His brutal and guttural roars are indicative of the pace that Lacuna Coil are capable of unleashing at a moment’s notice, until the arrival of Cristina Scabbia adds her hauntingly beautiful melody to his crushing vocals. The opening breakdown here is seriously heavy, and confirms that the band remains every bit as brutal and organised as it has always been.
The second and third tracks, (‘Oxygen’ and ‘Scarecrow’ respectively), are killer tunes; ‘Oxygen’ opens with a massively heavy riff (supplied by Daniele Solomone on guitar, Marco Coti Zelati on bass and Richard Meiz on drums), which keeps the tempo throughout, and ‘Scarecrow’, supplying a swaying over-and-back trance with its grinding melody and pivoting vocals from Scabbia.
Following this is ‘Gravity’, with its eerie Latin chanting lyrics and flowing guitar section, backed up with a hard synth overlap. Scabbia shines bright in contrast to Ferro’s ferocity, giving pause for thought in the lyrics. ‘I Wish You Were Dead’ slows the pace down a little, referring to gaming characters’ apathy for virtual confrontation (which should strike a nerve for gamers everywhere).
‘Hosting The Shadow’ features Lamb of God’s own Randy Blythe, making it a trifecta of vocal titans laying down a superior track on this album. Meiz holds the backbone of the song, making this one of the heavier songs on the record. Blythe is typical Blythe; his gravelly tone supplanting the focus of the duel between the two vocalists and makes the song his own in his unique style. ‘In Nomine Patris’ hits top gear straight away, delivering a very gothic, fast-paced and piercing track; just what Lacuna Coil are renowned for in almost every iteration of music that has garnered them worldwide attention.
The title track, ‘Sleepless Empire’ aches of melancholy and heartfelt rebellion, which goes hand-in-hand with the following track ‘Sleep Paralysis’. New Year’s Day front-woman, Ashley Costello steps forward on lyrics for, ‘In The Mean Time’ teaming up with Scabbia to deliver a pitch-perfect harmonised sermon in response to Ferro once again. To round us off, ‘Never Dawn’ tones it down, before telling us to run… and the riff takes over again. Scabbia soars as Ferro roars; culminating in an effortless delivery of introspective songwriting.
There is a theme of digital addiction in this album; how the world is perched on a precipice of losing its humanity and falling into a world of little to no responsibility and where digital media and interactions reign supreme. 4/5
Track Listing:
1. The Siege
2. Oxygen
3. Scarecrow
4. Gravity
5. I Wish You Were Dead
6. Hosting The Shadow (feat. Randy Blythe)
7. In Nomine Patris
8. Sleepless Empire
9. Sleep Paralysis
10. In The Mean Time (feat. Ash Costello)
11. Never Dawn
Track of Choice – Hosting the Shadow
‘Sleepless Empire‘ is set for worldwide release on February 14th via Napalm Records. Pre-order your copy here.
Words: Shaun Martin
www.overdrive.ie 2025