ALBUM REVIEW: Live From The Apocalypse – Lacuna Coil
The lack of live shows during the last couple of years has been heart-breaking, not just for those who attend, but those who run these shows and perform at them. People have been trying to keep up the same energy and vibe through livestreams and filmed past shows. LACUNA COIL are one of those bands, performing in the Alcatraz Club in Milan last year and livestreaming it for many to see at that time. Now, so more can experience the band’s live shows during this time, the band will release it as a live album, Live From The Apocalypse, which will be sold with a DVD of the livestream. How does that live show experience translate across to these recorded mediums?
Very well in fact. The show’s setlist was all from their latest album, Black Anima, including all the bonus tracks, which meant that more people could experience these songs live if they had been waiting for the band to come to their town to see these songs performed. The original album was already a great listen, but hearing them perform in a live setting helps take it to another level, especially when hearing songs like Sword of Anger, Reckless, Through The Flames, The End Is All I Can See, Black Dried Up Heart, and Layers Of Time. The vocals are all stunning, beautifully done on the melody lines whilst also being gritty with the harsh vocals. It’s still quintessentially LACUNA COIL, whilst bringing the music to a new level. Lyrics are mysterious and poetic, and are carried through the venue’s acoustics easily so that if there were people there, they could easily hear the words to sing along to.
The worry that some live albums have is that sometimes they can be rerecorded and overdubbed, like with THIN LIZZY’s Live And Dangerous album. Here, it still sounds like the band played in that live setting, mistakes and all, but the recordings do sound like they have been produced and mixed in a studio, making it lose that live sound and missing that reverb from the venue. Musically, it’s still done great; the guitar solo in Apocalypse is fantastic, the orchestral elements in Veneficium are stunning, and it showcases the talent from the band and how their sound works for venues like Royal Albert Hall. However, mixing the recording for the album means that the music has lost that live edge and it’s not as effective as it could have been.
Overall, this is a really good live album, especially for their latest album. If anyone misses the band and wants to hear their new album live, this is a good in-between for fans and helping layover the delay on live shows. Whether it’ll be next month or next year when it’ll be safe to have venue shows once again, this album goes to show that LACUNA COIL are a great live band and it’s worth trying to catch them when you can.
Rating: 8/10
Live From The Apocalypse is set for release on June 25th via Century Media Records.
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