Customer Reviews

Unleashed Memories

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I've had this album for quite some time now, and still I have a hard time finding the words to describe just how incredible this album/band is. This is definitely a CD that I can leave in my player for months on end, and it never seems to get old. This is by far my favorite album by my favorite band.

At the heart of Lacuna Coil lie their two vocalists, Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro. Cristina's voice is gorgeously melodic and her range is incredible, while Andrea Ferro's male vocals can go from harsh, deep growls to resonant spoken word almost seamlessly. Both are incredibly talented, and their contrasting vocals, rather than be caustic and grating on the ears, are beautiful and melodic. They complement each other perfectly!

Lacuna Coil has been described as Italian goth metal, or gothic rock. In my humble opinion, they really are their own genre. They have the crunching guitars characteristic of metal music, yet the vocals don't get buried under the guitars and drums. The arrangements on this album are amazing. Furthermore, their lyrics actually convey several great messages rather than consist of mere useless drivel and angst.

All are incredible tracks, and none make you want to hit the "skip" button. However, here are some that stand slightly above the rest:

Track 1: "Heir of a Dying Day" - Excellent opening song, with a great beat and a chorus that changes up the tempo a bit so that things don't get monotonous.

Track 2: "To Live is to Hide" - Probably my favorite track on this album. Once again, there is a tempo change between the verses and the chorus to change things up a bit. Excellent emotional lyrics with stellar performances from both vocalists.

Tracks 4 & 13: "Senzafine" - Two versions of this song, sung in italian, appear on the album. Both are excellent.

Track 6: "1:19" - You simply can't help but bang your head along with this song! Characteristically "gothic" lyrics.

Track 9: "A Current Obsession" - I love the lyrics on this song. Again, very characteristically "gothic," conveying a message of deep despair and mourning.

If you are new to Lacuna Coil, this is a great place to start as there is such a wide variety of songs on here. Indeed, there is something for everyone to be found on this album. "Unleashed Memories" consists of a remarkable array of heavy guitar driven songs, slow, melodic ballads, and a plethora of powerful, emotional lyrics. Definitely pick up this album along with any other album of theirs! This is a band that should be getting much more recognition here in the states than they are currently getting.

I was fortunate enough to get to see them headline a live concert this past year, and this is most certainly a group that is far better live than on their albums (a sign of great musicians). If you ever get the chance to see them live, then take advantage of it, as they don't travel here often!

I'm not much of a fan of goth and/or metal music but after seeing an advertisement for this album in a magazine, I suddenly felt compelled to check out Lacuna Coil's "Unleashed Memories". Now that I have listened to it twice, I must say that I was completely impressed and blown away by what I have heard. I didn't think it was possible to put such a beautiful voice such as Cristina Sabbia's with the gloominess and heaviness of goth/metal riffs. The two are extremely well juxtoposed and makes for an excellent combination. I was extremely moved by Cristina's gorgeous vocals as well as by the tormented lyrics for songs such as "Purify" and "Heir of a Dying Day". Goth and metal music has not sounded this beautiful in years. Too bad metal in generaltoday sounds terrible no thanks to the likes of such talentless bands as Limp Bizkit and Crazy Town. Lacuna Coil's music combines both the heaviness of metal with the gorgeous melodies of goth music. I am definitely going to check out the band's other albums as a new fan of their's.

***** - FIVE STARS
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This is an incredible release by Lacuna Coil. "Unleashed Memories' is also a great place for newbies to start. It has everything that makes Lacuna Coil one of most unique bands in Metal....

This music is hypnotic, and very addictive. It brings you under it's spell, and leaves you wanting more and more when it's all over. This happens every time I listen to "Unleashed Memories". I simply can't get enough of it. It's such an incredible offering, and it's very well balanced too. No weak songs here at all....

Some say "Comalies" is Lacuna Coil's materpiece. Don't get me wrong, it's another 5 star effort. As for my favorite however, "Unleashed Memories" is their finest hour in my opinion. There something different about it, it has a harder edge than "Comalies". More Metal so to speak....

