Lacuna Coil's 'Black Anima' - Album Review

I have said this a few times on this blog previously, but when I first started listening to rock and metal music in a big way in my mid-teens Italy's Lacuna Coil were one of the first 'heavier' bands that I got into. I started out with bands like Queen and Status Quo, but when I started to transition over to metal Lacuna Coil featured in a big way early on. The Lacuna Coil of the time (around 2007/2008) were commercial heavyweights, with the big-selling albums Comalies from 2002 and Karmacode from 2006 pushing the band from the niche goth scene into the melodic metal mainstream. The nu-metal wave was still just about being ridden, and Lacuna Coil tacked themselves onto the end of that scene. The band's gothic influences kept the band from sounding like everything other nu-metal act out there, but they certainly tapped into the DNA of that genre - and around the time I first saw the band they were all wearing the baggy combat trousers that were part of the nu-metal furniture. It was the gothic element of the band that interested me however, so I soon moved to other acts such as Nightwish and Kamelot as my music taste boomed into something resembling how it is now. I suppose I got a little bored of Lacuna Coil, but I still continued to follow the band from a distance - picking up all of their albums but never really giving any of them the time that they properly deserved. I started to properly take notice of the band again in 2016 however, with the release of their eighth album Delirium (which I reviewed here). The band had been moving away from their nu-metal trappings ever since Karmacode, but Delirium seemed to be the album that saw Lacuna Coil burst out of their previous skin in a big way. While the musical direction taken on Delirium was not exactly a huge departure from the norm, it saw the band at their heaviest and most caustic. Co-frontman Andrea Ferro started to use his harsh vocals a great deal more which contributed to the heavy sound, while some line-up changes in the band left bassist and bandleader Marco Coti Zelati handling all of the bass guitars and keyboards, as well as much of the guitar work on the album. This led to a much conciser sound, and allowed the band to push in a heavier direction - as well as to bring back many of the more overt gothic influences that can be heard on the band's early albums. Delirium seems to have been a success for the band, and that success has prompted Lacuna Coil to double down on that sound on Black Anima - which was released last month. The album is easily the heaviest thing the band have done to date, with a mechanical djent-esque sound in places largely courtesy of new guitarist Diego Cavalotti. Black Anima is Cavalotti's first album with the band, although he performed a couple of guitar solos on Delirium. His influence can be heard throughout the album, and he has clearly already formed a strong bond with Coti Zelati - with the two churning out riff after riff throughout the album. Black Anima is also the band's first album to feature drummer Richard Meiz, who replaced Ryan Blake Folden when the latter left the band earlier this year.

The album opens with the short Anima Nera, a track which feels too short to be a 'proper' song and too long to be considered an intro piece. It is a song that is clearly designed to create an atmosphere however, and it succeeds by mixing pulsing synths and chiming clean guitar melodies together to form an eerie backing for frontwoman Cristina Scabbia's vocals. She sings here in a way unlike anything she has ever done before, delivering the song in a way strangely similar to Die Antwoord's Yolandi Visser, with a staccato piano melody mimicking her every move. It is quite an unsettling piece, and helps to really draw the listener into the album. It also acts as a stark contrast to Sword of Anger, the first 'real' song here that opens with a ferocious barked vocal line from Ferro before Cavaoltti launches into the first of the album's many angular riffs. The song follows the pattern established on many of Delirium's tracks, with Ferro handling the heavy verses before Scabbia takes over for the soaring chorus. This trope has been a big part of gothic/doom metal with clean and harsh vocalists since the 1990s, but it can still be extremely effective when done right. It is certainly done right here, and the song is one of the album's most instantly-memorable pieces as a result. The chorus is extremely catchy, and the song as a whole manages to really whip up a storm throughout - particularly while Ferro is growling. Reckless opens with strange synth sounds, which soon give way to a droning guitar rhythm and a punchy, mid-paced drum pattern from Meiz. This song is less in-your-face than the previous track, and seems to hark back to the band's early days when the gothic atmospherics were more important than chunky riffs or driving rhythms. Scabbia dominates vocally here, taking the lead throughout and showcasing her power. During the verses she sings a little lower than usual, which fits in with the grinding rhythms, while the choruses see her singing in her usual higher register. Ferro adds the occasional growled line throughout, and harmonises with Scabbia occasionally, but on the whole he steps to the side to let his singing partner take centre stage. A short guitar solo from Cavalotti showcases his talents. There are a few solos on the album, but they are just infrequent enough to come as a surprise each time. Lead single Layers of Time is similar to Sword of Anger, and is based around a powerful djent-esque riff that really kicks the album up into the next gear - with Meiz keeping pace with his somewhat punky drumming. The verses are the heaviest moments, with Ferro's harsh vocals spilling out the speakers with raw power - before one of the album's best riffs, which hints at TesseracT, sees Cavalotti and Coti Zelati team up for a muscular pattern to bridge the verse and the chorus. The chorus here is a gothic delight, with some controlled singing from Scabbia - although her best moment here in my opinion is the kinetic bridge section that sees the partial return of the vocal style employed in the opening song.

