European fans of LACUNA COIL should already mark October 17th red in their calendars as this will be the date “Trip The Darkness” will be released – their first digital single off the upcoming album “Dark Adrenaline”!
Still, this is not the end of today’s good news: As it has been too long since LACUNA COIL has played their native Italy the band want to give a very special treat to their Italian fans: an extensive tour throughout Italy! Not only will their Italian fans be able to enjoy some of the very first dates of their “Darkness Rising” tour, but also see the band on some more intimate club shows! After spending many months in the recording studio the band are dying to get on the road again and perform songs from “Dark Adrenaline” live:
21.10.2011 (I) Milan - Bloom
22.10.2011 (I) Ravenna - Rock Planet Club
24.10.2011 (I) Rome - Circolo Degli Artisti
25.10.2011 (I) Naples - Duel Beat
27.10.2011 (I) Florence - Viper
28.10.2011 (I) Modena - Vox
30.10.2011 (I) Treviso - New Age Club
31.10.2011 (I) Turin - Teatro Delle Serre
Tickets: http://www.ticketzone.it
After their UK run between November 2nd and 25th they will also stop in Holland and Belgium for two exclusive shows:
25.11.2011 (B) Vosselaar - Biebob (http://www.biebob.com/pages/index.php?f=concerts&i=512)
27.11.2011 (NL) Dordrecht - Bibelot (http://www.bibelot.net/content.aspx?id=155)
Stay tuned for more info about “Dark Adrenaline”!
LACUNA COIL online:
http://www.lacunacoil.it
http://www.myspace.com/lacunacoil
https://www.facebook.com/lacunacoil
http://www.emptyspiral.net
http://www.twitter.com/lacuna_coil
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Fans von LACUNA COIL sollten den 14, Oktober blutrot in ihren Kalendern markieren, erscheint an dem Tag doch „Trip The Darkness”, die erste Single des kommenden Albums „Dark Adrenaline”!
Doch nicht genug der guten Neuigkeiten. Um sich für die geplanten Live-Aktivitäten warm zu spielen gibt es in Europa eine Reihe intimer Clubshows um die Veröffentlichung der Single. Dort werden bereits Songs des neuen Albums live vorgestellt. Die Band brennt geradezu darauf nach langen Monaten im Studio ihre „Darkness Rising“ Tour endlich auf die Bühnen zu bringen. Ihr Heimatland Italien darf dabei selbstverständlich nicht fehlen:
Shallow Life Review
ВідповістиВидалитиFor fans of Italy’s gothic metal band Lacuna Coil, the band’s 5th studio album Shallow Life will offer much of what attracted listeners in the first place. At the forefront is undoubtedly vocalist Cristina Scabbia, who is able to take songs that might be mediocre otherwise and propel them to a different level. Shallow Life marks Lacuna’s Coil first concept album, with the main theme being superficiality that exists in everyday life. Lyrically speaking you wouldn’t necessarily guess that the release is a concept album when you break it down song by song, but in the end it’s the quality of the music that will send the biggest message. In this case, there is no shortage of catchy, melodic tunes that will instantly get stuck in your head.
Shallow Life isn’t necessarily a mind-blowing new musical experience, but having Scabbia in the group is obviously a huge resource. Between her use of Arabic-style vocalizations (“I’m Not Afraid”) and her impressive range, she is able to get emotion across in every track. That’s not to say that co-vocalist Andrea Ferro is not solid in his own right, but it’s hard to keep up with Scabbia in the vocal arena. There is powerful quality to the band as well, but it comes across as a wall of sound rather than pushing individual players in the spotlight. If any of the instruments make a strong impression, it’s usually the synth/keys because of the several prominent piano-driven sections.
There are quite a few rock tracks that tend to be more power-chord based, and it is usually the unusual harmonization from Scabbia that takes the song in a new direction. The opening track “I Survive” is arguably the best fast-paced tune on Shallow Life with several musical sections featured within it. From the haunting child-like voice at the beginning to the thrash-like rhythm to the intro, it all works. The album is surprisingly lacking in memorable lead work, but “Unchained” and “Spellbound” do include soulful solos.
