''Dark Adrenaline'' is the sixth studio album by Italian metal band
Lacuna Coil
Lacuna Coil is an Italian gothic metal band from Milan. Since their formation in 1994, the group has had two name changes, being previously known as Sleep of Right and Ethereal, and they have recorded nine studio albums, two extended plays, two ...
. The album was produced by Don Gilmore (
Linkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. The band's current lineup comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn and drummer ...
,
Bullet For My Valentine), and mixed by Marco Barusso
Cayne Modà,
Laura Pausini
Laura Pausini (; born 16 May 1974) is an Italian singer. She rose to fame in 1993, winning the newcomer artists' section of the 43rd Sanremo Music Festival with her debut single "La solitudine", which became an Italian standard and an internat ...
,
Eros Ramazzotti
Eros Walter Luciano Ramazzotti (; born 28 October 1963) is an Italian pop singer, musician and songwriter. He is popular in Italy and most European countries, and throughout the Spanish-speaking world, as he has released most of his albums in bo ...
).
The album debuted at number fifteen on the
''Billboard'' 200 chart with initial sales of 20,000.
It also charted in the top five on four other
Billboard charts
The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...
including the Rock Albums, Alternative Albums, Hard Rock Albums and the Independent Albums charts. The album was also successful throughout Europe, charting in ten countries, six of which
Lacuna Coil
Lacuna Coil is an Italian gothic metal band from Milan. Since their formation in 1994, the group has had two name changes, being previously known as Sleep of Right and Ethereal, and they have recorded nine studio albums, two extended plays, two ...
have achieved their highest chart positions in those countries to date. This album has charted in fifteen countries.
The first single from the album, "
Trip the Darkness", was released on October 17, 2011 before the album itself was released and is included as a remix on the soundtrack to ''
Underworld: Awakening''. "
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products.
At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...
" was released as the second single on June 15, 2012. The official music video was filmed on May 10, 2012.
Reception
Upon its release, the album has received positive reviews from professional music critics who generally praised the mix of both
Cristina Scabbia
Cristina Adriana Chiara Scabbia (; born 5 June 1972) is an Italian singer, best known as one of the two vocalists of gothic metal band Lacuna Coil.
Scabbia used to write an advice column in the popular rock magazine ''Revolver'', alongside mus ...
's and Andrea Ferro's vocals together and the return to their more
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
roots after their previous release, ''
Shallow Life
''Shallow Life'' is the fifth studio album by Italian gothic metal band Lacuna Coil. The album was released in April 2009 in Europe and North America through Century Media Records and EMI. As of September 2009, it has sold over 75,000 copies in ...
''.
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
gave the album a 4 out of 5 star rating describing the album as, "Bigger and bolder" than their 2009 release ''
Shallow Life
''Shallow Life'' is the fifth studio album by Italian gothic metal band Lacuna Coil. The album was released in April 2009 in Europe and North America through Century Media Records and EMI. As of September 2009, it has sold over 75,000 copies in ...
'' and stating it is the band's, "most explosive work to date".
About.com
Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, ...
give a similar 4 star review, stating the album as, "darker vibed" and, "bombastic" also going on to say that it is an album that can please newer and long-term fans.
Loudwire gave a four out of five star review describing the tracks on the album as, "darker and rebellious", also describing vocals on the album as, "impeccable", despite saying that the album is not "out there".
About.com
Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, ...
described the cover of
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...
's song, "
Losing My Religion
"Losing My Religion" is a song by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in February 1991 as the first single from the group's seventh album, '' Out of Time'' (1991). Built on a mandolin riff, the song was an unlikely hit for the group ...
" as, "riskier" saying that, "it turned out pretty well".
Track listing
End of Time
''End of Time'' was written by Lacuna Coil in collaboration with producer Don Gilmore, which received positive reviews from
Music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
. Chad Bowar of
About.com
Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, ...
praised the harmony vocals, saying "
he song
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
is a very catchy power ballad that features some brief harmony vocals, which is something I wish Lacuna Coil would do more often.
Video
Cristina Scabbia and
Andrea Ferro began shooting the
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
for "End of Time" on October 17, 2012 in Milan, Italy.
It was directed by their regular collaborator Roberto Cinardi with the pseudonym of SaKu, who previously directed Lacuna Coil's music videos for
Spellbound (2009),
I Won't Tell You (2010) and the short movie ''
Dark Passengers'' (2012).
