Lacuna Coil is a band that helped shape my tastes back when I was just starting to explore a new world of heavier music. I became a fan around the time Karmacode dropped and quickly dug deep into their back-log. Comalies still stands out as an album I can return to any time, and the benchmark that I judge every Lacuna Coil album against.
Since then. Shallow life saw saw them trying out a poppier sound with mostly tragic results. Dark Adrenline recaptured much of what made their earlier sound great while modernizing it. Then Broken Crown Halo and Delirium just kind of came and went, not bad but far from memorable. That left me with lukewarm expectations for their latest offering.
Black Anima starts with slow-building opener Anima Nera, which has Cristina Scabbia's gentle vocals turn into a dark chant over some moody electronics. It's an effective enough opener, but the album could take it or leave it with little overall difference. Then Sword of Anger comes in and the album proper kicks off with a blast. Unexpectedly, Andrea Ferro sounds great, swapping out his usual nu metal bark for full-on death vocals that give the song a strong beauty and the beast vibe when Scabbia comes in for a chorus that evokes their early years. It's easily one of the heaviest tracks of their career.
Reckless is an odd song, with an infectious energy and a chorus section that seemed annoying at first but has since grown on me. Layers of Time is the first single off the record, and it's Lacuna Coil by numbers. But the familiar formula is saved in execution, especially with fast, frantic verses by Ferro and an evocative chorus from Scabbia that build toward haunting bridge that's one of the albums's highlights.
On Apocalypse and Now or Never, the Black Anima's biggest weakness shows. This is where the album really begs for some variety, but it lingers too long in the same tone and tempo. On their own they're solid tracks, but the urge to skip ahead to what follows is strong. That's because Under the Surface is an easy highlight, not just of the album, but of their recent discography, with a fast pace and some immediately memorable vocal melodies that are hard not to sing along to.
The same pattern and repeats with Veneficium and The End is All I can see until Save me steps up as another clear highlight, with an energy that hearkens back to their Comalies era heyday. Then title track Black Anima closes the album on a heavy note that, like Layers of Time, feels familiar but well-executed.
If I've barely touched on the instruments on this record, that's not by accident. The guitars, keys, drums, and bass are decent throughout but rarely the center of attention. They give the album an appropriate sense of heaviness, and sell the mood of what the vocals are doing, but memorable riffs or instrumental passages are few and far between. The vocals are absolutely the focus of this album, and I'm glad to say that Scabbia sounds like he hasn't aged a day, while Ferro's voice has only matured with time.
Overall, Black Anima wasn't quite the return to form that Dark Adrenaline was, but it leaves enough of an impression to safely say that Lacuna Coil aren't washed up just yet.
Final Score: 3.5/5
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