LACUNA COIL - Black Anima

The return of Lacuna Coil is always news, especially for the many fans living outside Italy. Unfairly mocked by those in Italy who can't see metal beyond an imaginary world of studs and motorbikes, the Milanese band's body of work is actually something that needs to be approached with a degree of intellectual honesty, regardless of personal taste. Because if we go back to the start, the Lacuna Coil trajectory has really been far-sighted and full of rewards: that sort of hybrid between The Gathering and Paradise Lost put forward on their very first album back in 1999 has evolved, cross-pollinated, and truly taken flight through an awareness and willingness to try a path that is only superficially more commercial. The so-called American turn. But let's avoid constantly dragging in Korn and nu-metal: there's a dark soul here that goes beyond all that, and we already got a taste of it on successful works like "Dark Adrenaline" (certainly their best post-2010 album).

Let's pick up right from this dark energy pulling the quintet's strings: "Anima Nera" indeed, an electronic-tinged prologue that later links back up with the title track of the epilogue, a circular motion that brings to mind the ouroboros, the eternal movement that continually consumes and renews itself (the album cover also suggests these cyclical sensations). What lies in between? A handful of well-crafted tracks, a few less convincing passages, and in some cases an attempt to hit the listener with greater aggression, thanks to much tighter, more mechanical rhythms (the fine "Layers Of Time" brings to mind the hammering of Fear Factory). This song also once again confirms the effectiveness of Andrea Ferro behind the mic, going from a mysterious presence to a true pillar of the band within just a few albums. His performance is harsher and more intense than usual, building on the excellent work already done on the penultimate "Delirium".

There's little left to add about Cristina Scabbia beyond what's already been said in the past: she is the presence, she is the fallen angel who within a minute can lead us from heaven to hell and back again: the melancholic refrain of "Now Or Never" is a ray of sunshine after the storm, while "Veneficium" brings back the band's old gothic metal temptations, with Cristina's voice in absolute top form (especially when she keeps a certain underlying restraint, as in this track).

There's no doubt that, running through the tracklist, a few chickens come home to roost, namely those two or three filler tracks that don't leave a mark the way they should (particularly "The End Is All I Can See" and "Save Me"). But that matters little to the band's aficionados, who will already have devoured all twelve tracks of "Black Anima" without a second thought. A comeback that doesn't add much to the band's discography, even as it shows a renewed overall cohesion (the recent line-up changes haven't had much of an impact) that manages to make up for the inevitable creaks in the songwriting.

We've reached nine albums now, regardless, much to the chagrin of those who can't stand them.

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15/10/2019