Shallow Life has it's share of laid-back moments, with “Wide Awake” and “Shallow Life” being two of the standout tracks in this area. They are quite different approaches, with the acoustic guitar and the piano acting as the main backing instrument, respectively. Nothing on the album truly screams metal, and Lacuna Coil should probably be deemed more of a gothic rock band than a metal one. Even so, dedicated fans won’t care about what genre the band fit's into when all is said and done. // 8
Lyrics and Singing: As was mentioned earlier, Shallow Life delves into superficiality among everyone – not just the celebrity world, as was made clear in the band’s interview with Revolver. But although this release has been deemed a concept album, all of the songs could exist and make thorough sense without the others to back them up. There is definitely an introspective feel to all of them, as is presented in “The Maze.” That particular track features lines such as “I barely carry on each day; Life is so destructive” and later “In this maze, I’m running through the halls of emptiness.” “The Maze” is a fair representation of all of the tracks on Shallow Life, in that it definitely hit's upon some universal/human topics, but it’s also not always presented in the most unexpected manner. Thankfully Scabbia has the talent and emotional depth to morph the lackluster lines into something grander. // 8
Impression: It does seem that the instrumentation on past albums stuck out a bit more than what is heard on Shallow Life, and that would be a problem if there weren’t so many interesting vocal elements that are layered in throughout the record. There are certainly a good number of songs that will find commercial success because Lacuna Coil has the ability to write an incredibly catchy hook when it comes time for the chorus. While Shallow Life isn’t their most impressive work, it still has enough positive aspects to keep dedicated fans happy
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/reviews/compact_discs/lacuna_coil/shallow_life/index.html
Lacuna Coil makes it easy for haters. For one thing, their latest (and best) album ostensibly explores the meaninglessness of modern life, yet Shallow Life itself is immediate, thoughtless pop. Luckily, it’s awesome pop, to be enjoyed in the same disposable way as Doritos and Indiana Jones: as good, pointless fun. And though it suffers for its lack of depth, most of the Shallow Life experience is awesome hookery bolstered by Don Gilmore’s micro-tuned (post-)production. Arrangements are mercilessly utilitarian, with very few intros or outros or reps. At first, the record’s swift economy of riffage kinda feels like abridgement, like Reader’s Digest’s Shallow Life. But it’s soon clear that the brevity is basically a mercy killing, cuz, if you recall, guitarists Cristiano Migliore and Marco Biazzi played like vaginas on 2006’s otherwise awesome Karmacode. Those two either needed to get a style, or be banished to the background with (snicker) the keyboard player – and they are on Shallow Life. Out of convenience if not necessity, Gilmore’s Lacuna Coil is no longer a guitar band, but a pop band with heavy guitars, like Paramore, Garbage, and In Flames.
ВідповістиВидалитиAnd like a pop record, Shallow Life is all singing. Not just a lot of singing at one time, but also in the sense that either there’s singing or silence for 48 minutes. Of the first six songs, four are taut Top 10 singles, and that doesn’t even count a fifth (“I Won’t Tell You”) that practically fellates radio programmers or the tune in which non-Cristina Scabbia singer Andrea Ferro seems to bellow “I’m not a faaaaag!” (“I’m Not Afraid”). Then there’s “The Pain,” a heavy ballad (and live must-play) with the gravity and bald histrionics of Sneaker Pimps simulating that first Evanescence single in half time.
Gilmore is most successful on Shallow Life in taming Ferro, whose embarrassingly passionate raving is more often confined to verses here. Ferro is given steady work, but light-lifting only, and he pulls it off notwithstanding his occasionally hilarious accent (“Sie-lint wheespersss” on “Spellbound”). When Ferro vacates completely, liberating infinite Scabbias to harmonize and overlap, it’s like exhilarating cinema. It could be that the male components of Lacuna Coil are Scabbia’s well-qualified backing band, and will likely be photographed in such a manner when they perform Shallow Life centerpiece “Wide Awake” at the next Grammys and possibly Oscars. The towering anthem finds Scabbia nodding to Kate Bush and Sinead O’Connor with a voice that now – in addition to a dozen other mosts – can also be called rock’s most emotive.
