Italy's Lacuna Coil should not need an introduction. Veterans of the music scene, the band has traveled the world many times. With each release the band has seemed to become more popular, even receiving radio play here in the US. Many of their fans are divided, between before and after 2006's release of Karmacode. That disc saw the band's sound becoming more modern and heavy as well as more mainstream. That particular disc took awhile to grow on me, and it actually gets played time to time, still to this day. The previous term of pop metal, is a term that makes me kind of grind my teeth, it is the same term used for Eighties hair bands, by people who only listened to Metallica back then. I would say this falls more into the Modern Rock with added metal elements. While the bands previous two discs, Shallow Life and Dark Adrenaline were not my favorite, with the latter being the least, they are now building blocks for what we hear in Broken Crown Halo. Added aggression from Andrea Ferro's vocals here and there, add an element that hasn't been there in awhile.

Nothing Stands In Our Way, is the first disc and single I heard from the new disc. Its a mid-tempo rocker featuring Cristina Scabbia's always emotive and powerful vocals. I personally have always loved her voice,and when she sings in her lower range, its very captivating(my favorite example of this, is Heaven's A Lie from Comalies). This song has radio-friendly written all over it, but its far from a "Pop" song. Layers of guitars, and vocals from Scabbia and Ferro. Some of those aggressive vocals I mentioned are added in for good effect here. Zombies is next, and features Ferro on vocals, and honestly I think his clean singing improves on every disc. With a combination of the old growling style and his newer clean style, this is the most dynamic he has been on a disc. That is not saying he is a bad vocalist, but Scabbia usually has everyone's attention. The instrumentation of Zombie is quite simplistic, but as a whole it works and should be a fun song live, with a very well sung Scabbia chorus. Hostage To The Light, is a slower-mid tempo song featuring the emotive and full range of Scabbia's vocals. As far as Lacuna Coil ballads go, this is one of my favorites and I have been listening to the band since Falling appeared on their self titled EP. Victim's is the first song that caused my eyebrows to raise, in not a good way. There is this part a little more than midway through the song, that I wish was not there. In an almost In This Moment way, has Scabbia speaking aggressively the lyrics, where it almost sounds like rapping(not quite, but enough to cause shock). The other almost three minutes of the song, is perfectly fine, and not much different than what came before it. Die & Rise has a cool groove to it. Again not much of a fan of the vocal delivery, but again its not the worse thing ever written either. This song has Ferro leading the verses with Scabbia in support. It's probably one of the most aggressive songs on the disc. I Forgive(But I Won't Forget You) is another mid-tempo song with an infectious chorus. The song starts off slower with Ferro on lead vocals during the verse and Scabbia taking over in the chorus. Throughout the rest of the song they trade off.

On the next song, Cybersleep, Scabbia's voice enters an sultry tone, with her usual strong vocals. Regardless of your point of view on the band, past or present or don't care, she is one of the most talented vocalist in rock music. Like Hostage To The Light, Cybersleep highlights the beauty that is Scabbia's vocals, and puts them in the forefront of the song. The brief guitar solo in the song is well played as it builds on the verse of the song. Guitar solos are very sparse on the disc, but this one is very good and fits the song perfectly. Infection has a pretty cool groove-like riff in the verses while the chorus as usual, has that big sing-a-long chorus, and features a strong performance from Ferro. I Burn In You is another slower-mid tempo song that features the same qualities of I Forgive(But I Won't Forget You), without the deja vu of hearing the same song. In The End I Feel Alive again brings a groove riff with a big chorus with Scabbia's soaring vocals over them. One Cold Day, is another slower song, with a different style of vocals in some parts from Scabbia. Using an almost falsetto that flutters, it adds a unique tone and element to the song. Its a beautiful song, and its definitely a good song to close out the disc, plus the guitar solo is very good.

Minus a few vocal styling choices, this is probably my favorite Lacuna Coil disc, after Karmacode's release. While there have been songs on every disc I have liked, this one as a whole is one of their best in years. Some added heaviness and aggression, have taken some of that "Pop" feeling away. The band will remain to get more popular or commercial, but the consistency is there in their music, and they still are passionate about the art they create. I have a tendency to see them every time they come here to Milwaukee, Wisconsin with my sister,and I don't see that changing anytime soon. With Broken Crown Halo, Lacuna Coil have presented a disc, that adds new elements, while also bringing some of the past with them to the future.