Lacuna Coil - Comalies

Genre hard rock Publisher Century Media External Links Century Media

I'll be the first to admit that seeing Evanescence become such a monstrous success in 2003 was a pleasant surprise, but as Ms. Amy Lee became a heroine for shopping mall goths everywhere, there was still an annoying quality to the music on Fallen; it was too nu-metal, too drippy...too American. The thing is, while the kids went nuts over Evanescence's overwrought musical melodrama, they were completely unaware that this kind of female-fronted goth metal has been going strong in Europe for nearly a decade. Blending the dark, ornate, gothic sounds of Paradise Lost, with the straightforward symphonic metal of Therion, several bands have created their own subgenre (in a genre loaded with them), employing the services of seductive, siren-like singers, taking heavy music to a new, highly melodic level. Dutch band The Gathering helped pioneer the form, but their progressive nature has made them hard for labels to promote over the years, as each album they release differs greatly each time out. Finland's Nightwish are a monstrous success on the other side of the Atlantic, but their form of operatic power metal might prove to be a bit too over the top for North American audiences. Italy's Lacuna Coil, however, seem destined for the big time.

Released way back in 2002, Lacuna Coil's second album, Comalies, has slowly, but steadily gained an American audience, climaxing this past summer, as the album became the biggest-ever seller for Century Media Records. Led by the vocal duo of Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro, Comalies has the band delivering propulsive, often beautifully melodic compositions that evoke classic heavy metal, but possess a contemporary sound all the while. Several tracks hearken back to Queensryche's output from the mid-1980s, such as the terrific single "Swamped" and the entrancing "Daylight Dancer", while others employ a much heavier tone, the keyboards toned down in favor of roaring guitars and aggressive vocals by Ferro, particularly on "The Prophet Said" and "Angel's Punishment". The male-female vocal exchanges work very well throughout the record, but without the angelic voice of the comely Scabbia, this band would be nothing. Boasting the kind of voice that can hit operatic heights one minute, soulful another, and pop-oriented the next, she puts her astonishing range to full use on the album. The balance Lacuna Coil achieves is admirable; just when Ferro's tone-deaf verses start to border on the unbearable, Scabbia enters, and takes the music to another, more euphoric level. If you need irrefutable proof of her ability as a frontwoman, the haunting single "Heaven's a Lie" shows that Scabbia does her best work singing on her own, without a male counterpart.

Comalies is not perfect, as it begins to drag near the end, but the mere presence of Scabbia is enough to keep you listening again and again.