Lacuna

I want to start by saying that after reading several reviews of Karmacode I totally agree with every word. What I am about to say is generally that anyone who likes this type of music should take a few minutes, sit back and think about why you bought or are considering buying this cd.

For me it was simply that I had seen the video for swamped and I was hooked. Great song, tight musicianship, great vocals from both Christina and Andreas. That is pretty much the whole picture with Lacuna Coil.

You get a collection of great songs played extremely well and sung perfectly by 2 very talented singers. And who cares if there are few or no solos, solos are all very well bubt in some songs they would only add a strange element which for Lacuna Coil would spoil all the hard work put into making their music.
Quite simply they don't need solos in their songs, if they happen to write songs which feature solo spots then those songs would be wriiten with that in mind and would sound just as good as those without, and let's not forget that they are not the only band who do few or no solos, many Within Temptation songs do not have solos and I've never felt robbed of that element.

If you like Lacuna Coil or feel like you want to get into them then you could do far worse than buy this cd, I bought it off the strength of only having heard 2 of their songs previously and off the back of that I now own 3 of their cds and I'm aching to see them live.

Buy Karmacode and be blown away by some of the best songs in this genre played by one of the best bands out there!

a real good album to listen to while driving.. never get bored of it , it has its diversity ....

Lacuna Coil changes their style a little bit with each album. Comalies was gothy, which was a good fit for Lacuna Coil's tendency to drag in the lower notes at times. Karmacode still has a small touch of goth but it's is heavy on the bass guitar and the female vocals have an Indian sound. Each song is fairly different from the other so it's likely that you'll love half the album and dislike the other half, but not in the same way as somebody else. Give it a listen.

I have no idea why people call this "goth", nor do I understand why anybody would actually buy this album. This band is so boaring and pointless that it's nearly a joke on the music industry. I don't know what the other LC album are like but this one is lame.

White there are a few songs on this album that tend to bore me, the album as a hole is outstanding. Evanescence can't hold a flame to Lacuna Coil's female vocals. Let's remember kids--Lacuna Coil came first and inspired Evanescence. hmm, anyway, good album, trust it from someone who knows. Not from someone who wears gothy makeup and clothing to show that they somehow know good music.

Good music if you aren't sweet enough for Avril Lavigne. Teeny bopper Goth. Boring.

This is the bands most solid effort. Some of the others border on greatness while this one achieves it well.

Good basic rythms, worthy of classic rock or metal. Great vocals that interchange male to female from verse to chorus. He has a slight raspy feel, but not any annoying cookie monster crap, while she is just angelic sounding. The music also has a slight goth tinge, but what rock/metal band hasn't tinged their music with something ? It's not too much that it will keep a non gothic fan from liking it, but maybe just maybe enough for the goth fan. The music also has a slight atmospheric feel to it at times, I think it's her voice, along with the touch of keyboards in the background at times. A solid album without fillers.

Lacuna Coil's Comalies and Unleased Memories are master pieces. Every last song is perfect. I've listened to both CDs all the way through over a dozen times and loved every song. That has never happened for any other CD for me and both are by the same band.

I listened to various snippets of songs from 2 Lacuna Coil albums on Amazon (this one plus "Unleashed Memories"), and was initially blown away by Cristina Scabbia and the musicality of this band. However, after receiving the actual CD's, I was grossly disappointed...The male singer absolutely, unequivocally ruins every song he joins in on (which is 90% of the time). This in turn just makes the music seem clown-like, pathetic and campy at best. Very sad - I really wanted to like this band. They should eject the male singer and let Scabbia take the lead entirely to herself. Pathetic...Just wish I'd known this before I wasted my cash on not one, but two of their CD's.

Italy's Lacuna Coil has made a name for themselves within the genre of metal over the past few years. This is mainly due to the fact that lead vocalist Cristina Scabbia is definitely one of the best looking vocalists in a metal band. Unfortunately for the band, they are mediocre and this release just does not turn heads and really show metal a special band in the making. Unleashed Memories was originally released in 2001 and also includes the Half-Life EP.

