Review by Rachel Jablonski
The success of their 2002 album, Comalies, sparked a new following for Italian band Lacuna Coil. Touring continuously, appearing on second stage at Ozzfest, and mainstream radio play earned the band a rather large fan base over the course of the last four years. So with their new album, Karmacode, only continued success seems appropriate. But, because of gaps between album releases, only a small scope of Lacuna Coil’s career has been given much recognition. It seems unfortunate that some of their best work tends to go unnoticed.
Lacuna Coil’s In a Reverie (1999) and Unleashed Memories (2001), with songs like “To Myself I Turned,” “Purify,” and “A Current Obsession,” are remarkable compilations with wonderful melody, dynamic musicianship, and overall polished sounds. Comalies adds its own unique flavor with heavier guitars and added effects. Karmacode is not completely off target from the appeal of these prior releases, the essence of Lacuna Coil remains alive; however there does seem to be some dynamic missing.
The strength of the band shines through on Karmacode with tracks like “Within Me.” A softer song with acoustic guitar and a combination of male and female vocals is reminiscent of the band’s earlier releases. Similarly, “Devoted” breaks with catchy guitars and a down tuned chorus. Vocalist Cristina Scabbia seems to be most effective in songs like this when she is in a lower vocal range. Though she has quite a decent range, not only does the sound seem to flow better with the music when she is on the lower end, but it is more convincing with the band’s style of music. “In Visible Light” is a good example of this as a darker song with a lower vocal range. Also effective are portions of the album where Scabbia simply sings various melodies without words, almost Gregorian chant-like, in songs such as “You Create.”
“Watching me” has a decent musical foundation with heavy guitars and incorporated electronics. But the vocals, particularly in the chorus, seem somewhat bland. Similarly, “To the Edge” follows this trend though the vocals are more moving. However, it seems that overall the album is lacking in effective choruses. Many of the choruses seem almost forced as if needing to be overly catchy. “What I See” begins heavily, breaking right in from the instrumental of “You Create.” The song is quite entertaining until a more upbeat chorus breaks in which ruins the mood and does not seem to fit. “Fragments of Faith” is comparable with good music and male vocals, but the chorus ruins the song with higher vocals from Scabbia. “Closer” is another track, light in tone, that just does not work quite as well as other tracks on the album.
The biggest letdown on Karmacode comes with the final track, a cover of Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy the Silence.” The song has been covered so many times by so many different bands that it is cliché. Lacuna Coil’s version is not much different than original and seems almost like a waste of album space.
Lacuna Coil continues down the path of success with the release of Karmacode, particularly for new audiences. However, for long time fans the album will probably not seem quite as solid as the band’s prior albums.