In a good way, Shallow Life is like Def Leppard’s Hysteria, Andrew WK’s I Get Wet, and that last Lost Prophets record produced by Bob Rock: simplified to the point of absurdity and limitlessly consumable. Not like a fulfilling meal, rather a fun snack. It rocks about as hard as Nickelback – maybe Disturbed – and therefore might still be ignored in a lobby or elevator. You feel like a total sucker as it pulls every string with predictable precision. You even find parallels in the track order, as Hysteria‘s anti-climatic album closers “Excitable” and “Love And Affection” are matched by the monotonous “Unchained” (according to my girlfriend, an admission of Scabbia’s desire to do porn) and “The Maze,” a tiresome dud. Elsewhere, “I Like It” is great but treads too closely for comfort to Alanis Morissette territory (Canada, right?) and “Spellbound” seems like it’d be a real headache for Scabbia in concert. It’s these songs that make Shallow Life a bit depressing, all desperately vague and pleading for approval. Otherwise, it’s beautiful garbage.
http://www.metalsucks.net/2009/04/29/lacuna-coil-shallow-lively-on-shallow-life/
Lacuna Coil - "Karmacode" (CD) Review
ВідповістиВидалитиThe epic and indeed pointless debate of Lacuna Coil versus Evanescence is sure to shift into high gear in 2006. Both bands will have a fresh album on the shelves, both will be touring relentlessly and likely even be competing for airspace on rock and pop stations. Karmacode is Lacuna Coil’s first album since the critically acclaimed and commercially successful Comalies. The band's latest offering tries with some success, to be everything to everyone. Amy Lee and crew would be wise to take notes.
With opening song “Fragile”, the band kick the album off abruptly with a menacing bass line and distorted guitars a la Chevelle. Vocalists Andrea Ferro and Cristina Scabbbia trade leads and lock harmonies throughout. This song sets the tone for much of what is to follow.
“Our Truth” the bands current single is a rock radio powerhouse. Though the song bristles with nu-metal syncopation, it adds some needed heft to a very addictive chorus. The overlapping vocals and chiming synths are a nice touch as well. “Within Me” finds the band revisiting their back catalog. It is a vocally driven ballad of epic scale and has every right to be a crossover hit. The song is completely devoid of American and nu-metal nuances making it a familiar and enjoyable standout. “Devoted” channels the grunge-metal voice and stomp of Drain STH while lumbering along at an Alice in Chains pace. “In Visible Light” is a promising track for those who enjoyed the grandiosity of Comalies standouts “Heavens a Lie” and “Daylight Dancer”. The twinkling guitar licks and synth flourishes give the song a richness even if the chorus hovers rather than soars. Lacuna Coil pay due respect to Depeche Mode covering "Enjoy the Silence". The band truely make the song their own, to such a degree I had to figure out how I knew the lyrics to a song I had never heard before.
Taken as a whole, this albums overall tempo is much slower in comparison to the bands previous work. The rhythm section are largely responsible for the ponderous nu-metal vibe. Songs do not rush as dramatically as “Circle” and “My Wings” from their 1999 record In a Reverie. Christina Scabbia never sounds as anguished as in “To Myself I Turned” and “The Ghost Woman and the Hunter” from previous albums, but she still delivers a stirring and confident performance. Andrea Ferro’s singing voice is more evident and remains a valuable fixture but gone are his impressive roars and growls as heard in “Angels Punishment” and “Halflife”. Guitars are riff-centric on Karmacode. Individual notes are rarely plucked as they were throughout In a Reverie and acoustic guitars are kept to a minimum. Lyrically the album comes up in spades, matching or outshining their previous work, the band rarely treads into cliched waters.
Highs: A well crafted collection of accessible tunes. Despite some changes to their sound and style, the band maintains their identity.
Lows: Nu-metal dominates this album. Some fans might long for the distinctly “Euro” feeling of previous albums.
Bottom line: Experience matters! This band has been honing their craft much longer than Evanescence, Flyleaf and Wicked Wisdom and it shows.
http://www.metalunderground.com/reviews/details.cfm?releaseid=246