Lacuna Coil – “Delirium” [Album Review]

Once upon a time, Milan quintet Lacuna Coil were a little-known goth metal outfit who barely spoke a word of English between them. Well, heading into the twenty-second year of their career and the band are about to drop Delirium, their eighth studio album and follow-up to 2014’s Broken Halo Crown, having become one of the most recognisable exponents of goth metal around.

The thing is though, as the band have grown with members coming and going, so has their sound, so to describe Delirium as “goth metal” is somewhat misleading. As with recent releases from their catalogue, this eleven-track affair sees the Milan outfit meld together bits of nu-metal, alt-metal, symphonic-metal, some electronics and a dash of goth to create an altogether different beast. Basically, listening to Delirium and in particular tracks like “Ghost In The Mist” and “Blood, Tears, Dust”, it’s easy to see why the mainstream rock world have taken the Milan outfit to their hearts.

“House Of Shame” and “Delirium” are just two of the examples on this album wherein vocalists Cristina Scabbia and Andreas Ferro effortlessly bounce their vocal styles off each other to a hook-filled soundtrack of electronic-soaked metal; the kind of which has seen them shake off that “faux goth” tag they were unfairly given by more cynical areas of the metal fraternity.

With more in common with Nine Inch Nails than Fields Of The Nephilim, Delirium is a polished slice of electronic hard rock which, courtesy of an undercurrent of bouncy pop hooks, will be an instant hit with their massive fanbase. Closing with the pounding “Ultima Ratio”, Delirium isn’t anything new for the band, but rather a fresh coat of paint to a sound that has served them very well in recent years.

Delirium Track Listing:

01. The House Of Shame
02. Broken Things
03. Delirium
04. Blood, Tears, Dust
05. Downfall
06. Take Me Home
07. You Love Me ‘Cause I Hate You
08. Ghost In The Mist
09. My Demons
10. Claustrophobia
11. Ultima Ratio

Run Time: 44:50
Release Date: May 27, 2016

Check out the track “Ghost In The Mist”