The House of Shame

Colour me surprised! I didn't like anything Lacuna Coil released since ''Karmacode'' ten years ago but the two new songs included as an exclusive version on German gothic magazine Sonic Seducer are quite promising.

The excellent ''The House of Shame'' opens with atmospheric keyboard sounds before grim death metal growls, brutal riffs and aggressive bass guitar tones kick in. The soft female vocals are used as angelic counterpart and give an enchanting and epic atmosphere to this great track that will open the band's upcoming full length effort ''Delirium''. The perfectly balanced mixture of dark and light vibes reminds me of Leaves' Eyes minus the orchestral elements that are replaced by cinematic keyboard parts that are never too overwhelming. I hope the new album will include more songs like this one.

While the first song can be called gothic metal without a doubt, the title track from the upcoming release ''Delirium'' is more introspective but focuses as much on a dark, haunting and mysterious atmosphere with a more numbing vibe. Once again, the bass guitar play is quite dominant while the guitars sound a little bit weak. The male vocals are clean this time but still have a raw and intense tone whereas the female vocals are as enchanting and epic as in the other song. Even though the vocal performances are spot on, the chorus is too boring to make this more than just a good song. While the other track reminded me of Leaves' Eyes, this one rather recalls Evanescence and can be considered gothic rock with a more accessible and commercial production and vibe. It's a good tune but I would clearly prefer more cuts with the high quality of the other tune on the new output.

In the end, this EP put the band back on the map for me. I'm still hesitant to believe in the band's return to form and will try out the new studio album cautiously but this ''The House of Shame / Delirium'' EP is a very solid effort. Early fans of the band and supporters of female-fronted gothic and symphonic metal should purchase this nice magazine with this convincing EP.