Lacuna Coil have returned for their first album since 2019’s Black Anima with their new album Sleepless Empire, with eleven tracks that span over 47 minutes.
While I am not a huge follower of Lacuna Coil, I have definitely followed Cristina as a guest performer with some of my favourites, memorably duetting on Alter Bridge’s Watch Over You and Megadeth’s remade version of A Tout Le Monde, as well as her great performance on Ayreon’s The Theory of Everything.
Sleepless Empire is the first time I’ve been introduced to the full power of her voice outside of their classic track, Closer. This is some truly powerful stuff. Taking on the melodic vocal while Andreas Ferro holds down the harsher vocals, these two form a symbiotic vocal duo that hits hard and leaves a great impression.
Opening with The Siege, Lacuna Coil waste very little time introducing their iconic sound. Meanwhile, tracks like Gravity weave more electronic elements into the mix to open a great dynamic. Lacuna Coil is relentlessly heavy, and certainly not one for the faint of heart.
For those that aren’t so used to the heavy wall of sound this album throws at the listener, I would recommend a track like I Wish You Were Dead. Despite its dark title, the chorus hook is supremely catchy. Meanwhile, Hosting the Shadow features Randy Blythe of Lamb of God, and his integration into the track makes for a great change of pace. The same can be said of In The Mean Time, which features Ash Costello of New Year’s Day. Personally, my favourite track is the closing track, Never Dawn, which features a more cinematic intro and great orchestration to support the heavy rhythms.
Sleepless Empire is certainly not an easy listen for the uninitiated. If your sense of heavy is more on the Metallica end, this might be a touch overpowering for you. Sleepless Empire is an album that follows in the Cobra Kai philosophy of “strike first, strike hard, no mercy.” This is very much an assault on the senses. But if you’re here for a great heavy experience, Lacuna Coil absolutely delivers here. The band put every ounce of effort into this release and it shows. Even the heaviest moments are laced with a soaring vocal from Scabbia. I really want to highlight the drumming of Richard Meiz as well. He gives the skins hell, and he sounds great doing it.
For me, Sleepless Empire deserves a seven out of ten. This is a great heavy album, though not one that I feel offers the greatest amount of variety for the listener. Once you’re in, strap on tight. This is very much a storm ready to break directly on top of you.
Highlights:
The Siege
Hosting the Shadow (feat. Randy Blythe)
Never Dawn
Get your copy here: https://lacunacoil.lnk.to/SleeplessEmpire
Track Listing:
1. The Siege
2. Oxygen
3. Scarecrow
4. Gravity
5. I Wish You Were Dead
6. Hosting The Shadow
7. In Nomine Patris
8. Sleepless Empire
9. Sleep Paralysis
10. In The Mean Time
11. Never Dawn
Sleepless Empire is available in the following formats:
- Ltd. Deluxe CD Box Set with symbolic dice oracle
- Ltd. CD Digipak
- Ltd. CD Digipak (US version)
- Black LP & LP-Booklet
- Black LP & LP-Booklet (US version)
- Ltd. white LP & LP-Booklet
- Ltd. deep blood red LP & LP-Booklet (exclusive Sony Music Entertainment Italy version)
- Ltd. Sparkle Rainbow LP & LP-Booklet
- Ltd. transp. glow in the dark LP & LP-Booklet (exclusive band version)
- Black LP & LP-Booklet (US version)
- Ltd. ultra clear LP & LP-Booklet (US version)
- Ltd. silver LP & LP-Booklet (US version)
- Digital album
Band Members:
Cristina Scabbia – Vocals
Andrea Ferro – Vocals
Marco Coti Zelati – Bass, Guitar, Synths
Richard Meiz – Drums
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