ALBUM REVIEW: Lacuna Coil – ‘Sleepless Empire’

Italian outfit Lacuna Coil made a striking creative choice back in 2016 with the release of their fierce album Delirium, throwing themselves into realms heavier than they had previously explored. Now almost a decade on, Sleepless Empire continues their trajectory into the depths of the abyss with thundering rhythms, ethereal vocal melodies and cinematic orchestral arrangements.

Over the past few years, Lacuna Coil have cemented their identity—their sound is instantly recognisable with its brutal heaviness, and its enticingly gloomy balance of light and shade between Cristina Scabbia’s cleans and Andrea Ferro’s harsh. While some may argue that the band now sit a little bit too comfortable within the walls of their gothic realm, the band still succeed in producing highly compelling songs from the darkly emotive Gravity and its utterly moving anthemic chorus to the gothic pop-esque hit I Wish You Were Dead. 

Sleepless Empire follows seamlessly on from 2019’s Black Anima. The opening track, The Seige, harkens back to their earlier works, notably Comalies with an updated twist. Scabbia’s soaring vocal marks the calm before the storm as shortly after an explosion into thunderous driving rhythms is revealed. The orchestration on The Seige enhances the impact of the heavier instruments adding a dramatic soundscape. Oxygen is a ferocious offering bursting to life with high intensity guitars, an eerie mood manifests through discordant aspects in the music, and unyielding percussion hits. The anguish not only prevails through Ferro’s vicious harsh, but even Scabbia’s though cleans. A brief moment of relief, a means to take a breath, arises in the bridge before immersing back into turbulent waters. 

A deep foreboding awaits in Scarecrow. With atmospheric droning layers, vigour and fast pace, the track’s verses are filled with groove rhythms that add further intrigue into instrumental arrangement. The contrast of instrumental parts emphasises the sound of Scarecrow, which is darkened further with the aggressive groove filled breakdown. Gravity lands with the most haunting introduction comprised of chant-like choral vocals featuring Latin lyrics. Ferro’s whispered “Drag me down” feels eerily inviting as the powerful verse arrives. It’s a standout track with the utterly mesmerising chorus hook. It’s deeply compelling, not only musically, but thematically, questioning what awaits us all at the end. 

Amidst the gloom emerges an intriguing dark pop-esque sound in I Wish You Were Dead. With its catchy chorus and dominant synth parts, the focus on this track is less centred around the heaviness, and more on the progressions and vocal melodies. Yet, with the choice of electronics it successfully manifests an aptly gothic mood. I Wish You Were Dead doesn’t feel out of place without the heavy chugs that take prominence across the vast majority of Sleepless Empire. Hosting The Shadow, featuring Lamb Of God’s Randy Blythe, takes a steep and sudden return to the heavy realms with merciless instrumentation from the off. Its nightmarish and demonic quality certainly reflects the presence of Blythe on this track, and the end result is thrilling. 

Encroaching from afar, the shadowy droning bass sets the scene for In Nomine Patris. The heavy instrumentation bursts into life at Ferro’s vocal, again bringing in the monstrous. The inclusion of the guitar solo in the final chorus enhances the sound with additional texture. Sleepless Empire arrives theatrically with a demonic spoken voice, soon descending into discordant, brutality. Soaring high register clean vocals from Scabbia in the chorus above the grounded heavy beneath enhance the contrast, and ultimately the fierce power, of the lowertones. The pace builds in the bridge with prominent double kick bass drum hits. Remaining in a state of disturbed wakefulness, Sleep Paralysis follows suit. Backing vocals form the eerie atmosphere of the track. Sleep Paralysis demonstrates impressive powerful notes from Scabbia, accented by Ferro’s harsh in the track’s chorus. Synth layers additionally play a key role in the dreamlike / liminal state established in the track here. 

New Years Day’s Ash Costello brings her charismatic vocals into the mix on the dynamic In The Mean Time. Ash’s vocals add extra dimension and powerful boost to an already electric track. Never Dawn, written for their collaboration with Zombicide, unleashes drama and theatrics. The simplicity of Cristina’s spoken “run” before the heavy hits makes a striking impact delving straight into the anthemic chorus. With the strength of their assured identity, clear unceasing passion and desire to expand their creative horizons, in Sleepless Empire, Lacuna Coil have unveiled a spectacular and formidable album.

For fans of: Within Temptation, Avatar, New Years Day

‘Sleepless Empire’ by Lacuna Coil is released on 14th February on Century Media Records.

Words by Holly Royle