The Lacuna Coil reputation has been largely built on the back of their albums “Comalies” and “Karmacode”, which like or not propelled the band from another also ran Gothic Metal band into the higher echelons of the genre. Their mix of catchy riffs, layered keyboards and of course Cristina Scabbia’s vocals gave the band an edge, which they built on from album to album. That momentum however came to a shuddering halt with the release of 2009’s “Shallow Life”. The more polished pop approach was a stark contrast to anything previously carrying the name Lacuna Coil, and left many feeling where could the band go from here?

Thankfully “Dark Adrenaline” performs a huge u-turn from the direction taken by “Shallow Life” and runs at a rate of knots back to the musical comfort zone of the “Comalies” and “Karmacode”. “Dark Adrenaline” has the feel of a band trying to emphasize a point with every riff seeming that bit heavier, each song being that bit more focused. Almost as if over compensating for the frailties of “Shallow Life” by re-enforcing all of what made the band stand out in the first place.

“Against You” has all the trademarks for which Lacuna Coil are famed, and the over catchy riffs linger long in the memory. The darker more Gothic tones re-emerge in “Kill The Light” and “Give Me Something More” hark back to a darker, almost Paradise Lost inspired time. One sore thumb to stand out is the bands audacious attempt to cover REM’s “Losing My Religion” which bucks the trend of the whole album, and isn’t one of Lacuna Coil’s stand out moments. That being said “Dark Adrenaline” is a step back towards the sort of musical prowess their earlier releases produced, lacking the playability of “Karmacode” but certainly a welcome return to form.