w/ Cristina Scabbia)
-Hangar 18
-She-Wolf
-Foreclosure of a Dream
-Dawn Patrol
-Poison Was The Cure
-Head Crusher
-Public Enemy No.1
-Who's Life (Is It Anyway?)
-Guns, Drugs, and Money
-Symphony of Destruction
-Peace Sells
-Holy Wars... The Punishment Due

Heavy Metal Madness: Second Round Summary, part 2!

Post #208

Back on July 20th, the Heavy Metal Madness 2012 Tournament officially reached the 'Sweet Sixteen', as 8 more bands were eliminated as the second round polls closed. The results for last month's voting were as follows...

Megadeth beat Motorhead 25-11,
Judas Priest upset the #2 seed Slayer 21-14,

Nirvana beat Rob Zombie 21-15,
Alice In Chains dominated Lacuna Coil 30-7,

AC/DC beat Queen 23-14,
Led Zeppelin edged out a close match with Ozzy Osbourne 20-17,

Tool came from behind to beat Bullet for My Valentine 23-12,
and System of a Down won a close match with Korn 18-15.

With these results in the bag, it is now on to the Sweet Sixteen! The first half of this round is now open for voting through August 19th. Cast your votes in the right hand column before then. >>>>>>>>

Now let's reflect a moment on the bands who were just eliminated. Here's a recommended song from each of them:

Motorhead-Overkill

Slayer-South of Heaven

Rob Zombie-American Witch

Lacuna Coil-Trip the Darkness

Queen-Bohemian Rhapsody

Ozzy Osbourne-No More Tears

Bullet for My Valentine-Scream, Aim, Fire

Korn-Another Brick in the Wall

Until the next round summary... Happy Headbanging!

Remember to keep voting....

Lacuna Coil-Shallow Life

Post #78

Italy's gothic-metal rockers, Lacuna Coil, come back with "Shallow Life", a long-awaited follow-up to their US breakthrough album, "Karmacode".

"Shallow Life" comes across with more of a main-stream vibe than "Karmacode", without losing their classic sound. The first single, "Spellbound", seemed to get the band even more exposure this past summer. It received a good deal of air-play on radio stations in my area. It was a primary reason for seeking out tickets for one of their shows this summer too.

Almost every song on the album plays on catchy melodies, weather they're ballads or heavier tunes doesn't matter. Lacuna Coil have taken the next step in thier musical evolution, and have presented their most accessible album yet. I dare you to play this album all the way through without getting 2 or 3 of the songs stuck in your head.


My personal favorites include:
-Survive
-I Won't Tell You
-I'm Not Afraid
-Underdog
-Unchained
-Spellbound