Album Review: Lacuna Coil – Shallow Life

by Ora “Tre” Brasel
On the fifth album from Italy’s Lacuna Coil there is an attempt to convey the concept of superficiality that exists in everyday life, but it is all too obvious and apparent that it has very little substance or significance itself. Some devoted fans might argue that there is much more here if you bother to look underneath the surface of their creation. However it is very difficult to look past the fact that the vocals of Cristina Scabbia, which seem to desperately be trying to sound like Amy Lee of Evanescence throughout the entire album. The accompanying vocals of Andrea Ferro, also seem to miss the mark to draw in the listener with his voice by sounding like it was meant to be in a very standard atypical new rock band such as Nickelback. The music is a mix consisting mostly of power chords, thrashing rhythms, and a handful of chilled out moments that comes off sounding like a very familiar formula which has been done a thousand times over already. Very often this band has been referred to as a “gothic rock” band, but I fail to see any viable connection to the gothic scene with this record. The boundaries of it do seem to lie squarely on the tracks of the popular rock/alternative format, and it probably could reach that audience with this album quite easily with its shallow hands out for acceptance type of nature.
If you are seeking something of great depth then this is not the album for you, but on the other hand if you are a fan of popular new rock you might want to give it a listen. It is nowhere near the worst album I have heard, but it does fail to present its concept in a way, which you actually want to bother to listen to what it is. If the direction they were searching to go in on this album was towards a more mainstream audience then that goal has certainly been achieved, and apparently all things new and original had to be sacrificed in the process of getting to this point.