Artist: Lacuna Coil
Title: Dark Adrenaline
Type: Album
Label: Century Media
There was a time not too long ago when Lacuna Coil could do no wrong. Following the ‘Comalies’ album, they were media darlings, getting heavy airplay and magazine coverage, and all with good cause. The album was excellent, with catchy and memorable songs and more than anything else they were hugely marketable, as much due to the music as it was the striking presence of Cristina Scabbia. Even through the release of the mediocre ‘Karmacode’ everyone stayed largely onside, but it was much harder to find the positives in what came next. In pursuit of the commercial dollar, ‘Shallow Life’ was as hollow and devoid of merit as its title suggested, and for many the commercial pop-rock was a step too far from the catchy and atmospheric gothic rock of ‘Unleashed Memories’ and ‘Comalies’. It certainly seems that someone was listening though whilst ‘Shallow Life’ was getting a good kicking, and as a result the latest offering, ‘Dark Adrenaline’, is a step in the right direction. Possibly not quite as far as it should have been though.
My heart sank when I saw that the producer on ‘Dark Adrenaline’ was Don Gilmore; a man who has previously lent his talents to such luminaries as Linkin Park, Good Charlotte and Avril Lavigne, and sure enough it takes a mere 6 seconds of the album before Mr Gilmore takes a big Linkin Park sized dump across proceedings with a massively unnecessary electronic effect straight out of the aforementioned band’s very small box of tricks. With that teeth grating moment out of the way though, opening track and lead single ‘Trip the Darkness’ has a lot going for it; its simplistic chugging riff and catchy chorus being far more like the Lacuna Coil of old, albeit a more watered down version. Where I was fully expecting the quality to take a nosedive with the single leading off the album, I’m glad to say that’s not the case, and tracks such as ‘Against You’ ‘Upside Down’ and ‘Kill the Light’ are some of the best they have released in the last 10 years. Where the focus had been gradually shifting towards Cristina’s vocals over the past few releases, this one is more of a balanced affair, with Andrea Ferro getting a far more equal share of the workload this time around. Whilst he is a good, if largely unremarkable singer, the trade-off between the two vocalists has always been one of the stronger weapons in their arsenal, and it is used to great effect here, notably on ‘Intoxicated’ with its Disturbed influenced riffs, and ‘My Spirit’ which is a return to the glossier gothic rock sound of ‘Comalies’.
Whilst ‘Dark Adrenaline’ addresses many of the issues that needed urgent attention after ‘Shallow Life’, there are a few things that really do need to be looked at. Firstly, Cristina’s voice, whilst left largely to its own devices for the majority of the album, has been noticeably altered in a few key places. Either through vocal layering or through autotune, it’s unnecessary and detracts from her actual ability, (check out her acrobatic performance on ‘Intoxicated’ to hear what I mean). Some of the tracks do sound as if they were written and knocked out as an afterthought, such as the very forgettable ‘Fire’, and ‘The Army Inside’. As for the cover of R.E.M.’s ‘Losing My Religion’, I’m almost lost for words. Apart from being completely surplus to requirements, it’s a cynical commercial ploy, and to cap it all off, it’s the blandest cover of a song since Marilyn Manson wiped his pale spotty bottom with ‘Personal Jesus’.
When judgement is passed on ‘Dark Adrenaline’, the scales tip in its favour. That it is better than ‘Shallow Life’ is almost irrelevant, it simply HAD to be, nothing else would have sufficed; but they have gone rather better than that with an album that is catchy, heavy and yet accessible for all. Having enjoyed a lot of commercial success in America, Lacuna Coil are now searching for that elusive optimum point where their brand of gothic rock and the radio friendly sound of commercial rock meet. Having wildly overstepped the mark last time, this album brings them far closer to their roots, yet still in search of mainstream commercial acceptance. This time though, they may just find it.
(7.5 Lee Kimber)
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