Lacuna Coil Album: “Unleashed Memories”

I'm not much of a fan of goth and/or metal music but after seeing an advertisement for this album in a magazine, I suddenly felt compelled to check out Lacuna Coil's "Unleashed Memories". Now that I have listened to it twice, I must say that I was completely impressed and blown away by what I have heard. I didn't think it was possible to put such a beautiful voice such as Cristina Sabbia's with the gloominess and heaviness of goth/metal riffs. The two are extremely well juxtoposed and makes for an excellent combination. I was extremely moved by Cristina's gorgeous vocals as well as by the tormented lyrics for songs such as "Purify" and "Heir of a Dying Day". Goth and metal music has not sounded this beautiful in years. Too bad metal in generaltoday sounds terrible no thanks to the likes of such talentless bands as Limp Bizkit and Crazy Town. Lacuna Coil's music combines both the heaviness of metal with the gorgeous melodies of goth music. I am definitely going to check out the band's other albums as a new fan of their's.

Amazon.com CD reviews tend to be full of hyperbole... if you went by the reviews here, you'd think every album made by every band was either a masterpiece, or sucks horribly.

But you know what... this is one of those albums that REALLY IS that good, and fully lives up to the praise lavished on it. Cristina's voice makes the band, and while the male singer Andrea has his moments (when he isn't screaming), it is Cristina and her incredible skill at weaving together compelling, beautiful vocal melodies that makes this album so good. Unleashed Memories is very catchy without being commercial. Many of the songs are 4 minutes+, giving the songs time to develop and the band room to stretch out, with several of the songs having short guitar solos (something I wish there were more of on the album).

Lacuna Coil has somehow struck a perfect balance on this album. It's far less repetitive than Comalies - which is a good album and was my introduction to the band, but it's clear that Comalies was written with the intention of taking the band to the "next level", and compromises were made so that they could break out on to corporate rock radio in the US. Unleashed Memories is the perfect blend between their 2nd album "In a Reverie" and Comalies.

The most amazing thing, though, is that several months after getting this album, I still listen to it every day! It hasn't left my car's CD player. This album is like musical crack, and it's Lacuna Coil's best so far.

This Italian group has released four albums- their self-titled EP, In A Reverie, Unleashed Memories, and Comalies. Unleashed Memories is definitely my favourite album out of the four.

All of the songs have the same feel to them- dark and moody- but enough variation so that none of the songs sound alike. An added bonus is that they added the 'Halflife' EP, which contains some wonderful songs.

1. Heir Of A Dying Day: This is a wondeful opening song, with both Andrea and Cristina singing. The strings are gorgeous, and the chorus was very well thought out.

2. To Live Is To Hide: One of my favourite songs by them. The verses are very well-written, but the chorus is the best part. The way it's sung is very melancholy.

3. Purify: The songs, though still very broody, also seems to have more hope to it. 'See the structure of my pride. Wasn't easy to build it away from this. I've never walked away from you. I've never walked alone.'

4. Senzafine: It's sung in Italian, but you can find the English lyrics if you look for them, and they're wonderful. The song is very fast-paced and well sung.

5. When A Dead Man Walks: This is another favourite of mine, for the chorus. 'Once again, living in their cage, they're killing me.' It's a sharp contrast to 'Purify'. Where that song had hope, this song does not.

6. 1:19: Yet another favourite. It's very fast-paced, and you can't help but bang your head. There's a great guitar solo, and the repeating line of 'I'm a loser.'

7. Cold Heritage: This is a little slower, but by no means is it a ballad. It's just Cristina singing in this song, and she does a wonderful job, of course.

8. Distant Sun: Another slower song, but a bit more powerful. Andrea and Cristina both sing the first line together ('We've never been apart, the day has come, I'm feeling that your sun shines away from me.') but then branch off.

9. A Current Obsession: Another great song. The chorus is one of the best parts. It's just wonderful.

10. Waves of Anguish: This truly is like a wave of anguish. 'Wrong place, no money- just responsibilities.' It's a powerful song, and the chorus is one that you could relate to.

11. Halflife: This song is about the new millenium, and how 'We're incomplete despite the new millenium.' This song is definitely true.

12. Trance Awake: This is an instrumental, kind of like a two-minute intro to the next track, which is...

13. Senzafine: This is the original version of the song. It's pretty much the same as track four, just a slightly different beginning.

14. Hyperfast: Another fast one, you can tell right at the beginning. There are man different styles covered in this song, but it's done seamlessly.

15. Stars: This is a wonderful outro, and the beginning is amazing. The song is very touching, as well. The song is actually a cover of a song by Dubstars, but all the same, this song is wonderful.

This is definitely the album to buy if you want to start listening to Lacuna Coil. The next album, Comalies, is very good too, but they commercialised themselves a little bit. That's not a bad thing, but the songs are focused more on heavy power chords than on moody solos. The next album is coming out sometime in 2005, and I look forward to it.

This is the first album I've heard much from Lacuna Coil, besides a song or two here and there on a sample. I've read a lot about the band and the music and it sounded interesting; plus, Christina Scabbia was voted the hottest female gothic/doom singer in some magazine I was reading.

I was initially disappointed after listening to half the album. It sounded just like The Gathering. Like style, same slow moving, melodic vocals, similar ambiance/atmosphere, etc. Luckily, I like The Gathering, but it was TOO much the same. After I listened to it a little more, I noticed some redeeming differences, mainly in the male/female duet singing. Once again, a lot of bands do this, but Lacuna Coil do a great job with the melody and harmonizing. "To Live is to Hide" is good example of this, as well as the opening track "Heir of Dying Day".

Things pick up a bit when you get to bonus tracks 11-15, which are the Halflife EP. These songs are more raw with gruffer male vocals and heavier music. I give this section of the album 5 stars, with great tracks "Halflife", "Trance Awake", and the Italian-sung (I assume) "Senzafine" (which is actually on this album twice). This disc definately worth having if you are a fan of the whole gothic/doomy genre, like The Gathering, Theatre of Tragedy, Sins of Thy Beloved, etc. Or, if you are like me and are getting close to hitting your limit on this quickly-to-become rehashed sound of these types of bands, don't feel bad passing on this album, despite all the praise critics are giving it. It's a great album for now, but I doubt it will stand the test of time.

--Edit one year later: OK, this album WILL stand the test of time. I was surprisingly rough on this album when I first wrote it, but now realize my glaring error. All of the praise this album is receiving from the other reviewers is completely justified. This album made my list for one of the best albums of 2001. These tunes will stick in your head for days.

I only need a few simple words to describe this album, and they would be - BUY THIS ALBUM!!!

This band is everything Evanescence only wish they could be. I like Evanescence but Amy Lee's vocal talents are absolutely dismal compared to the amazing Cristina Scabbia. Her vocals momentarily paralize me, send the coldest of shivers down my spine... and it really doesn't matter what track you listen to.

Don't get me wrong, it's not just the female vocals that make this cd a stand-out. It's the fact that i find the sound to be very unique and un-pared by the fore-mentioned Evanescence.

No stand out tracks for me because i listen to this album start to finish very time and i'm never disappointed or bored by any of the 15 tracks.

By far one of my favourite albums to date - and that's a huge call.