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Greetings All!

I thought long and hard in advance as to what band I should do for August, but alas, I couldn't think of any I really wanted to review! Being perfectly honest, a great many new bands simply aren't worth going to all the bother for, and no one really wants to continue rehashing bands from the 80's and older, unless they are simply exceptional, and just happen to put forth a kick ass album in the now. A few of the Vampire Church associates were planning to frequent the Ozzfest this year, and Lacuna Coil was among those gigging. At first I thought I might do the Chili Peppers - everyone loves them, including Yours Truly :o) But then, I looked over at my cd collection, and Christina Scabbia seemed to speak to me..

So I pulled out "In A Reverie", one of two LC albums I happen to own, and dropped the disc in the computer drive and heard familiar sounds which I hadn't heard for some time.. Probably because when they were given to me, I played them to death - don't most people do that with a new favorite disc? I do (shrugs).

This particular album was their first full length album, and though they have other albums out, including a new one (which I don't currently own yet!) I thought this would be a good introduction place for those who are not as yet, familiar with Lacuna Coil. One thing about Lacuna Coil, they are difficult to categorize. Some consider them to be a Goth band, some say ethereal, and some just think them a rock band. I am not bothered either way. I don't tend to choose music because it happens to be one specific genre, as you all can attest to from reading my reviews over the past few years. I have been privileged to bring you all some of the most wonderful music, (in my opinion), that is available, whether recent or ancient. For me, that has been like a gift that I present to you, and I hope you all have enjoyed it, as much as I have enjoyed being able to present these reviews :o)

I tend to review in a very unorthodox manner - I don't necessarily do new albums, or even new bands. I go by what sounds good to me, and oft times by what I think other people listen to as well. Hence the string of old to recent Goth bands of late :o) And instead of giving you a rundown of what the band was doing from 9 - 5 10 years ago, I review how the music makes you FEEL. After all, isn't that the reason why we listen to music in the first place? Because it speaks to us on an emotional level? I know it's so for me. Being empathic, and an empathy feeding vampire, music is very important to me. Through it, the writer/s is/are able to reveal feelings they are not normally able to bring out of themselves any other way but through their music, and we, their listening audience, pick-up on that.

Lacuna Coil, as most of you may know, are an exceptionally emotional band. Their music evokes contrasting feelings that affect on deep levels, and the lyrics are the key to the door of where those feelings are kept locked away. In the first song "Circle", Christina expresses her feelings of powerlessness, and of being a prisoner of the past. She admits that this is how she felt for a long time, and then she sought a way to escape, to leave it all behind. I love how she used the following line:

"These stone tears are falling down on me,
All my regrets, my regrets
I don't want this feeling"..
,br> "Stone tears" shows that the weight of her pent up emotions, and of letting them go via crying weighs a ton, but it's also releasing a ton of unnecessary weight. There was another equally fascinating, hard - hitting line before this as well:

"Today I'm drawing circles
In my memory, in the pages of my life"..

In other words, "all I'm doing is repeating the same problems over and over (vicious circle)". She clearly remembers each time with vivid memory recall, and lays her heart wide open. Really a heavy ended song, I love this album! Ok, between the next couple of songs, "Stately Lover" and "Honeymoon Suite", it seems like a hell of a lot of drama. The relationship as outlined in these songs strikes me as being one-sided. She feels, he doesn't seem to, and then simply no longer wants anything to do with her, and states openly "get out of my life". The following is from "Stately Lover", and then I will move into "Honeymoon Suite".

Her: "I just need you absolutely
All the fears in your mind
I just want you absolutely
To sail this ship of mine"..

Him: "I don't know what the hell you're saying
Cause you're going blind
Using all the lies they taught you
To hurt your mind"..

Her: "And I can breathe now"..

You can just feel it bleeding forth, can't you? Almost, the feeling is like being covered with syrup. Some people don't like/can't handle those feelings, and so they prefer to back wayyyyy off. That seems the case here. And then moving into the next song ~

Him: "Close your eyes..
Don't you feel the rejection, baby?
Does it hurt?
Come here now..
I've got something to tell you, honey..
I don't want you back"..

