Lacuna Coil - Sleepless Empire (2025)^{Release ID: 57755}

After my poor revisiting experience with Karmacode, I decided to skip ahead nearly two decades through their discography into their new album Sleepless Empire. Ever since my move away from the more melodic metal bands 7 years ago, I hadn't listened much to this band at all, apart from several Gateway playlist submissions. The latest two albums I've heard from this band were Broken Crown Halo and Delirium, two albums that my brother enjoys for their alt-metal sound. I've almost completely missed out on Black Anima, which I've heard has a more metalcore tinge, and Comalies XX, a 20th anniversary re-recording of their breakthrough album. Well if I wanna hear female-fronted modern metalcore-ish alt-metal, In This Moment is currently my go-to band. But let's see if Lacuna Coil would become that again with their new album...

Now this is a great blast to the past! Sleepless Empire shows the band returning to their gothic metal roots while leaving their modern alt-metal path intact. It's almost like this was an unreleased album from 2004, literally a bridge between Comalies and Karmacode, finally seeing the light of day with a modern revamp. Honestly, I might just be up to finally checking out Black Anima and Comalies XX later on, maybe even Within Temptation's two new albums that I've also missed out on mostly. Not all of Sleepless Empire is exciting though, since a couple tracks/singles are a little weak for me. Still there are many songs that really brought back my memories from 10 years ago.

The "bridge between Comalies and Karmacode" theory sounds about right in "The Siege" with its memorable riffing, though the metalcore-ish growls of Andrea Ferro are different for sure. But then we get to the poor-quality "Oxygen", which sounds closer what they have Delirium but ends up being quite a letdown. The growls by Andrea Ferro sounding similar to Matt Heafy of Trivium are actually quite killer and don't make the song a total loss. Despite continuing that poor riffing in "Scarecrow", it is brushed aside by the electro-dance pace that can almost work as "Closer 2.0". We hear more of the vocal balance between Cristina and Andrea in "Gravity", which is pretty good, although the verses by Andrea could've had better execution.

"I Wish You Were Dead" is a single that got me pumped up for the album, and it's a true highlight, perhaps my favorite here! Again it connects the bridge between Comalies and Karmacode, maybe even a more dramatic take on a song from Shallow Life. It's a little short, being under 3 minutes. Maybe a guitar solo before the final chorus would make it better, but I still enjoy it as-is. An absolute must-listen! "Hosting the Shadow" really shows the band firing through, another great highlight! And even more so by the vicious growls of Lamb of God's Randy Blythe. You also gotta hear the massive soloing that comes up "In Nomine Patris" that makes an otherwise good song awesome.

I can almost consider the title track an actual blend of the 2020s eras of Memphis May Fire and October Tide with female cleans. "Sleep Paralysis" once again has amazing soloing that you wouldn't expect from a modern band. Pretty much all the band's albums can be heard stylistically throughout these 5 minutes. "In the Mean Time" is great but not all that special, except for the guest vocals by Ash Costello to break up the repetition. Ending track "Never Dawn" is the first ever single for the album, originally recorded two years prior for Zombicide: White Death, and giving me a feeling of hope for what this album would have later. The gothic strength of Comalies and the groove-metalcore-ish sound of Delirium actually become one! It might be disappointing for old-school fans, but it's much stronger than a big chunk of Karmacode.

Sleepless Empire is an enjoyable comeback for the band, with some memorable hits. It's a much better blending of old and new sounds that In Flames' Foregone, and hey, maybe I can check out Dark Tranquillity's new album Endtime Signals and see if I can find a similar result. I can never regain the perfect glory I experienced when I was a teen who was into the more melodic stuff, but those highlights are some of the band's best songs in years. I'm still torn between whether or not I should finally listen to Black Anima and Comalies XX, as it's another case of love it or hate it amongst the fans. Nonetheless, Sleeping Empire has much better songs to offer than Karmacode, and it has reminded me of how much I once enjoyed Comalies and their mid 2010s albums. And while I scored big in the metalcore realm with last year's new releases by ERRA and Make Them Suffer, I can still look back at this gothic/alt-metal band still going on for 3 decades. Lacuna Coil have returned with a true blessing....

Favorites: "The Siege", "I Wish You Were Dead", "Hosting the Shadow", "In Nomine Patris", "Sleep Paralysis", "Never Dawn"

With all due respect to the bands previous catalog, it really is nice to hear Lacuna Coil returning to their roots of Comalies and not trend chasing. The bands previous number of records have all been plagued by trying to be something that Lacuna Coil is not. Whether it be the nu metal on Karmacode, or the atrocious metalcore breakdown chasing of Delirium. 

This is not to say that Sleepless Empire isn't a little bit indulgent. "Scarecrow" does begin with a very metalcore-esque riff, but Lacuna Coil are confident enough in that riff to make it a foundational piece instead of your typical ping-pong of riffs and never sticking with one. Cristina Scabbia's vocals are pretty bland if I'm being honest; while certainly some good moments, the main vocal melodies of quite a few tracks are monotonous. What that means is a lot of the main hooks come from the instrumentals. The riffs still have that metalcore foundation, but the inclusion of synthesized strings and orchestral arrangements do bring back images of the bands strong gothic roots. 

But the harsh vocals are a lot to take in. They add some intensity to the record that only appears in short bursts on records like Karmacode, but now they are a big part of the tunes. Reminds me a bit of Color Decay by the Devil Wears Prada and does run its course after a while and becomes predictable. The real issue though is when you have a Randy Blythe feature ("Hosting the Shadow") and it doesn't really need to be here. Sleepless Empire is already close to 50/50 on vocal splits, so the appearance of a guest vocalist (with a very similar vocal timbre might I add) is just odd choice and adds nothing. The track itself is one the albums faster paced tracks (good) and the one that exhorts the least amount of gothic metal energy (not good).

In the end, Sleepless Empire would be best described as an album in much a similar way. For every step forward the band takes (i.e. gothic revival, decent choruses, solid production), Lacuna Coil are just as likely to take a step back (i.e. 50/50 vocals, metalcore trend hopping). I think that the album does more good than bad, which is why I'm giving it a more generous score, but some really foundational issues continue to hold this band back from their true potential. 

Best Songs: Scarecrow, I Wish You Were Dead, Sleepless Empire