I admit that I was quite surprised when I saw that the only item that was inside the Century Media envelope that I quite recently received, was a one track single by Lacuna Coil. To me that is a clear indication of Century Media's intention to offer the best promotion to the Italian sextet - especially seeing as they have quite recently finished a sold out tour in the United Kingdom.

I am not ashamed to admit that I have never bothered to listen to Lacuna Coil before, even though images of the band's lead singer Cristina Scabbia have featured on the front pages of many important metal magazines. You see, I had somehow managed to convince myself that Lacuna Coil was another one of those cheesy and melodic bands, which had deliberately chosen a good looking girl of unknown musical qualities as their singer! Well, I don't know how their previous albums sound, but if they are even remotely similar to what I've heard in "Our Truth", then they will definitely fall into my hands sometime in the future!

The purpose of this three and a half minute song is to advertise the band's forthcoming release "Karmacode", and seeing as the version that is featured in this release is the radio edit, you expect to come across a song that will put emphasis on a catchy melody. That is indeed the case, but there are many more interesting things about "Our Truth" which managed to capture my attention. Apart from the refrain that will stuck in your head straight away, the song is based on some very impressive oriental scales which are beautifully combined with rhythmical and heavy guitars. I really don't know how the typical Goth Metal is supposed to sound, but the heavy elements are quite predominant in this song, and that is definitely a bonus, as far as I'm concerned. I was also quite happy when I realised that Cristina Scabbia is a natural sounding singer, as I don't think that I would manage to cope with another one of these "operatic singers" which have flooded the market throughout the years. Her contribution to the general feeling of the song is quite important, without interfering with the beautiful melody that's woven by both the guitars and the keyboards.

You know what: I am really happy that Century Media decided to spare no expense and post this single out to, because now I have found another release that I will anxiously anticipate to receive. Even though I will save my rating for the album release, I feel obliged to say that these Italians seem to have found the winning formula here - let's wait and see!

Review by John Stefanis

***** Out of this world | **** Pretty damn fine |
*** OK, approach with caution unless you are a fan |
** Instant bargain bin fodder | * Ugly. Just ugly