A Review of the Self-Titled Mini Album "Lacuna Coil" Released in 1998 by Lacuna Coil

Lacuna Coil is a heavy metal band from Milan Italy. Some sources say that they formed as far back as 1994. This is Lacuna Coil’s first musical release called Lacuna Coil and it contains six songs for over a total of 28 minutes in length. That’s why it is not a full album and it is just what they would call an extended play or mini album in musical terms. Lacuna Coil got off to a great start with their first few releases and this is one of their best. This is the way for a band to start out a career. You have to make sure that you put your best foot forward and Lacuna Coil showed up as a newcomer to the music scene at the time in very good fashion. The style on “Lacuna Coil” is a mixture of Gothic and progressive influences. In the start of the song The Secret there is a short part that sounds a little like a slower version of Metallica’s The Call of Ktulu. Listen closely and you will hear the influence in there.

The album Lacuna Coil was released in 1998 by the label Century Media Records. The band lineup on this album is a little different than on the later releases. Cristina Scabbia does the female vocals. Andrea Ferro does the male vocals. The guitarists that perform on this album are no longer with the band. They are Raffaele Zagaria and Claudio Leo. The person playing the drums on this album is Leonardo Forti who is also no longer with the band. This album is of the Gothic rock style but the band would adopt a heavier guitar sound starting with their 2002 album Comalies. I would argue that they were a better band before they reached commercial success. The producer of this extended play album is Waldemar Sorchyta, the man who would later play with the band Enemy of the Sun.

Marco Coti Zelati plays the bass guitar. His bass work to begin the third song This is My Dream is excellent. When that song begins, you can hear the mysterious quality to the song and that opening bass sequence leads into the song itself. The listener will be dazzled by the amazing work that the band put into this song. The song is about believing in yourself. If you stick to your principles and follow your heart, you will achieve whatever your dream is. The next song Soul Into Hades begins with a small rhythm guitar section followed by some male vocals by Andrea Ferro. And then Cristina’s angelic, powerful voice comes in to dominate that solid song.

The next song Falling is a predecessor to what is to come next on their following release. This song is actually a previous version of the song Falling Again. This song is on the band’s first full length release called In a Reverie. This song has Cristina’s best vocal performance so far. This is the moment in the album where she really shines and you can just feel the power and passion in her voice. She really makes her voice stand out and you can tell that she isn’t straining to get the sound out of her vocal cords. The next song Un Fantasma Tra Noi or a Ghost between Us if you want the English translation is just a straightforward instrumental kind of song. I used to not like this song very much over the years but now I think that it is a decent song. The first two songs on the album No Need to Explain and The Secret are once again two more solid mid-tempo songs. The Secret especially is a great song because of the way that it is constructed and it is really awesome.