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REVIEW – LACUNA COIL’s latest album Broken Crown Halo is more mainstream than Dark Adrenaline and Shallow Life combined. It seems that the metal and goth aspect of this band before the rise of EVANESCENCE has disappeared and in its place is this evolution to get airplay. While this album lacks the punch and energy of past albums, in its place are those commercialized catchy melodies, choruses and a rock sound that harkens later day QUEENSRYCHE. Christina Scabbia is still front and center as the face of this band, it just seems Andrea Ferro’s role is getting smaller and smaller, with this album he seems to sticking with familiar ground and what we are used to, his custom radio friendly screams and melodies. Though songs like “Die and Rise”, which the lyrics are silly, is so damn catchy you will find yourself listening to it a few times. This is clearly Andrea’s finest hour in a long time with Scabbia being the background vocals and also to build on the break that I feel the song loses all its momentum. “I Forgive” is another song that really is so catchy that you find yourself singing along, this is Scabbia really showing people that she does still have the pipes to her delivery. I feel the chemistry between singers sound like a competition more than complimenting each other, but it does work on the majority of the songs on this album. This album is very catchy and I admit after most of the songs I found myself wanting to hear them again. While I will be the first to admit I am not a fan of the departure of the old sound for this evolution, but it is to be expected due to the growing popularity, but for this record it does work. This album was better than to be expected and really has a good balance, the songs are all pop radio accessible, catchy as all fuck and so melodic, and they do have small flashes here and there of the past with the guitar riffs and some of the openings like on “Cybersleep”. I am just shocked that we have yet to get that Scabbia solo record. As far as LACUNA COIL releases go this is no Karmacode, which I feel was one of the best releases with this mature sound or radio friendly-however you want to phrase it, but that being said, this is better than Shallow Life and Dark Adrenaline.
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www.lacunacoil.it
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www.Twitter.com/Lacuna_Coil
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