After some serious line-up upheaval (two guitarists and a drummer), the Italian ”Gothfathers” have reinvented themselves by taking a new approach to their songwriting and production, with Marco “Maki” Coti-Zelati taking on greater responsibility for their artistic direction, and have come back darker and heavier than ever before. The result is a band moving in a fresh direction and sounding right up to date on this quality collection of bangers.
‘The House of Shame’ opens proceedings in blistering style with a massive bass riff and attacking vocals from Andrea Ferro that seem to be trying to force your eyes back into your brain; Cristina Scabbia’s operatic voice smoothes the path a little, but the unabated aggression rocks on solidly for a strong opening track. Cristina then adds a touch of melody to ‘Broken Things’; the hook-filled chorus sure to make this a live favourite.
On the more upbeat tracks, there is a definite undercurrent of aggression and the incorporation of industrial and nu-metal elements; the pulsating bass and machine gun riffing adding real weight. ‘Blood, Tears and Dust’ is a fine example, while the sinister ‘Take Me Home’ is particularly daring. However, it’s the slow boiler ‘You Love Me ‘Cause I Hate You’ and the aggressive ‘Ghost In The Mist’ that really rock; both vocalists play to their strengths, their interplay taking the songs to another level.
There is also plenty of emotion on display on the distorted ballads ‘Downfall’ and ‘My Demons’, both of which feature fine soloing, though it’s the former that really nails it. ‘Claustrophobia’ also boasts some fine fretwork, but, along with the irritating ‘Delirium’, it doesn’t really add much, sounding more like a vehicle for all their favourite tricks.
Nevertheless, the overall quality is high and it’s great to see an established band challenging their fans and pushing their creative boundaries on what proves to be a good solid album.
4/5
‘Delirium’ by Lacuna Coil is released on May 27th on Century Media Records.
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Words by Edward Layland (@EdwardLayland)
