Lacuna Coil - Karmacode

Almost four years after their last album, the Italian band returns to claim their goth metal crown.

Long before groups like Evanescence became popular, the Italian band Lacuna Coil was doing a similar style of goth influenced pop metal. It's been four years since their last album, and this one has been much anticipated.

For the most part it lives up to the hype. The songs are well-crafted and polished with big choruses and catchy hooks. There's also a nice mix of ballads, mid-tempo songs and rockers. Cristina Scabbia gets most of the attention because of her stunning looks and haunting voice, but male vocalist Andrea Ferro also does an excellent job.

I've had this album for almost three months now and have listened to it dozens of times. It really holds up to the scrutiny of multiple listens. There is a lot of variety and almost no filler. The album wraps up a cover version of Depeche Mode's "Enjoy The Silence." It was an appropriate choice. The godfathers of goth were an obvious influence on Lacuna Coil, and Scabbia's female vocals add an interesting spin to the song.