Unleashed Memories starts off very promising with a track titled Heir of a Dying Day. This song showed me that Lacuna Coil had a unique sound and I thought the album would rise after one phenomenal song. Little did I know that the album would be an utter disappointment, even after two years of listening to the material. Throughout the album, the music is simple, plain, and in many parts, boring. Cristina's vocals are not even that impressive throughout the recording. The song, Distant Sun is rather pleasant, along with A Current Obsession, but the standards overall on this release are quite low.

This might sound like a harsh review, and in a way, it is. While I do enjoy Lacuna Coil, this release is not enjoyable for me, personally. 2004's Comalies was a very good release and Lacuna Coil showed that they could be somewhat unique within the genre. Also, bands that release mellow albums can be enjoyable (i.e., Borknagar, Opeth, etc.), but Unleashed Memories was a very mediocre release. The Half-Life EP includes five tracks and Hyperfast, along with Half-Life do stand out.

Love this. Big fan of this band. Love the goth metal. Can't wait for something after Karmacode.

The "Italian Evanescence", it's somewhat of a let-down after the "In a Reverie" album, and other than "1.19", no song really reaches out and makes you say "I want that!". Nonetheless, all the right ingredients and a very competent, fine album that does nothing to dissuade me from the idea that this is my favorite band of all time. ("Senzafine" isn't in English.)

I am not an expert in music, but all I can say is that disc is beautiful, heavy, melodic, sophisticated hard rock music. It's hard to compare, but I can think of Korn "Untouchables" disc. Of course, Evanescence comes to mind, but Lacuna Coil is much more sophisticated musically. The voice of Cristina Scabbia is super powerful and smooth as the same time. This album compares with "Comalies" as their best. If you like heavy, emotional, metal music, but with a beautiful female voice as lead, you will like "Unleashed Memories." To me they are the best around now. Just for reference, I also like Disturbed, Korn, Tool, Offspring, Godsmack, and some Linkin Park--but the female voice makes Lacuna Coil a genre of their own.

The bands second full length album finds Lacuna Coil refining their sound a bit with Christina Scabbia's incredible vocals leading the way. I think this one is on a par with their debut disc. The songs are all strong although there is nothing that really blows me away. Some of the lyrics and ideas on this one are slightly overused and the band still keeps to a fairly rigid formula. The band do two tracks on this disc in their native Italian and both are really good songs. This is a solid 4 star release an overall I like it. I still wish the band would take a few more chances with their music, but this is another solid release from the band.

In a Reverie
One of the Coil's Best CDs. However, I was disappointed when I recieved it and found it to be the rerelease and not the original.

The "Italian Evanescence", it lives up to the promise of "Falling" on their self-titled debut album, especially "To Myself I Turned" and "Falling Again". Not as great as the "Karmacode" and "Comalies" albums, in part because they don't really use their dual vocalists to full advantage. My favorite band of all time.

Lacuna Coil is one of the main members of the new wave of progressive metal that features crunching guitars, epic songwriting and powerful female vocals. Similarities to bands like Evanescence and Stream Of Passion are very evident. "Reverie" was the band's first full length album and shows the promise that this band would go on to bigger and better things. Overall the album is somewhat evident of a band in search of a sound. They try different things here and there and to me this is a good thing. I honestly wish they would do more of this with their later material, as lately they have really locked themselves into a formula. The band is Italian and all of the lyrics here are in English. Christina has a definite accent to her vocals that would be polished up significantly on later releases. The songs are for the most part good. Highlights include "Circle", "Stately Lover", and the title track "Reverie". Epic sounding metal with just a hint of progressive rock. The band would go on to do better albums, but this one was a very good debut.

