Broken Circles

On Lacuna Coil’s seventh studio album Broken Crown Halo, we find them sticking to the formulas that got them through the late nineties nu-metal explosion. The band’s core members, Cristina Scabbia on lead vocals and Andrea Ferro backing vocals, have remained after over 15 years. Even now they continue to put out music that has been giving fans exactly what they want every time.

On the opening track of Broken Crown Halo, called “Nothing Stands in Our Way,” we hear essentially what has given Lacuna Coil their strong following: big, heavy riffs with Scabbia’s angelic vocals placed on top. It’s a formula that has worked for them for years, so why fix what isn’t broken? The track showcases how beautiful Scabbia’s voice can be. She has loads of talent and that shines through here.

The next track, “Zombie,” is clearly the single on Broken Crown Halo. No bones about it — it’s a catchy song. This is the track that exemplifies the Lacuna Coil sound. Catchy hard rock with a groove is the name of the game here. The dual vocals which set Lacuna Coil apart from the pack are in full use here as well. Ferro lays down the verses with the growly vocals, and Christina hits you with the clean vocal over the chorus. The delivery of this one-two punch is orchestrated to perfection.

Even with these strengths, the Broken Crown Halo as a whole is just above average. It’s not a groundbreaking piece of work. But to be fair, Lacuna Coil weren’t working to re-invent the wheel. They have a formula that works well for them and their fans. It’s this formula that has gained them an enormous following around the globe and continues to keep them in the business of making records.