Written: 8th February 2025
It is difficult to believe that Italian Lacuna Coil has been with us for thirty years. Producing a string of strong albums over such a period is no mean feat and their most recent release Black Anima showed they are as adventurous as they have ever been. With six years since Black Anima, the release of Sleepless Empire represents the longest gap between any two of their studio albums. Discussing the album, the band state, “Sleepless Empire captures, through our eyes, the chaos of a generation trapped in a digital world that never stops, where social media consumes identity and every day pushes us one step closer to becoming soulless zombies. We find ourselves in between, having witnessed a full analogic world and the modern one, confronting the evolution and searching for a true meaning of it all.”
The appeal of Lacuna Coil has always been their excellent combination of the gothic, the cinematic and the metallic, and this appears in abundance throughout Sleepless Empire. Opening track The Siege wastes no time in establishing an ethereal, haunting atmosphere before the percussive crashes of Richard Meiz burst from the speakers. Vocalist Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro take turns to lead but also trade words on a track that deals with the struggle of life’s relentless challenges. No matter what comes my way / I’m here to face it all / This life is just a moment / I’ve built among my ruins. With surrender not an option, the lyrics capture the paradox of being broken, yet unbroken. It is a wonderfully addictive, melodic opening to the album with some of the notes Scabbia reaches proving she is just as capable a vocalist as she was three decades ago.
With a warped, distorted introduction, Oxygen steps up the heaviness (at least in the verses) with some genuinely crunching chords from Diego Cavallotti and the deep growls of Ferro. There is a delightfully twisted feel to parts of the song and Marco Coti Zelati never ceases in his rampaging search for inventive basslines. Just before the three minute mark, the instruments peel away and we are left with the stark beauty of Scabbia’s voice before the song builds once again to an explosive conclusion. Third track Scarecrow further enhances the mosaic of sounds that feature on Sleepless Empire, beginning with electronic embellishments. Almost an amalgamation of the first two tracks, Scarecrow continues to blend melody with interesting rhythmic structures, this time with a more staccato, syncopated insistence.
Gravity encourages us to reflect on the time we have left. Beginning with a sung / spoken section in Latin, the words float over dark synths like an eerie fog drifting above us. Gravity channels both the melodious and dark enigmatic elements of Lacuna Coil’s music. Although it is not the most challenging track the band have ever written, it does feature one of my favourite choruses on the album; Scabbia shares her introspective message. I have to fall down to climb back on top / I know how it goes when it’s gone too far / But the centre of my gravity is now shattered / I can’t find the balance that I’ve lost. The band comment, “Balance is so difficult to keep as we navigate through desperate times, feeling lost and gasping as we ask for help. How do we deal with tough times? Do we ask for a hand? Or do we isolate ourselves from everything else to recollect in our own misanthropic golden cage?”
Probably the gloomiest – lyrically at least - love song you are likely to hear this year, I Wish You Were Dead – the shortest track on the album at just below three minutes - is also the most straightforward rock song that Lacuna Coil offer us here. Nevertheless, there is something intensely catchy about it and the dark lyrics give a gothic twist to the whole piece. A strong candidate for a future single, I Wish You Were Dead delves into the anguish of betrayal and the intense desire to erase someone from memory. It is easy to imagine the gathered crowd at a concert belting out the chorus, exorcising memories of the past as they do so.
Hosting The Shadow will draw some attention due to the collaboration with Randy Blythe. The Lamb of God vocalist was undoubtedly keen to add his unique style to the track. “I was super excited when Lacuna Coil asked me to sing on a song with them - not only am I a big fan of their music, they are truly beautiful souls, who have been like family to me for 20 years now. We’ve played shows together all over the world, and I’ve always wanted to jump onstage and sing with them- I can’t wait until it actually happens with Hosting the Shadow!” His unique style does add a different layer to the band’s sound and as the they ramp up the cinematic flourishes, they intertwine effectively with the guttural roars of Blythe.
Allowing for some variation, In Nomine Patris is among the tracks that most hints at the gothic roots of the band and also one of the few that features a notable guitar solo of any length. The title track, Sleepless Empire, is a worthy contender to be named the best track on the album. Examining the perspective that we are becoming slaves to the immediate lures of technology, mobile or otherwise, Ferro gives his most enraged performance and every member of the band seems utterly committed to the cause. We’re caught up in the rapture / Seduced by short term gains / We only praise false gods / We lack common sense / And live just for the day / There is not forever / We are not afraid. Richard Meiz is restless in his goal of delivering the song’s message with an intense ferocity.
Sleep Paralysis, the longest track on the album, maintains the more sinister atmospheres of the title track with whispering voices adding to the vocal layers of the track. Low reverberating riffs sit below the moments of melody and an aura of gothic doom is evident. This heavier approach continues on In The Mean Time which has vocal contributions from Ash Costello of New Year’s Day. The band comment, “In The Mean Time is a reflection on how much our society has generally ‘lost the plot.’ We are living in really mean times filled with unhappy people: lonely, anxious, depressed, destructive. This song is like group therapy. We invited Ash Costello from New Years Day to feature on the track and we're thrilled she came on board adding exactly what we needed for this song with her warm voice and charisma.” While I am a great admirer of Randy Blythe, Lacuna Coil’s collaboration with Costello produces an overall more complete offering and continues the run of the album’s best tracks.
On final track Never Dawn, Lacuna Coil allows the introduction time to build – something that they do not always utilise elsewhere – showing they are still more than capable of letting a song breathe and develop naturally. It rivals the title track as the best song on the album and Marco Coti Zelati’s thunderous bass is never better than here. A stomping beast of a song, it ends the album in style. While the first half is by no means weak, the second half of the album is stronger, often darker and finds the band letting themselves loose a little more.
Sleepless Empire does not find Lacuna Coil making deep explorations into new musical territories but it is a more detailed honing of their recent sound while remaining true to what made them so appealing in their earlier days. Lyrically it is a damning reflection of the perils of modern society but one that dares the listener to fight back. The band states, “Throughout every song, the journey is an undercurrent of rebellion, a desperate cry to reclaim oneself in an era that seems to have lost its sense of time and reality.” While it might not convince anyone who has not already been ensnared by Lacuna Coil's richly textured songs, it is eminently re-listenable and has enough variety across its tight running time (a little over forty-five minutes) to be a more than worthy addition to the band's discography and another extremely solid stepping stone in their career.
Sleepless Empire is released on 14th February 2025
Lacuna Coil online