Album Review: Lacuna Coil – Comalies XX (Century Media Records)

Back in 2002, Lacuna Coil released Comalies. An album which is now undeniably considered an anthem-laden millennial classic that established them as a band with the stamina to go the distance. Now, 20 years later, Lacuna Coil decide to revisit the songs, but not to just re-record them as they were, but to deconstruct and transport them into 2022.

Says vocalist Christina Scabbia:

This is not a reboot or a spin-off or anything like that. We just wanted to give these songs a 2022 dress and see that this guy or girl who was born 20 years ago would still look fucking slick in 2022.

Comalies XX will be released on October 14th, 2022 via Century Media Records.

Remaking or reimagining movies and TV shows have been all the rage for decades. Even the video game industry has gotten in on the act with ‘rebuilt from the ground-up’ remakes for popular titles. So, it’s probably about time the music industry found a way to make this work too.

If that sounds cynical, it’s because it is. It’s hard to get to excited by a rebuilt and modern version of an album that is 20 years old. Seeing a band do this, you can’t help but wonder if it’s because they’re bereft of new ideas.

Anyway, enough with the negativity, this is Comalies XX. A remake of Lacuna Coil’s massive 2002 hit album, Comalies. If you were around back then and of the right age (this reviewer was 18), then you know just how big of a hit this album was. To say that it catapulted Lacuna Coil into stardom is an understatement.

So, putting it simply, if you loved this album back then and still find yourself loving it today, you’re going to find yourself right at home with Comalies XX. Yet, there is a fascinating twist as the band are older, wiser and a much more refined unit. To doubt the modern talents of Lacuna Coil would be a mistake and tracks like Swamped, Heaven’s A Lie, Self Deception, Unspoken and the title track sound even more immense than they did 20 years ago.

The most obvious difference between the Comalies of 2002 and the Comalies of 2022 is production. The advancement of technology has allowed Lacuna Coil to recreate these tracks in finer detail and layer them with elements they could have only dreamed of once before. However, like Christina Scabbia said, there’s more than just a reboot of Comalies going on here.

There are a lot of changes, a lot of different instrumental directions and a lot of switching things around vocally. Some of it works, some of it doesn’t. How you feel about it might depend on how well versed you are with original song. There are songs that are heavier, songs that are more symphonic, songs that balance the two far better than ever before.

It is impressive as Lacuna Coil could have easily got away with ‘tarting’ up the original record and leaving it at that. Instead, they have gone several steps further and Comalies XX can sit alongside the original proudly as its own thing.

Lacuna Coil – Comalies XX Full Track Listing:

1. Swamped
2. Heaven’s A Lie
3. Daylight Dancer
4. Humane
5. Self Deception
6. Aeon
7. Tight Rope
8. The Ghost Woman and the Hunter
9. Unspoken
10. Entwined
11. The Prophet Said 12. Angel’s Punishment
13. Comalies

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