With 2006's Karmacode, Italy's Lacuna Coil pulled off the most difficult of stunts: The band changed its sound without sacrificing its integrity. The guitarists tuned down and played funkier riffs, but the vocal melodies were as catchy and intense as ever, and there was still plenty of texture and ambience. To top it off, the songwriting was great. Lacuna Coil became a little more accessible to American audiences without losing quality.On the new Shallow Life, however, the band tries to take it one step further, and falls flat on its face. This is an embarrassment; on almost every song, the Lacuna Coil sound has been gutted. Gone is the sense of mystery and the edge that made the band special, replaced with a style that jumps between generic pop-metal, outright pop, and transparent rip-offs of other bands. To make matters worse, the attempt to pander to stateside pre-teens probably won't even work, because most of the songs aren't as catchy as those you'll hear from Avril Lavigne or her peers.
For an encapsulation of everything that's wrong with this record, listen to the unusually dreadful "I Like It." Take out the guitars and Britney Spears could sing it, though Spears's handlers tend to pick better songs: There's a dance beat, a bouncy vocal melody, and obnoxious lyrics ("I like it, like it"). Singer Cristina Scabbia's voice is processed to the point it sounds unnatural, as it is virtually everywhere on the album.
Another low point is "I'm Not Afraid," which sounds so much like Linkin Park it borders on plagiarism. Back-up singer Andrea Ferro does his best Chester Bennington impersonation over simple, angsty guitars.
There's not much to redeem Shallow Life, but fans of Karmacode might want to download a few tracks. The opening song, "I Survive," begins with some atmospheric effects that give way to an intense machine-gun guitar riff, though the chorus is a bit cheesy. "Not Enough" is catchy enough to overcome its too-poppy exterior, and lead single "Spellbound" has some great guitar riffing and arrangements. "Wide Awake" is a decent ballad, though it can't hold a candle to "Within Me" from Karmacode.
If there's a bright side to this 12-track collection of mediocrity, it's that future records don't have to be this way. It's likely that producer Don Gilmore -- who's handled, not surprisingly, Avril Lavigne and Linkin Park -- is the reason for the shift; it's hard to believe a band that's made so much terrific music had a true change of heart. Pray to the gods of metal they'll hire someone else next time around.
Robert VerBruggen is an associate editor at National Review.