And then she pleads with him.

Her: "Won't you take me back?
Won't you take me back with you?
Won't you take me back?
Won't you wrap me with your love again"?

And the next set of lines is both angry and lamenting.

Him: "Get out of my life"!
Her: "I know I failed but I'll make it up to you"..
Him: "Get out of my life"!
Her: "I know I failed you, just let me try again"..
Him: "You're to blame, I'm no more your business"..
Her: "Can't you see I'm praying for your forgiveness"?

Whatever she did that caused him to feel like this, she seems very sorry for, and his anger may be justified - or not. Who knows? The pain from both sides is well established and apparent. These 2 songs are almost the equivalent of a slap in the face. She's begging to be forgiven, and he's not up for round 2. The next song "My Wings" suggests to me being a suicide threat, a desire to escape life forever. See, this is why it's hard to categorize this band! Some say "hard rock", others say "Goth", and I think they are both right - LC definitely has elements of being both. In this song, she goes into great detail as to why she is going to do this, and almost makes it sound strangely beautiful in an odd sort of way, but I have to wonder, does she REALLY want to do this? Because there is someone else saying he can make her change her mind, make her stay. It seems more a desperate plea for attention. So sad it had to become so extreme before anyone bothered.

"Slip out the door and fly
I'm lost in time, I hover
As an angel, I hover..

Embracing all myself, I reel
Through the storm that is shaking me
I don't know where
I don't know why
I know I'm not going to fall..
And butterflies are flying (fly away)
Right beside me
As I ascend to the clouds..

No, I won't delay
No, I won't delay
Time is like a knife for me now
I just won't delay..

Time is mine
I got the blade
Change your mind
I'll make you stay..

Butterflies are flying
And I just won't delay"..

Can I just make a humble request at this point? No doubt there are some out here reading this, and no doubt, some of you can empathize with these kinds of feelings. So before you decide to go ahead, PLEASE...please speak to someone. Let people help you, that's all I'm asking. Ok, moving onward. Don't you just love this album, though? Musically, it's absolutely brilliant! It's just unfortunate that some of the lyrics are so terribly depressing. This is not to say they are not good - they are! Just sooooooooo dark. And it's that quality which appeals to the masses, isn't it? No one has had a "perfect" life, and everyone knows what it's like to be in the very bowels of emotional hell, and this includes musicians. They just happen to be the clever ones who can get the way they feel inside, on the outside.

There have been times where I wished I had the words to be able to describe in a song or poem how I was feeling, but unfortunately, I'm just not gifted along those lines, and so, mine simply came out as anger. This next song is what got my attention from LC in the first place. Before I knew the words, the music itself is what captured my attention. It was unlike anything I had ever heard before. It sounded like something from a mediaeval dream or something, and I was totally captivated by it. I recommend this song, "To Myself I Turned" in particular, to anyone who has never yet heard a Lacuna Coil song.

The way Christina describes what her personal inner world is like is so fascinating. You know how some people make it sound like they're in jail? Well she has made a whole dreamland for herself in which she likes to escape. But after a time, she realizes this isn't reality, and she has to make a choice. Stay here in la la land, or come back to reality. Kind of a difficult choice for some, because, the line between fantasy and reality is oft times blurred. For Christina, this seems to be a hard choice to make, because she states openly that she doesn't know if she's strong enough to go through it.

"I was born in another world
Strictly connected to a piece of my mind
Nothing more than a little land
It's a small cradle where I'm a kid.

I am the princess in there
Nothing wrong in my fantasy world
I am the king, the nation
No dictators or religions.

No laws laid down for me
I have my own liberty inside me
Nothing to lose, I want to live here..

As you see I'm the only survivor in this land
As you see I'm the only survivor in this land..

When did I hear this wind before?
Change like this to a deeper roar
I'm starting to bleed another way
I just need some time to complete myself..

These spotlights are here again
I can't see anything, I'm blind
This nature of time and space
Makes me sick of the situation..

