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Lacuna Coil – Black Anima

Florian Buechting Media Review No Comments

There is not just Vivaldi and Pavarotti – Italy also has quite a strong Metal scene. One of the key players from Cesars ancestors is the Alternative Metal band Lacuna Coil. On 11th October 2019, they released their new album Black Anima, which is already their ninth studio album.

 

Lacuna Coil – About The Artists

Lacuna Coil is an Gothic Metal band from Milan, Italy. Their beginnings are from 1994, when the band was named Sleep of Right, Later, they named Ethereal and signed their first record deal. However, they found out that there was already a band with the same band and thus renamed to Lacuna Coil (“empty spiral”). In 1999, they released their debut full-length album In A Reverie. Their first chart placement was in the German charts in 2001, when Unleashed Memories made it up to place 72. From then on, their success was steadily growing. Their previous album, the 2016 Delirium, just missed the Italian Top 10 and made Top 100 album chart placements in various European countries as well as in the USA. Some of their early singles even made it high in the UK Rock charts. Their most successful song is likely the 2006 Our Truth. 

 

Lacuna Coil – Black Anima – Track By Track

The album lasts 45 minutes and contains eleven songs. All tracks have been written by the band itself. The deluxe edition contains three bonus tracks, which is then 58 minutes.

1. Anima Nera

This introductory two minute track just features Cristina Scabbia on the vocal side. Rather a nice intro than a full song.

2. Sword Of Anger

Did I write something about “full song” before? Here we go. Lacuna Coil show their best at Sword Of Anger already. Powerful metal, two powerful voices – the shouting-alike Andrea Ferro and the melodic Scabbia, strong bass and guitar play. Still melodic. Cool song!

3. Reckless

Reckless was one of the songs released before the album. I am already head banging listening to the tunes. A bit harder (and less melodic) than Sword Of Anger. A touch of psychodelic. Nice!

4. Layers Of Time

Layers Of Time starts quite heavy, but the more, I love Scabbia in the chorus in this song, which runs through very different atmospheres and moods during the four minutes of runtime. Some parts even feel like a ballad. Masterpiece of Lacuna Coil’s work and definitely one of the best tracks of the album!

5. Apocalypse

Especially at the beginning of the song, you can very nicely explore the very different ways Lacuna Coil can make use of their two vocalists. Nice metal worth listening to!

6. Now Or Never

I made my way back to the living
When I was already dead
I can’t believe this is for real
I felt my heart skip a beat
My vision was so unclear
As I slowly revealed myself

At the beginning of Now Or Never, I felt that the song was very similar to some tracks I listened to before on Black Anima. In the second half, though, it develops its own character.

7. Under The Surface

I love to listen to this track. It is very speedy, very melodic – and thus, very intense.

8. Veneficium

With 6:11 minutes, Veneficium is the longest track on the album. It features Latin words, e.g. at the very beginning

Nova vis ad diem novum nascitur
Penìtus veneficium versatum revincitur

Meaning:

A new day, a new force of the springs
Deeply concerned with the poisoning debate

Epic songwriting and storytelling!

9. The End Is All I Can See

Do you call that one a ballad already? Despite Andrea Ferro is having quite a majority of lyrics, it is a rather soft arrangement. Just nice to have such a wide spectrum of songs on the album.

Clean away my sins
‘Cause  I want to be with you
Now  please answer my prayers
‘Cause the end is all I can see

10. Save Me

A very special element of Save Me is the (spoken) bridge by Scabbia:

And what remains is the shadow of my past
I look in the mirror and hate what I see
I don’t recognise my face anymore
And wonder where all of my dreams are gone
Feeling lost and empty
I know I can’t turn back time
But I just don’t want to give up
I can’t give up

Very melodic and intense song, love to listen to it.

11. Black Anima

The title track of the album comes right before the bonus tracks. Good track, listen to it!

12. Black Feathers (Bonus Track)

Let’s let the wind decide
Where we are going to fall
Soaring to a destination
She takes me away
Black feathers in the storm
We are right where we belong
Carried by our desolation

Though there is quite a lot of shouting in the song, I again like the interaction between the two voices, which makes a very living and active track.

13. Through The Flames (Bonus Track)

Through The Flames is the best of the bonus tracks to me. Very melodic and intense. Hard to believe it is a bonus one.

14. Black Dried Up Heart (Bonus Track)

Not one of the best tracks of the album to me. It is a bonus one – this is why they are not on the ordinary album. Okay, apart from the amazing Through The Flames…

 

Lacuna Coil – Black Anima – Spotify

The Spotify widget allows you to have a full listen of the album:

 

Lacuna Coil – Black Anima – My View

Gothic Metal and Death Metal albums tend to be monotonous to me. If they are getting too hard, I tend to be too lazy to listen to the differences in the arrangements and lyrics. I love Lacuna Coil and their latest, Black Anima, though. The songs have a common character, but are still unique. Some are heavier, some are more melodic – majorly depending on the share of time the two voices have per song. Very nice album, good job!

 

Lacuna Coil – On Tour

During October, Lacuna Coil promote their album in the USA. On 2nd November 2019, they start touring Europe. Here are the tour dates of Germany and its neighbor countries. On some of the European shows, Lacuna Coil is supporting the Swiss Folk Metal band Eluveitie:

 

Th 07.11.2019 Zurich (CH), Komplex 457
Fr 08.11.2019 Stuttgart, LKA Longhorn
Sa 09.11.2019 Oberhausen, Turbinenhalle
Su 10.11.2019 Antwerp (BE), Muziekcentrum Trix
Su 17.11.2019 Utrecht (NL), TivoliVredenburg
Tu 19.11.2019 Frankfurt, Batschkapp
We 20.11.2019 Hanover, Capitol
Th 21.11.2019 Berlin, Huxley’s Neue Welt
Fr 22.11.2019 Leipzig, Felsenkeller
Sa 23.11.2019 Munich, Tonhalle
Su 24.11.2019 Dornbirn (AT), Conrad Sohm
Tu 26.11.2019 Cenon (FR), Le Rocher de Palmer
Fr 29.11.2019 Ramonville St Agne (FR), Le Bikini
Sa 30.11.2019 Rennes (FR), L’Etage
Su 01.12.2019 Paris (FR), Elysee Montmartre
Tu 30.12.2019 Saarbrücken, Garage
We 04.12.2019 Nurnberg, Hirsch
Sa 07.12.2019 Zlin (CZ), Hala Euronics
Su 08.12.2019 Vienna (AT), Arena Wien
Tu 10.12.2019 Krakow (PL), Kwadrat. Students Club
WE 11.12.2019 Warsaw (PL), Progresja
Fr 20.12.2019 Copenhagen (DK), Amanger Bio
Sa 21.12.2019 Hamburg, Docks

 

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