Lacuna Coil - In A Reverie

When I first heard Lacuna Coil's self-titled 1998 EP, I was extremely impressed with the performances and composition of the music and disappointed with the lack of production quality. Here was another outfit that was strengthening my faith in women in metal. For Lacuna Coil features the beautiful Cristina Scabbia, an angel who rivals even Anneke van Giersbergen of The Gathering as a lead vocalist. Her crystalline voice is ably complemented by co-vocalist Andrea Ferro, whose masculine, gritty presence on the microphone provides a striking and effective contrast. The EP offered listeners six rich and moving songs, but producer Waldemar Sorychta didn't seem to capture the inherent power in this goth metal/power rock hybrid in his recording. The emotion and inspiration was there; it simply needed the proper soundscape in which to flourish.

To his credit, Sorychta is not a man who makes the same mistakes twice. Lacuna Coil turned to him again to produce In a Reverie and this time Woodhouse Studios has given the band a sound to match their abundant talent. Whereas an acoustic feel seemed prominent on the EP, the band's first full-length album brings us a heavy, electric edge that augments Ferro's growling tones and allows Scabbia to soar to even greater heights. Fans of The Gathering, Anathema, and Theatre of Tragedy will immediately recognize the ambient, gothic feel that pervades the music of Lacuna Coil. These Italians, however, don't overdose on melancholy: In a Reverie holds its own as a power metal album, and is full of tension and energy.

The album begins with the emotional "Circle," as guitarist Cristiano Migliore and bassist Marco Coti Zelati (who co-write most of the band's material) build up to a driving crescendo of a chorus in which Scabbia's sweet voice shines with frustration and despair. On "Stately Lover," she is almost operatic, and when she sings "I just need you absolutely, to sail this ship of mine," a man would have be to utterly detached not to desire to be the object of her obsession. Ferro is such an object on "Honeymoon Suite," as he takes the role of her bitter and estranged lover, raging at her to leave his life as she cries for his forgiveness. Drummer Cristiano Mozzati gets into the act on "My Wings," with thunderous beats that lead up to a huge chorus in which Ferro's death grunt and Scabbia's siren call mix to create something truly explosive. The album ends, interestingly enough, with a new version of the EP's best track, "Falling Again." The contrast between the EP and LP are shown here clearly, as a song that was previously orchestrated solely with an acoustic guitar has now been adorned with lush, mechanical rhythms, sweeping keyboards (played by Sorychta), and blazing electric guitars.

Lacuna Coil has found their groove on their first full-length album, and it is likely to have wide appeal among fans of both metal's lighter and heavier casts. Dark and haunting, it emphatically confirms the potential of these Italian power rockers. Once engrossed in its sepulchral ambience, listeners might find themselves immersed In a Reverie from which they do not wish to emerge.