If you love great music, and are an open minded listener of various types of Metal, I think Lacuna Coil, and "Unleashed Memories" is worth your attention. BUY IT NOW!!!!

LACUNA LEGIONS RULE FOREVER!!!!!

Amazon.com CD reviews tend to be full of hyperbole... if you went by the reviews here, you'd think every album made by every band was either a masterpiece, or sucks horribly.

But you know what... this is one of those albums that REALLY IS that good, and fully lives up to the praise lavished on it. Cristina's voice makes the band, and while the male singer Andrea has his moments (when he isn't screaming), it is Cristina and her incredible skill at weaving together compelling, beautiful vocal melodies that makes this album so good. Unleashed Memories is very catchy without being commercial. Many of the songs are 4 minutes+, giving the songs time to develop and the band room to stretch out, with several of the songs having short guitar solos (something I wish there were more of on the album).

Lacuna Coil has somehow struck a perfect balance on this album. It's far less repetitive than Comalies - which is a good album and was my introduction to the band, but it's clear that Comalies was written with the intention of taking the band to the "next level", and compromises were made so that they could break out on to corporate rock radio in the US. Unleashed Memories is the perfect blend between their 2nd album "In a Reverie" and Comalies.

The most amazing thing, though, is that several months after getting this album, I still listen to it every day! It hasn't left my car's CD player. This album is like musical crack, and it's Lacuna Coil's best so far.

"Dude, do you know that chick?", you ask, poking me in the ribs with your elbow and pointing at a blond girl who just walked by, "She digs some really weird music. Like this European goth freaky stuff - bands like Lucy's Call and The Gutters, I think."

"You're an idiot!", I snap back, "That's my little sister and she likes female-fronted European goth metal bands. The ones you are thinking of are called Lacuna Coil and The Gathering."

"Whatever," you reply taking another swig from your vitamin-enriched bottled water, "It's all crap!"

"I beg to differ, my yuppie friend. If you didn't spend so much time sipping lattes in those trendy coffee shops in Shadyside and spent more time building a respectable music collection, you might actually have heard some Lacuna Coil by now."

"Please tell me more," you mutter sarcastically.

"Glad you asked. Take LC's latest, Unleashed Memories, for example. It combines the heavy riffing of middle-era Paradise Lost with ethereal female lead vocals and a Nick Holmes-style male vocalist chiming in at times. I don't know - maybe I'm talking to the wrong person. Someone whose music tastes are driven by the songs played during Jaguar commercials is not likely to be able to handle the heaviness of "Heir of a Dying Day", the track that leads off Unleashed Memories. On the other hand, even someone with tastes as mainstream as you might actually enjoy some of the more melodic numbers on this album like "When a Dead Man Walks" and "Cold Heritage". Cristina Scabbia has the voice, not to mention the classic Italian beauty, to one day make Lacuna Coil the stars here in the States that they already are in Europe. Unleashed Memories does bog down a bit towards the end and the bonus EP, Halflife, included on the CD is generally subpar (with the exception of "Senzafine" and "Stars"), so I only feel comfortable giving the CD four stars. Nevertheless, I strongly recommend that you give it a chance - there are a lot of great songs on it that you might actually like. Wh-, what are you doing? I was talking to you."

I can't believe it. You're sitting there ignoring me, desperately trying to pull the shrink wrap off the most recent Sting album. Why do I even bother?

This Italian group has released four albums- their self-titled EP, In A Reverie, Unleashed Memories, and Comalies. Unleashed Memories is definitely my favourite album out of the four.

All of the songs have the same feel to them- dark and moody- but enough variation so that none of the songs sound alike. An added bonus is that they added the 'Halflife' EP, which contains some wonderful songs.

1. Heir Of A Dying Day: This is a wondeful opening song, with both Andrea and Cristina singing. The strings are gorgeous, and the chorus was very well thought out.

2. To Live Is To Hide: One of my favourite songs by them. The verses are very well-written, but the chorus is the best part. The way it's sung is very melancholy.

3. Purify: The songs, though still very broody, also seems to have more hope to it. 'See the structure of my pride. Wasn't easy to build it away from this. I've never walked away from you. I've never walked alone.'

