LACUNA COIL – ‘Black Anima’ (2019)

Century Media Records

Review by Federico De Maria

The awaited new album by Lacuna Coil, the true ambassadors of the Italian metal scene in the world, came to the surface last October 11th. Three years after the release of the latest record, ‘Delirium’, the band gets back on track with another album that doesn’t let anybody down compared to what the band members did announce back in the days. Overall, the songs of ‘Black Anima’, as the album title suggests, are characterized by a strong sound inversion (if you think of works like ‘Delirium’ or ‘Broken Crown Halo’), that is here indeed darker and sinister. Starting off from the vocal lines, Cristina Scabbia’s voice really suits the sound we earlier described and it flanks the death vocals by Andrea Ferro, that are very present as well compared to the previous records. A big news of this brand new platter is the entrance of the new drummer Richard Meiz, well known for being the drummer in Genus Ordinis Dei, who replaces Ryan Blake Folden, a musician who’s still axctive in the band as a session member for the American live gigs. The cutting riffs and the solos that alternate some pleasant melodies and that remind about old goth bands, are the guitar player’s signature, Diego ‘DiDi’ Cavallotti, the new official guitar player. The real core of this album, from the composition of the tracks to the production, is the bass player Marco Coti Zelati (Maki), who’s responsable for the second time of the production of the songs and the creation of electronic sounds, also very dominant in this album and that quite recall some electro-dark sound.

The opening track throws us in a very arcane and dark atmosphere, given by the vocal effect by Cristina Scabbia. The following singles, ‘Reckless’ and ‘Layers Of Time’ alternate some effective rhythmic parts and pleasant choruses without negletting the sinister side of the band. More incessant rhytmics and sinister, melancholic melodies are, instead, the noteworthy features of the songs “Now Or Never” and “Sword Of Anger”, where Andrea Ferro’s growl is very predominant and is accompanied by some Cristina’s choir really effective, that launch the listener to a deeper abyss. Through the more peaceful melodies in ‘Save Me’, the band seems to talk about some inner and personal episode, which concludes itself with a melancholic atmosphere, a real mystery to the listener. The album ends up with the self-titled song, ‘Black Anima’, which perfectly sums up all the elements of the previous songs and the entire essence of this new work. Once again in a decisive way, Lacuna Coil has proven of being the standard bearer of the Italian metal music in the work, being more and more up with the times in a overseas perspective, tracing a thriving future inside the scene

Rating – 90/100

Tracklist:

1. Anima Nera
2. Sword Of Anger
3. Reckless
4. Layers Of Time
5. Apocalypse
6. Now Or Never
7. Under The Surface
8. Veneficium
9. The End Is All I Can See
10. Save Me
11. Black Anima

Line Up:

• Andrea Ferro – Vocals
• Marco Coti Zelati – Bass, keyboards
• Cristina Scabbia – Vocals
• Diego Cavallotti – Guitars
• Richard Meiz – Drums

Links:

Lacuna Coil Official Facebook page
Instagram