Other than a self-titled EP, I believe this was Lacuna Coil's first full-length release. What a way to make a debut! This album shows that the band has some serious potential; although they do exhibit some downfalls on this album as well.

The most obvious thing to me on this record, is the fact that it comes across as sort of experimental. Don't get me wrong, most of the songs are hard and heavy, dark and melodic; but there is some material that (to me) shows that the band was not sure in which direction they wanted to go in. The downfalls however, are fairly insignificant when you hear the album as a whole.

1. Circle - This track is an awesome way to open the album. The vocals by Cristina and Andrea are both heavy and harmonizing at the same time. The band plays heavy all throughout and makes for a pretty cool opening. 4/5

2. Stately Lover - I want to like this song, I really do. It is heavy and melodic, but something seems a bit off on this one. The vocals are top-notch, but I feel that Andrea's "I don't know what the hell you say," is out of place on this track. This alone makes the song feel a bit cramped with a lot of material. Good song overall, just a bit off. 3.5/5

3. Honeymoon Suite - Andrea starts off strong on this song, with great harmonizing my Cristina. This song seems to be another that has a lot of material and they aren't sure what sound it is they want. Almost as if the band couldn't decide what role Cristina would play on this album, and were just trying different things with her and Andrea. Okay song. 3.5/5

4. My Wings - I love the way this song begins. Hard, heavy, and the quintessential Coil sound we have all come to love! The song stays heavy all the way through, and with Cristina singing, you can't go wrong. Awesome track! 4/5

5. To Myself I Turned - This is my personal favorite on the album. The lyrcis are dark yet at the same time, provide a sense of uplifting spirit. Makes you want to prove all the doubters wrong with whatever it is you're doing in life. Great song, with and awesome beginning! 5/5

6. Cold - This song picks right back up where the last song left off. The beginning makes you think it's going to be a "ballad" type song, and some may say that it is, but it still remains heavy and haunting. Awesome guitar work on this track! 4/5

7. Reverie - I never realized how long this song was. Although this song can come across as experimental; and it does have a lot of material all stuffed in there, showing each band members strengths, the song does seriously rock! Although I feel Andrea and Cristina don't harmonize completely well here, it is one of Andrea's strongest outings. Pretty cool song overall. 4/5

8. Veins of Glass - The beginning of this song sounds very familiar and I can't seem to place it. On this track, Andrea shows us that he is really no fluke. He can indeed come across as weak at times, but here along with Cristina, this song is hauntingly calm. A very strong track by the Coil, and an under-rated gem on this album. 4.5/5

9. Falling Again - This song is amazing! I have come to expect that the last track of any Lacuna Coil album is going to kick ass! The beginning alone makes this song! Cristina seems to pour a lot of her emotions into this song, and maybe this is what showed the band that she truly belongs up front! A true 5-star song to end their debut LP. 5/5

So, after what seems like a somewhat shaky beginning, Lacuna Coil bounce right back with some serious hits here. "In a Reverie" as I said, seemed to be a mixed bag as the band wasn't sure exactly where Cristina was going to fit. They seemed to have fixed the problem with their next out-put!

A must-own for any fans of Lacuna Coil!

If you are a fan this is a good album.
A couple of great songs and then others that show the band at it's
beginnings. Buy it cheap and you won't cry.

The "Italian Evanescence", it's got all the right ingredients, but not all of it comes up right. It's not a great album, but all the elements are present, especially Christina Scabbia's vocals, which are paradise defined. A must-have if you get the "In a Reverie" album - it's got "Falling" and "A Ghost Between Us", which serve as a prelude to "Falling Again" here. My favorite band all-time!

Stumbled on this band quite by accident. Had no idea they had been around as long as they had. They have a sound all their own, which is unusual in today's crowded marketplace....

I'm sick of people saying that Evanescence ripped off Lacuna Coil. This isn't Scott Stapp and Eddie Vedder. If I close my eyes, they don't sound the same. Even Lacuna Coil's sound is structured different. Amy has more classical training, and in my opinion has a more emotional, haunting voice than Christina.

