I thought we needed a new Lacuna Coil topic since the old one was pretty popular. Even though we're starting over, I'll make this a fairly tradition first post and introduce the band anyway.
Italy's Lacuna Coil are one of the most popular female fronted metal acts around. Although they're a pretty good band, much of their popularity can be attributed to the fact that their lead singer, Cristina Scabbia, is hot. (see footnote) This has drawn a great deal of criticism from some, who claim that LC is "all tits and no talent."
In the minds of many fans, Lacuna Coil have gone through 3 stages of development. There was the "wow, this is a great band" stage of their first 2 albums and EPs. In a Reverie and Unleashed Memories featured great vocals, intelligent, sensitive lyrics, and overall solid music. During this era, they toured with bands like Moonspell and The Gathering, and their popularity was limited mostly to a European audience.
Then came Comalies, the second "ok, that's commercial but I guess it's still pretty good" stage. Although some of the older fans didn't like the new LC sound, Comalies brought them world-wide popularity and a second stage gig at Ozzfest. It really was a pretty good album; admittedly, there's a little bit of nu-metal in there, but it makes it a little catchier and accessible. My only caveat is that the lyrics also took a nu-metal turn and lost the poeticism of their earlier work. As is always the case when a formerly unknown band becomes popular, there was the outcry that they "sold out." However, a much more common attitude was that yeah, they're getting popular, but I would rather hear them on the radio than any of the nu-metal crap they're supplanting.
Then there's the "wtf is this" stage, aka Karmacode. There's some good stuff on there - In Visible Light and Enjoy the Silence are 2 worthy tracks, IMO - but Karmacode was clearly created to get at the valuable Hot Topic crowd. Undoubtedly Lacuna Coil will gain some fans for this effort, but among many older and, dare I say it, more metal fans, it has inspired outright hatred. LC is scheduled to play the Ozzfest mainstage this year.

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