#FirstListen Sleepless Empire by Lacuna Coil

I've been looking forward to hearing their 10th album since I saw them live last year. I listened to the pre-release songs and was excited for where it was going. I've also been watching their hype on socials around filming for the release.

I tend to only graze pre-release singles because I feel like they're lacking the context of the album. I imagine it's a tricky game to pick your pre-release too - you want something that you consider to be one of the better tracks so you can showcase what you've done, but you don't want to release your best tracks because it should only be whetting the appetite.

Without the full album wrapper it feels lost to me, and so I wait.

Yesterday I gave this its first full spin. Admittedly in the car with other people, so it didn't have my full attention. But my day hadn't allowed a gap to listen properly and I wasn't going to not play it on release date!

My very high level first pass is that this is going to be awesome.

Christina's vocals are on point - as are Andrea's new heavier death growls that we got to enjoy on Comalies XX. The compositions sound interesting - soaring sections, brutal passages, and strong interplay. The mix sounds fuller with more presence from the guitars and rhythm section. It feels like they're back to courting a more alt/metal fanbase whereas some of their previous outtings felt like they were aimed at people with more of a pop sensibility in their structures.

I have the vinyl on order from my local record shop so I'm looking forward to a more detailed listen once that pops up, but in the meantime this is a record I'll be spending a bunch of time with. I'm sincerely hoping that this has a reception similar to, or better than, Comalies had for them back in 2002.