Lacuna Coil - In a Reverie
Century Media
Doom Metal
9 songs (42:26)
Release year: 1999
Lacuna Coil, Century Media
Reviewed by Jay
Archive review

Italy’s Lacuna Coil literally exploded on the scene after this incredible album was released. While simplistic in terms of music, the haunting air that is created is multi-textured and layered. Cristina Scabbia is truly a gem on vocals and is not too hard on the eyes either. It can be seen from this album why they have become one of the darlings of the metal community.

This album is pre dual guitarists (Marco Biazzi joined after this album) and there are no samples and few keyboard fills in the music. The wailing guitars of “Stately Lover” add to the eerie vocals. Cristina’s harmonies with overdubs and Andrea are well placed. “Honeymoon Suite” is one of the more killer songs. It has dueling vocals between the singers. When they play this live, there is a little choreography that Cristina and Andrea play out. It adds to the fighting atmosphere of the newlyweds in this song. The breakdown is reminiscent of Rainbow with a female lead on vocals. My personal favorite song is “My Wings.” The acoustic main melody sounds outstanding. The fast tempo helps accentuate the intricate pattern that this band creates. Andrea breaks out some death growls here during the chorus, which accentuate Cristina again. The break beats that Cristiano Mozzati pulls out keep the song interesting as well as his well-placed double bass and cymbal crashes.

To Myself I Turned is a crowd favorite at their shows. The rich instrumentation combined with the soloing makes it a wonderful diversion. Cristina again shows her terrific range and ability to pull out the high and lower range notes. “Cold” is a more plodding slow type song that is the only low point on this album. The repetition gets annoying. However, it does have a great solo, probably the best on the album, proving that there is always some good in something you do not like. Again, saying a Lacuna Coil song is boring means it towers over many other songs. Their production, skill and instrumentation choices are near perfect. They are master musicians and this album is only the tip of the iceberg of their talent. “Reverie” is another plodder but it holds your interest more. “Veins of Glass” has a great instrumental section but the vocals are great too.

Overall, if you liked Lacuna Coil’s other music, you will like this. While not as haunting as Unleashed Memories or as aggressive and passionate as Comalies, it is a definite entry into the metal cannon.

Killing Songs :
Honeymoon Suite, My Wings, Falling Again
Jay quoted 80 / 100
Alex quoted 84 / 100
Other albums by Lacuna Coil that we have reviewed:
Lacuna Coil - Black Anima reviewed by Goat and quoted 85 / 100
Lacuna Coil - Broken Crown Halo reviewed by Joel and quoted 82 / 100
Lacuna Coil - Dark Adrenaline reviewed by Cory and quoted 72 / 100
Lacuna Coil - Shallow Life reviewed by Goat and quoted 75 / 100
Lacuna Coil - Karmacode reviewed by Marty and quoted 80 / 100
To see all 8 reviews click here
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