Album Review: Lacuna Coil – Sleepless Empire via Century Media Records on 14 February 2025.

Review By Dave Martin

Italian metallers Lacuna Coil first came to my attention after their 2002 album “Comolies” but became a staple on my playlist following the release of single “Closer” from 2006 album “Karmacode”. The bands distinctive sound is a hard thing to achieve in this day and age and is very much led by the contrasting vocals of their two singers Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro.  The differing styles of the two give ethereal melody from Scabbia and when supplemented by the gutturals from Ferro gives a unique quality to the band.

This latest chapter in the band’s history continues to deliver the sound that their fans love with heavy guitars and percussion combined with the polarised vocalisations. The album opens with “The Siege” and its haunting intro before being joined by the heavier elements of the group. The song intertwines the otherworldly and the dark to deliver a powerful opener for the album. What sets this apart from other tracks in this genre is that the two singers overlap in their contrasting styles in parts, and this works really well.

The second track is the pre-released “Oxygen”. If not already doing so you cannot help but headbang to this single due to it’s catchy rhythm. I am a big fan of the use of double pedal and Richard Meiz uses them to great effect in this track. The use of discrete sections adds to the overall effect and this along with final track “Never Dawn” are probably my favourites on the album.

The whole album lyrically depicts darkness and when asked about the message behind the record the band stated “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. 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.”

In addition to the use of traditional instruments, the band expands in tracks such as “Gravity” where Marco Coti Zelati demonstrates his versatility adding Synth to his guitar work.  Not overly known for their collaborations this album is enriched the album with guest vocals from Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe on the song ‘Hosting the Shadow’ and New Year’s Day’s Ash Costello on ‘In The Mean Time’, both of which have associated videos available on platforms such as Youtube.

Throughout the band expands on its gothic origins incorporating a variety of melodic sections and heavy guitar riffs with the general effect being extremely atmospheric. The group stay true to their roots and overall the album is a great listen and for those of you who love metal with a male and female juxtaposition then “Sleepless Empire” is for you.

If this album is something that you have enjoyed the band will be touring in South America and will be following that with several dates in the US in the Spring and will be returning to the UK for Bloodstock Festival in August.

1. The Siege
2. Oxygen
3. Scarecrow
4. Gravity
5. I Wish You Were Dead
6. Hosting the Shadow (feat. Randy Blythe)
7. In Nomine Patris
8. Sleepless Empire
9. Sleep Paralysis
10. In The Mean Time (feat. Ash Costello)
11. Never Dawn