Lacuna Coil has male vocals which except for Bring Me To Life is non-existent on Evanescence albums. It's fair to say that like the 80's hard rock bands or those in a similar genre will sound alike, but it's not because that one ripped off the other. It's variation on a theme and difference in style.

Metal heads need to find something better to do than compare bands that have vague similarities. You are talking to someone who has bought Lacuna Coil albums, and listened to them over and over. You either like Lacuna Coil or Evanescence or Both. Amy you rock!

Although labeled Goth Rock the dynamic tracks are filled with an energy and variety that appeals to most anyone liking Rock. If you like Evanescence you should give them a try and even if you don't there's a good chance you will enjoy the cd.

Anyone who likes the other Lacuna Coil CD's will love this one too. Great for Evanescence fans!

Combining 2 EP's that had song versions found no where else.
It's worth it for "Stars" and the earlier version of "Falling"

Almost everyone would like Lacuna Coil if they like Evanescence.
(Actually they are better in my opinion)

In the last five years, there has been no band I've listened to more than Lacuna Coil. I'll never forget arriving at Ozzfest and almost immediately ditching my friends because I absolutely had to go see where that beautiful sound was coming from. Ethereal goth-goddess Cristina Scabbia has the most alluring and gorgeous voice I've ever heard and the band's sound and arrangements are unique to them. Co-vocalist Andrea Ferro provides a great male counterpoint to Scabbia's sirensong that gives the tunes a little extra texture and tension. Not everybody's a fan (chicks and metal don't mix and all that macho BS), but if you haven't heard these guys, you owe it to yourself to at least check them out.
This disc, entitled "The EP's", is an amazing collection of songs consisting of the two mini-albums (or EP's) that sandwiched Lacuna Coil's incredible full-length 1999 debut album In a Reverie thoughtfully brought together on this one disc.

The first half consists of the untouchable Lacuna Coil debut EP. "The Secret..." is my favortie LC song and a true anthem that sums the band up better than any other piece of music that they've recorded. "Falling" was re-recorded as "Falling Again" for "In A Reverie" with an entirely different arrangement, but I very much prefer the version on this disc. The intimacy and minimalism of the orignal version really highlights Scabbia's voice and makes for one of my favorite vocal recordings of all time. The second half of the disc is the Halflife EP. All of the songs were included as bonus tracks on the Unleashed Memories album's re-release, but they sound much better on this disc.

The only real complaint I have about this compilation is the track "Trance Awake", which is really nothing more than a lengthy intro to LC's Italian-language song "Senzafine" which they have released no less than 4 times (3 different versions) so far with only a handful of albums out. Good song and all, but sheesh. There are a few instrumentals as well which I do enjoy but tend to discourage including on EP's which are short enough without bands putting lengthy jam sessions on them as filler. Still, the quality of the songs themselves is staggering at times and this is a great way to get acquainted with one of the increasingly few modern bands that I enjoy so much that I'll buy any CD with their name on it.

Lacuna Coil's brand of keyboard-heavy beautiful goth-metal may not be for everyone, but they are certainly for me, and this is my single favorite disc that they've released so far. The album Comalies is equally brilliant, particularly the edition with the bonus dics featuring several acoustic tracks, but the purity of Lacuna Coil's formative work really impresses me. Cristina Scabbia's voice has been increasingly marred by the modern music industry's annoying reliance on vocal effects on LC's recent albums and that is the best reason I give the edge to this collection. Plus, there is no better way to end a CD than with their haunting cover of the Dubstar song "Stars", which blows the original version away, no question.

"But as the stars are going out,
And this stage is full of nothing,
And the friends have all but gone,
For my life, my God, I'm singing.
We'll take our hearts outside,
Leave our lives behind,
And watch the stars go out...."