Karmacode by Lacuna Coil

There is no better indication that greatness can be achieved through a resilient work ethic than LACUNA COIL, whose aggressive touring and extensive critical praise have now poised them for mainstream domination. After entries in the official album charts in countries like Germany, France and Holland upon its original release in 2002 the group initially left their mark on the hard rock scene in 2004 with their acclaimed album, Comalies, which opened several opportunities for them that were previously thought unattainable for an Italian band, such as two highly successful commercial radio campaigns alongside a breakthrough Ozzfest appearance resulting in over 500,000 copies sold worldwide with a quarter of a million in the U.S. alone. Now, LACUNA COIL returns with their highly anticipated new album, Karmacode, which is another huge step forward in the band’s continuous evolution. It has been years since an artist came along that could redefine a genre, but this group has the potential to do just that.

This is the next big thing.

Upholding the emotive yin-yang tradition of vocal interplay between the dulcet tones of Cristina Scabbia and the scorching vocals of her male singing partner Andrea Ferro, Karmacode sees LACUNA COIL realize the potential at which Comalies hinted, but their evolution is both sonic and spiritual. "If there were an actual translation of Karmacode," says Ferro, "it would be something like, 'Spiritual DNA and the message behind it.' The title attempts to balance our modern, overwhelming, self-centered, fast-paced lifestyles and the desire we all have to lead a more spiritual, compassionate and fulfilling life."

The American breakthrough for LACUNA COIL - whose moniker translates to "empty spiral" in English, betraying the rich versatility of their music - began with 2001's Unleashed Memories, an album that merited a special mention in Billboard magazine's Hard Music Spotlight. That same year, their first U.S. tour left audiences mesmerized by what Metal Maniacs described as "intoxicating" live performances.

Still, the runaway success of 2002's Comalies was the foundation of which the band’s success was built. The band adorned covers of European key media such as Terrorizer (UK), Metal Hammer (UK, I), Rock Hard (D), Zillo (D), Sonic Seducer (D), Rock Tribune (B), Aardschok (NL), Metal Maniac (I) or Hard n Heavy (F), just to mention a few. In the U.S. the album was praised by the likes of Entertainment Weekly, Revolver, Rolling Stone, Stuff and virtually every hard rock/metal publication of note. Soon after the album’s release, the group’s profile grew tenfold thanks to aggressive touring with the likes of metal favourites Sentenced and Moonspell in Europe while they toured the U.S. with P.O.D., Opeth, Anthrax, Type O Negative and Danzig. With the success of the album’s first single, “Heaven’s A Lie,” Billboard U.S. called the band “one of the larger success stories in metal,” as USA’s MTV2 and Fuse put the track’s video (directed by Patric Ullaeus who had done clips for Within Temptation, Lutricia McNeal, Nana, Scooter, Natural, Bro’Sis, Sasha…) into heavy rotation and the song itself graced commercial radio airwaves across the country. Prominent Boston station WAAF led the charge, inviting LACUNA COIL to appear at its annual Locobazooka festival (alongside such major acts as Staind and Sevendust) in addition to performing acoustically on the air. At the same time the response in Europe was similar and the clip added on Germany’s VIVA and VIVAPlus as well as picked for Superhot-Rotation on MTV Italia.

In early 2004, LACUNA COIL’s successes were validated with an invitation to participate in that year’s Ozzfest, supporting such metal stalwarts as Judas Priest, Slayer and Ozzy himself. LACUNA COIL offered something unique to the package that ultimately struck a chord with fans, resulting in their being hailed as the year’s breakthrough artist. Over the course of the massive two-month trek, the group also SoundScanned more units per week than any other band on the bill second only to the platinumselling artist Slipknot.

The radio success of "Heaven's A Lie" waned only as the popularity of the second single, "Swamped" increased at U.S. Active Rock and even found its way on to more than a dozen Alternative stations as well.

LACUNA COIL spent the summer of 2005 performing at some of Europe’s premier festivals (Rock im Park/Rock am Ring, Gods Of Metal, Download, Lorcarock, Fury, Graspop…) alongside such household names as Green Day, Incubus and System Of A Down while completing the songwriting process for Karmacode. The highly anticipated new effort was produced by long-time producer Waldemar Sorychta and LACUNA COIL in Germany and Italy, while the album was both mixed by Ronald Prent (Rammstein, H.I.M., Iron Maiden) and mastered by Darcy Proper (Steely Dan, Porcupine Tree, R.E.M.) at Galaxy Studios in Belgium. Asterik Studio (Trapt, Funeral For A Friend, The Used), the Grammy-nominated design firm, handled the package design. This offering begins where Comalies left off, and it will further solidify their spot as one of the genre’s most dynamic and exhilarating artists.

After coming off a sold-out tour of the UK, that had Lacuna Coil performing both an electric and an acoustic sets every night, the band headed to the U.S. to film the album's first single and video in LA. The video for "Our Truth" was directed by Fort Awesome, a brand-new directorial duo whose individual credits include Queens of the Stone Age, Linkin Park, Disturbed, Chevelle and more.

A metal label with diverse tastes, Century Media arose from humble origins as a bedroom label based out of Dortmund, Germany in 1989 and have expanded greatly over the past 30+ years.

Acting as a beacon of professionality, reliability, and an unwavering dedication and passion to the most important thing of all – the music – Century Media are a flagship label in the metal and hard rock fields.

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