4. Senzafine: It's sung in Italian, but you can find the English lyrics if you look for them, and they're wonderful. The song is very fast-paced and well sung.

5. When A Dead Man Walks: This is another favourite of mine, for the chorus. 'Once again, living in their cage, they're killing me.' It's a sharp contrast to 'Purify'. Where that song had hope, this song does not.

6. 1:19: Yet another favourite. It's very fast-paced, and you can't help but bang your head. There's a great guitar solo, and the repeating line of 'I'm a loser.'

7. Cold Heritage: This is a little slower, but by no means is it a ballad. It's just Cristina singing in this song, and she does a wonderful job, of course.

8. Distant Sun: Another slower song, but a bit more powerful. Andrea and Cristina both sing the first line together ('We've never been apart, the day has come, I'm feeling that your sun shines away from me.') but then branch off.

9. A Current Obsession: Another great song. The chorus is one of the best parts. It's just wonderful.

10. Waves of Anguish: This truly is like a wave of anguish. 'Wrong place, no money- just responsibilities.' It's a powerful song, and the chorus is one that you could relate to.

11. Halflife: This song is about the new millenium, and how 'We're incomplete despite the new millenium.' This song is definitely true.

12. Trance Awake: This is an instrumental, kind of like a two-minute intro to the next track, which is...

13. Senzafine: This is the original version of the song. It's pretty much the same as track four, just a slightly different beginning.

14. Hyperfast: Another fast one, you can tell right at the beginning. There are man different styles covered in this song, but it's done seamlessly.

15. Stars: This is a wonderful outro, and the beginning is amazing. The song is very touching, as well. The song is actually a cover of a song by Dubstars, but all the same, this song is wonderful.

This is definitely the album to buy if you want to start listening to Lacuna Coil. The next album, Comalies, is very good too, but they commercialised themselves a little bit. That's not a bad thing, but the songs are focused more on heavy power chords than on moody solos. The next album is coming out sometime in 2005, and I look forward to it.

Yes, one of these days you're going to hear a song on the radio and you're going to wonder who made that song. then a day or two later you'll hear it again and you'll say to yourself, Wow I really like that song, I wonder who made it. Well their's a good chance it's Heaven's a Lie by Lacuna Coil, from their current album Comalies.

So why am I reviewing Unleashed Memories? Why not, if you buy any Lacuna Coil album, you can't lose. They're all five star but if you're interested I've already reviewed Comalies and In a Reverie. Lacuna Coil is one of the few bands around that don't / can't improve on each new album. All their albums are superlative.

Lacuna Coil's strongpoint is the lovely sultry singer named Cristina Scabbia. She is joined in the singing duties by the clean male vocals of Andrea Ferro. Their music, which has been classified as Gothic Metal, actually has a slight progressive edge to it. If their is any negative to Lacuna Coil's music, it might be a lack of diversification. They rarely do ballads and they never (that I can recall) play faster than a medium slow to medium tempo. Although each song can stand on it's own, it is a homogenous sound that may sound a little redundant to some listeners.

Unleashed Memories is Lacuna Coil's second full-length album. It successfully combines the backbone of metal with the ethereal trappings of goth. This special-edition release includes the band's Halflife EP as an added bonus and is quite a value with fifteen top notch songs clocking in at in excess of seventy minutes. Here is a description of my favorite songs:

"Purify" one of Lacuna Coil's few ballads is one of my favorite of all Lacuna Coil songs. This an inspiring song both musically and lyrically about one who has overcame dejection and depression and become reborn. The music is a rock ballad with a very catchy melody and Cristina singing double on the glorious choruses.

"When a Dead Man Walks" is a medium slow number that has a slight variation in tempo. The verses are sung by Christina but the speeded up choruses belong to Andrea. As the title implies the song is about someone sentenced or about to be sentenced to die.

"Cold Heritage" is another medium paced song of dual intensities, as with most songs, highlighting Cristina's remarkable talent. Cold Heritage is apparently about a woman who is unable to have normal feelings and reciprocate her lover's love and is sung entirely by Christina.

