Maximum Metal Rating Legend

Lacuna Coil Dark Adrenaline Company: Century Media Release: 2012 Genre: Gothic/Symphonic Reviewer: ChaosLord

Another step forward

"Dark Adrenaline" is the newest effort from Italy's Lacuna Coil and another step forward for this gothic sextet. "Trip the Darkness" is the first single released and showcases a new found bit of melody to the band. It is very similar to "Our Truth" off of "Karmacode". The song is very synth heavy at times but has enough guitar and melody to still be catchy.

Overall, the album has a very pop feel to it without losing the gothic metal elements that attracted so many fans. Of course, having Cristina Scabbia in the band doesn't hurt for garnering fans either. Scabbia and male vocalist Andrea Ferro share the spotlight on vocals and their styles mesh well together, Scabbia being the more sultry, soulful singer and Ferro having more of a raw, emotional feel to his voice. Cristiano Migliore and Marco Biazzi handle the fretwork and provide enough crunch and melody to add some edge to the album. Tracks like "Against You" and "Upsidedown" are a bit heavier than I was accustomed to from this band. Bassist and keyboardist Marco Coto Zelati and drummer Cristiano Mozzati bring things together, although this album is a little heavier on the keyboards than I would have liked.

My one gripe with the album is that it seems to have more of Ferro handling singing duties with Scabbia as almost a back up vocalist at times. Her voice is one of the reasons that I really got into the band and hope that this is just more of a songwriting fit than a permanent direction. Only time can tell if this becomes a regular formula. On a positive note, this album also contains a cover of R.E.M's "Losing My Religion" that has secured a spot in my Top 5 metal covers. It is done in their own style while retaining a bit of the original to it and it just sounds really damn good. The dual vocals work perfectly on this song.

Overall though, this album is by far my favorite since 2001's "Unleashed Memories". The songs seem to flow together really well and pull you in with the songwriting and melodies. The production is very solid, pulling everything together with crisp sound and solid definition.