Apocalypse opens slower, with Scabbia's wordless vocal melodies and a big keyboard arrangement - before a slow-moving riff takes over. There are shades of albums like Karmacode here, with Coti Zelati's bass really driving the verses as the guitars take something of a backseat to allow the rhythms to shine. The track feels like a showcase for Coti Zelati in fact, with his bass and keyboards really forming the backbone of everything - and providing the perfect backing for Scabbia's crooning. She dominates vocally again, with Ferro injecting the occasional line of clean singing and harmony throughout. The song is largely devoid of harsh vocals, which is another reason why albums like Karmacode are recalled somewhat here. Ferro abandoned his harsh vocal style for a good number of years, instead opting to sing in the strange crooning style he employs here. The thing the drags the track into the modern day however is Cavalotti's short, emotional guitar solo. Solos were a rarity on Lacuna Coil albums until recently, so it is great to hear another one here. Now or Never has a strong gothic influence throughout, and it opens with a string section to fully reinforce this feeling. Meiz's fast footwork drives the opening heavy section while the strings swirl around, before the atmospherics largely drop out to be replaced by a fairly straightforward driving verse with a Trivium-esque riff and Ferro's harsh vocals. These moments have less of a gothic feel, but the rest of the song is enveloped by strings - especially the moments when Scabbia sings. There is a bit of a strange section towards the end however, which sees both Scabbia and Ferro shouting metalcore style over a chugging riff before Cavalotti launches into a short, but explosive, solo. It is a song that has feet in many camps, but just about manages to hang together in the moment thanks to a strong atmosphere. Under the Surface at first appears like it is going to slow the pace down somewhat, with a a droning sluggish start - but in fact the song becomes one of the album's most energetic pieces. Ferro and Scabbia share the vocals out a little more fairly here - although it is Scabbia that shines the most. Ferro's harsh vocals here are probably the heaviest he has ever sounded, but Scabbia's melodies here are excellent. The song's more straight ahead metal sound allows her to really shine, and the melodies can be much catchier as a result. The chorus here is a real heads down rocker moment, with her powerful voice delivering the main melodies while Ferro barks in between each line. The djent influence is largely absent here, and as a result the song feels fast-paced and energetic, without the mechanical feel that some of the other tracks have.

Veneficium is the album's longest song at just over six minutes in length, and it opens with a symphonic metal-inspired choral section with latin vocals - before a mid-paced muscular riff kicks in to add some extra backing to the Epica-esque drama. The gothic influences are also extremely prevalent here, with a prominent string section employed throughout and the pace in general lessened to allow the atmosphere to build. Ferro has never been the strongest of clean singers in my opinion, but his hoarse delivery is actually very effective and really helps contribute to the overall atmosphere - and he still unleashes the occasional growl when one is required. His voice mixes well with Scabbia's, who hits some pretty impressive high notes throughout the song, and the pairing takes me back to 2001's Unleashed Memories - an album which featured lots of slower gothic tracks such as this. It also includes Cavalotti's best guitar solo on the album in my opinion, with his perfect note choices and phrasing really fitting in well with the song's overall mood. The End is all I Can See feels like a heavier version of the album's opening song, with spooky chiming guitar melodies, a rumbling bassline, and precise drums. The atmosphere from Anima Nera is certainly present here, although is presented in a different way with Scabbia singing in her usual manner and Ferro helping her out with his rough croon. Considering how heavy much of the album is, this track feels calm in comparison. Black Anima does not have a true ballad, but this is probably the most laid back piece here - which goes to show how intense the album in general is as this song is still pretty dense. More of an emphasis is put on the keyboards here, with Coti Zelati once again showcasing his skills as an arranger with some excellent layers of atmosphere and strong gothic synth leads. Save Me ups the pace again after the slower previous number, but never reaches the heaviness of much of the rest of the album. Again, there are strong Karmacode vibes here with Scabbia dominating vocally and a strong focus on simpler rhythms and catchy melodies. Ferro is largely relegated to a background role here, and adds vocal harmonies throughout, which really lets Scabbia shine. She was always the main focus of the band, but since Ferro's greater presence on recent albums and the power of his harsh vocals has been fully realised he has sometimes been stealing her thunder! Save Me is a song that reminds us all, if we needed reminding, why Scabbia is often considered one of the greatest female metal singers of all time - with a powerful and melodic performance that showcases different sides of her voice. The album comes to a close with the title track, another somewhat atmospheric piece that feels like a cross between a 'proper' song and an outro. Meiz's slow drum beat keeps everything together, while Scabbia and Ferro croon together as piece grows towards moments of heaviness - all while strange spoken word sections cut through the mix. It is a fitting end to a diverse, atmospheric, and heavy album; and an end that seems to draw the preceding 45 minutes together nicely. Overall, Black Anima is another strong album from the Italian band. It picks up where Delirium left off three years ago, and builds on the heavier sound that album established. It continues a remarkable stylistic rebirth for a band that at one point seemed to have dated themselves with an out-of-date scene, and showcases them as a heavy, and creative act once again.

The album was released on 11th October 2019 via Century Media Records. Below is the band's promotional video for Layers of Time.