I couldn't know if I..
If I will be strong enough for this
I have to choose, do I want to live here?

As you see I'm the only survivor in this land
As you see I'm the only survivor in this land"..

Ok. Although there are a grand total of 9 songs on this disc, I'm only going to feature one more. The reason for this is because of the sensitive nature of many of the songs on the album. They tend to talk earnestly about suicide and tragic death resulting from ongoing depression, and I can't bring myself to attempt to glamorize that in any way. This is not saying the songs are crap, because they are not. Simply that I'm choosing to not be repetitive. Please have a listen to this album for yourselves, sympathize with the way the singers pour their hearts out.

Alrighty, the final tune on the album is called "Falling Again", and as it was dedicated to someone called "Emy", I'm assuming from the melancholic air of the music, and the heart - wrenching lyrics that Emy's demise was imminent. Very sad. :o( The song, however, is a beautiful memento to her. This is one of my personal favorites on the album, and no doubt, it'll become one of your favorites as well. Check the lyrics ~

"I lay, looking at my hands
I search in these lines
I've not the answer..

I'm crying, and I don't know
Watching the sky
I search for an answer..

I'm free.. Free to be..
I'm not another liar
I just want to be myself..Myself..

And now the beat inside of me
Is a sort of cold breeze and I've
Never any feeling inside
You're ruining me..
Bring my body
Carry it to another world
I know I live, but like a stone I'm falling down..

I pray, looking into the sky
I can feel this rain
Right now it's falling on me.

Fly. I just want to fly..
Life is all mine.

Some days I cry alone
But I know I'm not the only one
I'm here, but another day is gone..

I don't want to die
Please be there when I'll arrive
Don't cry, please..

And now the beat inside of me
Is a sort of cold breeze and I've
Never any feeling inside
You're ruining me..
Bring my body
Carry it to another world
I know I live, but like a stone I'm falling down"..

Doesn't that just eat you up inside? This is definitely one tune that's GREAT for pulling the tears out of you. It's so very sad, so melancholic, and darkly beautiful. Some say there is even beauty in death - while some may think that, to me, life is infinitely more beautiful. Life is the ultimate gift. Each of us is a living breathing miracle. Of all the egg cells within your mother, and the sperm cells of your father, two of those combined and made YOU. Therefore, life is a beautiful gift not to be squandered, wasted, and thrown away. No matter how terrible it gets, or how much you think you can't hang anymore, there is always a way. Sometimes it just needs to be looked for in earnest.

Geez, this has turned into more of an analysis on my behalf :o) Not exactly what I was shooting for :o) At any rate, this album like every other album ever made, was created with the intentions of being an entertainment to whomever is able to appreciate this musical form, so enjoy it for what it. May it inspire and awaken your senses :o) May it bring a sense of beauty to your day. The singing is beautiful, and the music is simply glorious. I I fully expect more and more great works from Lacuna Coil in the future :o) They do have a more recent album out, and after checking out a track or two, I deem it worth spinning in the player, so it may well be down the road a bit, I come back to Lacuna Coil, and review the latest! Watch this space.

And now onto the technical stuff ~ Of COURSE you'll want to hear what they are like, and quite rightly so. So may I suggest their official site http://www.lacunacoil.it. You'll need the latest flash plug-in for this site, though you can always make use of the html side of it. The flash site is infinitely more satisfying, however, so you might want to give some thought to installing flash. This site has the majority of what you need to know about the band, including clips from all the albums/EP's/singles they have available to date. For this album, "In A Reverie", you want to go http://www.lacunacoil.it/etc/flash/main/main.htm. The clips are good audio quality, but unless you have a broadband or faster connection, download time is a bit on the slow side, though worth it in the end. The tracks also feature the lyrics so you can sing along! Handy feature :o) Feel free, of course, to check out the sounds from their other albums while you're there as well. Ok, here's hoping that you enjoyed the review/analysis! See you all net month! Enjoy the rest of your summer :o)

The darkest ~
Silver

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