With eerie green lights and harrowing choral voices, symphonic death metallers GENUS ORDINIS DEI [7] set a high bar for an atmospheric night of goth-tinged metal.
Sadly, FOREVER STILL [5] fail to rise to the challenge, their heavy rock blighted by generic riffs and a lack of dirt under its nails. In comparison, LACUNA COIL [8], dressed in straitjacket-inspired outfits and bathed in disturbing Suspiria-esque red light, are on their most deliciously decadent form in years, having recently recaptured some of the dark fire of 2002’s Comalies. From forbidding opener Ultima Ratio, the Italian goth-metallers revel in the insane asylum theme that runs through eighth album Delirium. This is easily Lacuna’s heaviest material to date, and while the huge singalong moments are still reserved for the addictive hooks of Heaven’s A Lie and Enjoy The Silence, it’s the newer material that bewitches. Cristina Scabbia’s vocals shimmer like crystals against sumptuous black velvet, while new guitarist Diego Cavallotti is a welcome addition. His fluid solos inject musical depth as well as much-needed weight on upbeat favourites Zombies and Die & Rise. This move into the shadows is definitely a step in the right direction.
