Lacuna Coil - Shallow Life

Having tried (and failed) to filter out the metal from Doozr's music collection, I decided to admit defeat and when he purchased the new Lacuna Coil album I thought I should embrace my inner metal chick and give it a listen.

Lacuna Coil have had five studio albums to date and Shallow Life marks the band moving their sound from gothic metal to more straight-forward alternative hard rock. I have very limited knowledge of their previous offerings and have just started listening to their 2006 release Karmacode.

On my first listen to Shallow Life, I was surprised how much I liked the overall sound to the album. It has a distinct mainstream metal feel and I can't help but compare tracks such as 'I'm Not Afraid' with artists such as Linkin Park. Throughout the album there are a number of really strong choruses and catchy guitar riffs that epitomise producer Don Gilmore's style (Avril Lavigne, Linkin Park, Pearl Jam) and I can understand why long standing Lacuna Coil fans might find the change too far removed from their previous gothic sound.

Cristina Scabbia states: "Shallow Life is a natural metamorphosis from within the band; we explored different musical territories while maintaining our own style. A mix of old and new, fast and slow and light and dark. The album production is incredibly powerful and has a beautiful purity to it. Shallow Life has forced us to challenge ourselves. It represents the way we see ourselves in the days we live in through truth, love and lies."

I have come to adore this album. All of the tracks have something about them that sends a shiver down my spine and as the album progresses, the volume gets louder and louder. However, standout tracks for me are Survive, I Like It and Wide Awake.

I don't know yet if their previous releases will appeal to me in the same way as Shallow Life has and I am not sure how existing Lacuna Coil fans will feel about the direction they have taken their music. However, Shallow Life as a stand alone album is without a doubt the most excited I have been about new music for a long time.

Lacuna Coil home page

Shallow Life on Wikipedia