It was never going to be easy for Lacuna Coil to live up to the relatively, underrated fan-favourite ‘Comalies,’ and alternative chart-topper ‘Karmacode,’ (which more or less delivered their starry-eyed future to them on a silver platter) but ‘Shallow Life’ merely continues to steer the band on level road.

For a band that have relied on the sex-appeal of Cristina Scabbia to gain them any kind of momentum, Shallow Life shows promise with the 6-piece trying to evolve their previously stagnated sound. In contrast to their well known melancholic style, ‘Spellbound’ cracks the mold, sealing its place as a sure fire arena-anthem; bringing in the albums only glittery guitar-solo and regulation chant-worthy chorus. Bass-driven ‘I Won’t Tell You,’ provides Scabbia with a chance to shine with the title track providing a suitably sombre undertone.

For a band that started out being compared to such acts as ‘Nightwish’ and ‘Within Temptation,’ Lacuna Coil continue to do well in trying branch out and find their own niche; with ‘trying’ being the operative word.  Lacuna Coil are in no position to lose any fans as this release will be lapped up by their die-hard fan base, it just leaves intrigue to what a future release will bring.

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