Conclusion

This band, which hails from Milan Italy, is in a class by itself and and would most likely appeal to fans of Evanescence, Garbage or even Poe. With eleven four and a half to five stars songs, it is easily one of the best Femme Metal values available.

This is the first album I've heard much from Lacuna Coil, besides a song or two here and there on a sample. I've read a lot about the band and the music and it sounded interesting; plus, Christina Scabbia was voted the hottest female gothic/doom singer in some magazine I was reading.

I was initially disappointed after listening to half the album. It sounded just like The Gathering. Like style, same slow moving, melodic vocals, similar ambiance/atmosphere, etc. Luckily, I like The Gathering, but it was TOO much the same. After I listened to it a little more, I noticed some redeeming differences, mainly in the male/female duet singing. Once again, a lot of bands do this, but Lacuna Coil do a great job with the melody and harmonizing. "To Live is to Hide" is good example of this, as well as the opening track "Heir of Dying Day".

Things pick up a bit when you get to bonus tracks 11-15, which are the Halflife EP. These songs are more raw with gruffer male vocals and heavier music. I give this section of the album 5 stars, with great tracks "Halflife", "Trance Awake", and the Italian-sung (I assume) "Senzafine" (which is actually on this album twice). This disc definately worth having if you are a fan of the whole gothic/doomy genre, like The Gathering, Theatre of Tragedy, Sins of Thy Beloved, etc. Or, if you are like me and are getting close to hitting your limit on this quickly-to-become rehashed sound of these types of bands, don't feel bad passing on this album, despite all the praise critics are giving it. It's a great album for now, but I doubt it will stand the test of time.

--Edit one year later: OK, this album WILL stand the test of time. I was surprisingly rough on this album when I first wrote it, but now realize my glaring error. All of the praise this album is receiving from the other reviewers is completely justified. This album made my list for one of the best albums of 2001. These tunes will stick in your head for days.

This is by far the best album that Lacuna Coil has released so far. It is definitely better than their 3rd album Comalies. An absolutely perfect album. The guitars are heavier and better but it is the vocal performance of Cristina that makes this album what it is. Andrea in my opinion actually rather than lowering the quality of the music with his vocals adds to the music. This makes Lacuna Coil a unique band in a way.

Andrea and Cristina really make things work on this record. They deliver their best performances to date. Cristina's beautiful, passionate, calm and powerful voice makes Lacuna Coil what they are. I can't imagine what this band would be like without her. Andrea's vocal growl and singing provides a good and different contrast to the music.

The best songs in this record in my opinion are Purify, 1:19, When a Dead Man Walks, A Current Obsession, Halflife and Hyperfast. Stars which is a cover song is performed VERY WELL. The other tracks are good as well. This album deserves no less than five stars. Marco Coti Zelati shows his talents as well because he wrote most of the songs by himself.

This band is one of the best in the music business and Cristina in addition to her awesome voice is also one of the most beautiful women on Earth for sure! She is absolutely STUNNING! VERY BEAUTIFUL!! This band should be more popular instead of Evanescence. Cristina is easily 10 times better than Amy Lee when it comes to vocals in my opinion. I do not think that Evanescence is even close to being similar to Lacuna Coil in terms of the style of music.

This is a MUST BUY for any fan of Lacuna Coil!! You will NEVER regret it!! BUY THIS!!!

I only need a few simple words to describe this album, and they would be - BUY THIS ALBUM!!!

This band is everything Evanescence only wish they could be. I like Evanescence but Amy Lee's vocal talents are absolutely dismal compared to the amazing Cristina Scabbia. Her vocals momentarily paralize me, send the coldest of shivers down my spine... and it really doesn't matter what track you listen to.

Don't get me wrong, it's not just the female vocals that make this cd a stand-out. It's the fact that i find the sound to be very unique and un-pared by the fore-mentioned Evanescence.

No stand out tracks for me because i listen to this album start to finish very time and i'm never disappointed or bored by any of the 15 tracks.

By far one of my favourite albums to date - and that's a huge call.