Lacuna Coil - Unleashed Memories review
| Band: | Lacuna Coil |
| Album: | Unleashed Memories |
| Style: | Gothic metal |
| Release date: | 2001 |
| Guest review by: | Carl Berg |
01. Heir Of A Dying Day
02. To Live Is To Hide
03. Purify
04. Senzafine
05. When A Dead Man Walks
06. 1:19
07. Cold Heritage
08. Distant Sun
09. A Current Obsession
10. Wave Of Anguish
What happens when one discovers for the first time that all that has been learnt in life is a lie? What happens when one discovers that heaven does not exist, that all the inconsistencies people have been spreading all these years are actually false, that life is in every one's own hands and there is no unseen force guiding the destiny? What happens is Unleashed Memories.
This album by Italian metallers Lacuna Coil is a landmark record that sets the standard in gothic metal. This album is all about personal feelings developing, starting to think by oneself, rejecting the dogmas that have been surrounding people for so long. Unleashed Memories is a beautiful record that lifts you up and confirms all your doubts about the way the world operates today. It shows the bare and unshakable truth about you and I. That everyone is left alone to account for one's deeds and responsible for one's failures.
In this album the listener might find an impressive amount of epicness which predominates this record using very catchy chord progressions and surprisingly impressive melodies. The instruments are not used to their full potential but they are not under-exploited either. This mix of technical prowess and
basicness gives it an overall feeling of "truth" and sorrow. The feeling of blood coming from a wounded spirit calling someone or something for help to explain all the horrors that one has witnessed in life.
The highlights of this album are "Senzafine" and the instant classic "When A Dead Man Walks". These songs, all accentuated by the unforgiving guitar riffs, describe the album very well placing a lot of emphasis on the main message of this album, being one's own master and trusting no religion whatsoever.
The vocals are, of course, very well executed by the legendary Cristina Scabbia who has since provided guest vocals for none other than Apocalyptica and Megadeth. Her voice leads the guitar riffs into oblivion and utter sorrow. To be honest, the only way to describe her vocals would be to say that they portray the painful truth around us all and make the obvious sorrow emerge from the heart of all those who have been wounded. However, the sorrow that Lacuna Coil portray is not the one that you would expect from a gothic band. Instead it is a sorrow that is solid as a rock, something extremely difficult to move or convince.
Lacuna Coil have an impressively large fanbase and they have gained considerable coverage over the years which is very well justified for their importance and influence. Unleased Memories is the album that has shown the world why they are so unique and why their message must be listened to. There is no reason for not getting this album.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 9 |
| Originality: | 10 |
| Production: | 9 |
Written by Carl Berg | 26.06.2010
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Rating:
10
10
|
Rating: 10 |
A lonely evening, almost 15 years ago now. Pitch black outside, cut by dense streaks of fog. No sounds, no noises; the quiet standstill of nature slowly freeing itself from the grasp of winter. As soon as I plugged in the CD, I thought that the verses that were coming outside of the stereo were spoken, not sang. I had the sudden, clear impression that someone else was still awake that night, not too far away, whispering to me words of anguish, and self-struggle. Someone could not further hide the feelings in her chest any further, and opened her heart abruptly, emotions flowing like a torrent: warm, inescapable, pure. Only a little later I noticed the music, a new melody, that could be either potent or melancholic, yet in each case so perfectly fused with that stream of sentiments spilling over and over. Read more ›› |
Comments
Comments: 7
Visited by: 92 users
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306  |
Salesmanship: 10 Opinion: 9 Background Information / Facts: 6 Objectivity: 0 This seems like less of a review and more of a personal account of profound intervention through the majesty of song. We understand from the 9.0 rating that you obviously love this album, but some concrete evidence by way of an explanation for your adoration, aside from the aforementioned spiritualistic experience, would be appreciated. Don't take this the wrong way - it's just one man's opinion on how a review should be written, which is merely an opinion in itself (irony?).
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| ravendeath Posts: 240  |
It's a great record though, but your review Carl Berg it's some kind of silly. how can you say that this album is a landmark record that sets the standards in gothic metal... be serious!
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| MightyMouse Posts: 4 |
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| SatyriconChick Posts: 248  |
I love this album! It's probably tied with Comalies for favorite LC album for me. So many great songs... "Purify," "Senzafine" and "Cold Heritage" are amazing tracks... But the entire album is great.
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| Jason W. Razorbliss Staff Posts: 3523  |
I still prefer the debut over this album, but it's good nonetheless  I agree on the standout tracks like "Senzafine" and "When A Dead Man Walks," the latter of which is still one of my favorites of the band.I'm all for a spiritualistic style of writing a review, but citing references like guesting with Apoc or Megadeth really do nothing to help me understand the album more. Maybe some comparison from this style to the new style would have been more interesting, but hey, it's your review, so cool to bring up an album I've let slip into the past for awhile...
---- "After silence that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." - Aldous Huxley
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| Carl Berg Carl Berg Posts: 589  |
Yeah, it has a lot of personal experience in it, but I wouldn't qualify the review as "silly". A review is all about transmitting the album's atmosphere and the message that it gives to the listener. I believe I have accoplished that.
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