Nobody over here needs to be reminded who Lacuna Coil is. The band has been a staple of this zine for all its existence. At first, the RMR crew covered the somewhat conflicted mid-tens offerings such as Dark Adrenaline or – again – Broken Crown Halo.
Things started to improve by 2016 when the disturbing yet pretty excellent Delirium appeared out of nowhere. That one clearly marked a change in energy levels, posture, and attitude of the band, finally capitalizing on their many talents. And this trend continued with the succulent Black Anima of 2019 that made it onto the honorable mentions of this zine’s 2019 Top 10 Records. But that’s a bunch of mighty big shoes for them to fill for their next record. And we haven’t seen much new material percolating our way since. Apart from a (somewhat misguided) 20th anniversary of Comalies, that is. So, let’s hold on to something and let ‘er rip. Soaring heights or the dreaded oubliette? There can be only one.
Dark Anima was a somber affair with Cristina Scabbia at her evilly effective and gothic best. Actually, this was the very best performance of her whole career back in 2019. And Sleepless Empire starts with a bang to try and continue down that road. Case in point, The Siege greets you with Andrea Ferro‘s mighty roar and Scabbia‘s wicked and often multi-layered wail right on top of it. Meaning, the remarkable aggression first found on Delirium continues on Sleepless Empire, as well as this delicious Beauty and the Beast approach straight from olden times when Melodic and Gothic Metal were still young. Much to my surprise, Ferro dropped his much-maligned clear-voice croak. I must be the only and lonely vox out there who regrets that. His clear voice may have been uncharismatic to a point, true. But I found his boyband contribution thrown into a darkly ominous production on Dark Anima refreshing.
So, in essence, Sleepless Empire hits you with powerful and straight-in-your-face vocals backed up by heavy chugging and some neat drum work straight from the 10th circle of hell. And whilst Richard Meiz‘s drum performance is mercilessly effective, I cannot but state that the damned trademark jingle bells are back in service yet again. Albeit way back in the mix, which renders that little facet of this piece pretty bearable. Well, kind of.
The guitar work neatly leans into the Metalcore-ish realm with some neat little breakdowns into Gojira‘s corner, taking this further. Thus, the record’s focus sits firmly on extended heaviness with Dark Anima‘s evilly pugnacious yet groovy delivery straight out of the door. This need for power also explains why Randy Blythe (Lamb of God) and Ash Costello (The Haxans) were added to the fray for good measure. And that’s a change that some parts of the fan crowd won’t appreciate. A way-back machine to the past? More of a redirection. But nowhere near the sins that they rightly criticized earlier records were accused of.
Sleepless Empire comes a bit front-loaded with the first four extremely strong tracks. Oxygen, Scarecrow, and Gravity shine most brightly on this august selection. This is raw fury in an intensely gothic setting that wasn’t quite there before. And that gets me to I Wish You Were Dead, the track with a naughty swagger that may well whip the hardened fans into raw fury. Most notably, it is also the most commercially accessible tidbit of this album, truly apart from the densely written rest of the tracklist. In contrast, it also evokes that blood-filled image of a Victorian Tableau more than all the other tracks combined. And this only becomes apparent after a few listens. Unsurprisingly, the band constructed a deliciously daemonic and tastily unholy video with that. A perfect track that Deathless Legacy should have more of. To spiff up their wares some, like. Sleepless Empire – the title track – and In The Mean Time (the one with Ash Costello) are two more must-hear tracks on this already well-endowed red-hot piece o’ metal.
Ultimately, though, Sleepless Empire is carried by two distinct elements. First, meet Cristina Scabbia in fine form. She clearly is (and forever was) the ‘anima’ of Lacuna Coil. Her versatile performance and laser-sharp singing style sliced a gazillion times through this new-found gravity on the band’s new record. And it is this symbiosis that lifted this record high above the usual ‘mainstream’ crowd. A distinct rapprochement to the times when the original Comalies reigned supreme is the second component of success here. And both are proof positive of the outstanding quality a band in its prime can still produce – even after all these years. Let’s hope this continues far into the future.
Record Rating: 7/10 | Label: Century Media Records | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 14 February 2025