PHOTO CREDIT: CUNENE
SLEEPLESS EMPIRE LP // 14 FEBRUARY 2025
OXYGEN // NEW SINGLE // OUT NOW
UK & IRELAND TOUR // OCTOBER
Italian metal titans LACUNA COIL have announced their 10th studio album Sleepless Empire, their first collection of new songs since the Black Anima album in 2019, along with the release of their new single Oxygen. The new song comes with a mesmerising video, filmed in Latina and directed by Daniele Tofani, that shows singer Cristina Scabbia in the lead role.
Cristina Scabbia commented on the track and her experience of filming the video:
“Oxygen is a powerful exploration of emotional struggle and inner conflict. The lyrics convey a sense of drowning in a toxic environment, both literally – in the video – and metaphorically, where attempts at salvation, represented by oxygen, are somehow futile. This song encapsulates the feeling struggling to break free from what holds us down, when the journey is filled with difficulty. It’s a raw anthem of vulnerability, resilience and the courage to face what seems insurmountable. Having to stay in the water for so many hours during the video shoot was cathartic for me; the realisation that the pleasant sensation of floating could, in an instant, become dangerous and deadly if I wasn’t careful, was very fitting with the song’s theme.”
Inspiration to create Sleepless Empire came during the sessions for Comalies XX (2022) the acclaimed remake of their breakthrough record of the same title. Writing and recording took place in northern Italy between Milano (the band’s hometown) and Como, where SPVN Studios are located. As with their previous albums, production was done inhouse with Marco ‘Maki’ Coti Zelati at the helm, and artwork was hand curated by the Italian artist Roberto Toderico. Two other very special talents enrich the album, namely the guest vocalists Randy Blythe f Lamb of God on Hosting The Shadow and Ash Costello of New Year’s Day on In The Mean Time.
As a token of the band’s love for the gaming world – which have been seen in past endeavours such as their card game Horns Up and their collaboration with Zombicide for which they wrote the track Never Dawn – the band have created an oracle game to be played with custom made dice available only in the box set version of Sleepless Empire.
The new album comprises eleven tracks and each one is a richly textured soundtrack to a specific time and place. With Sleepless Empire, that place is dark, cinematic and unmistakably true to the unique characteristics that have given Lacuna Coil such a celebrated entry in the annals of heavy music. The band shares:
“Sleepless Empire captures, through our eyes, the chaos of a generation trapped in a digital world that never stops, where social media consumes identity and every day pushes us one step closer to becoming soulless zombies. We find ourselves in between, having witnessed a full analogic world and the modern one, confronting the evolution and searching for a true meaning to it al. Throughout every song, the journey is an undercurrent of rebellion, a desperate cry to reclaim ourselves in an era that seems to have lost its sense of time and reality.”
SLEEPLESS EMPIRE | TRACK LISTING
- The Siege
- Oxygen
- Scarecrow
- Gravity
- I Wish You Were Dead
- Hosting The Shadow feat. Randy Blythe
- In Nomine Patris
- Sleepless Empire
- Sleep Paralysis
- In The Mean Time feat. Ash Costello
- Never Dawn
Sleepless Empire is now available for pre-order
Sleepless Empire is available in the following formats:
- Ltd Deluxe CD Box Set with symbolic dice oracle
- Ltd CD Digipak
- Ltd CD Digipak (US version)
- Black Vinyl LP & LP-Booklet
- Black Vinyl LP & LP-Booklet (US version)
- Ltd White Vinyl LP & LP-Booklet
- Ltd Deep Blood Red Vinyl LP & LP-Booklet (exclusive Sony Music Entertainment Italy version)
- Ltd Sparkle Rainbow LP & LP-Booklet
- Ltd Transparent Glow In The Dark LP & LP-Booklet (exclusive band version)
- Ltd Ultra Clear Vinyl LP & LP-Booklet (US version)
- Ltd Silver LP & LP-Booklet (US version)
- Digital album
Later this month, Lacuna Coil embark on their UK and Ireland headline tour with Finnish nu-metal group Blind Channel. Tickets available here: https://lacunacoil.com
OCTOBER
Tue 15 BELFAST Limelight
Wed 16 DUBLIN Academy
Fri 18 BOURNEMOUTH Academy
Sun 20 MANCHESTER Academy
Mon 21 GLASGOW SWG3
Tue 22 WOLVERHAMPTON KK’s Steel Mill
Thu 24 NOTTINGHAM Rock City
Fri 25 LONDON Roundhouse
Sat 26 BRISTOL Academy
ABOUT LACUNA COIL
Lacuna Coil, which translates to ‘empty spiral’, is an Italian gothic metal band formed in Milan in 1994. The band is renowned for their distinctive blend of heavy metal, gothic rock and symphonic elements, characterised by dual vocal harmonies between co-vocalists Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro.
The band gained international recognition with their third album, Comalies in 2002, which featured the hit singles Heaven’s A Lie and Swamped. The album marked their breakthrough in the United States and helped them secure a dedicated fanbase worldwide. Over the subsequent years the band have released several successful albums, including Karmacode (2006), Shallow Life (2009), Dark Adrenaline (2012) and Black Anima (2019).
Known for their dynamic live performances and strong stage presence, the band has toured extensively, sharing stages with prominent bands in the metal scene and performing at major music festivals around the world. The band consists of Cristina Scabbia (vocals), Andrea Ferro (vocals), Marco Coti Zelati (bass, guitar, synths) and Richard Meiz (drums).
WEBSITE: http://www.lacunacoil.com
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/lacunacoil
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/lacunacoilofficial/
TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@lacunacoilofficial/?lang=jv-ID