''Dark Passengers''
''Dark Passengers'' is a DVD which was included with the ''Digipack'', ''Box Set'' and ''Darkest Adrenaline Super Deluxe Box Set'' editions of the album. It contains six
short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
s shot by Roberto Cinardi with the pseudonym of SaKu (who already worked with the band for the videos of
Spellbound and
I Won't Tell You). The shorts contain the instrumental version of six songs from the standard issue of Dark Adrenaline. Every short has a member of the band as the main character and they represent Cristina's visions of the other members of the band after the Injection of the mysterious drug called "Dark Adrenaline". In the first video, based on "Give Me Something More", we see Cristina imprisoned by her evil twin. The second one, with "Intoxicated", shows Andrea as the protagonist of an adaptation of
F. W. Murnau
Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (born Friedrich Wilhelm Plumpe; December 28, 1888March 11, 1931) was a German film director, producer and screenwriter.
He was greatly influenced by Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Shakespeare and Ibsen plays he had seen at t ...
's ''
Nosferatu
''Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror'' (German: ''Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des Grauens'') is a 1922 silent German Expressionist horror film directed by F. W. Murnau and starring Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who preys on the wife ...
''. The third based on "Upsidedown" with Marco Biazzi as
Jason Voorhees
Jason Voorhees () is a character (arts), character from the Friday the 13th (franchise), ''Friday the 13th'' series. He first appeared in ''Friday the 13th (1980 film), Friday the 13th'' (1980) as the young son of camp-cook-turned-killer Pamel ...
. The fourth with "Kill the Light" sees Cristiano Migliore playing the victim of a mad scientist. The fifth based on "Fire" with Marco Coti Zelati as a sushi chef. The last one with "
Trip the Darkness" and Cristiano Mozzati as leads playing the role of a crazy akira.
Credits for ''Dark Passengers'' are adapted from album liner notes.
*Directed by: SaKu
*Produced by: Kinesis Film
*Executive Producer: Marianna De Liso
*Production Coordinator: Serena Tagliaferri
*Production Assistant: Giuseppe Mele, Luca Brunetti
*Casting Director: Francesco Anastasi
*Still Photographer: Alice Camandona
*D.O.P: Valentina Belli
*Editor: Giulio Tiberti
*Make Up Artist: Martina Camandona, Beatrice Contino
*Costume Designer/ Set Decorator: Silvia Segoloni
*Assistant Director: Alice Camandona
*FX: Luca Della Grotta
*Sound Designer: Valerio Moscatelli
Chart performance
On January 28, it was announced that the album had achieved number 15 on the
''Billboard'' 200 in its debut week, with first week sales of 20,000, therefore becoming
Lacuna Coil
Lacuna Coil is an Italian gothic metal band from Milan. Since their formation in 1994, the group has had two name changes, being previously known as Sleep of Right and Ethereal, and they have recorded nine studio albums, two extended plays, two ...
's highest charting album in the United States with ''
Shallow Life
''Shallow Life'' is the fifth studio album by Italian gothic metal band Lacuna Coil. The album was released in April 2009 in Europe and North America through Century Media Records and EMI. As of September 2009, it has sold over 75,000 copies in ...
'' achieving 16 on the Billboard 200 in 2009.
The album also charted on four other US charts reaching number 2 on the
Alternative Albums
The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...
chart and the
Hard Rock Albums Chart
The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...
, number 3 on the
Independent Albums
The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' maga ...
chart and number 5 on the
Rock Albums Chart
The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...
in the same country.
Dark Adrenaline charted at number 48 on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
despite being removed from this chart in its second week after release.
The album also charted at number 4 on the
UK Rock Chart
The UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart and UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart are record charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company (OCC) to determine the 40 most popular singles and albums in the rock and heavy metal genres. The ...
and in many other countries across
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, including some of the band's highest chart positions such as number 34 in Finland on the
Finnish Albums Chart
The Official Finnish Charts ( fi, Suomen virallinen lista; sv, Finlands officiella lista) are national record charts in Finland compiled and published by Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. The name ''Suomen virallinen lista/Finlands officiell ...
. The album became the 45th best selling Hard Rock album of 2012 in the United States.
Year-end charts
Editions
*''Regular Edition'': The regular edition of the album, featuring the 12 tracks above.
*''Regular Edition (Limited Edition)'': The regular edition of the album, containing different artwork made by the band.
*''Regular Edition + LP'': The regular album + LP
*''Digipack Edition'': The regular 12 songs + a DVD, guitar pick, and Dark Adrenaline poster, packaged in a digipack.
*''Boxset Edition'': Limited EU box containing the Deluxe CD/DVD edition, housed in a digipak with reverse side print on the cardstock and partial glossy varnish, a 2012/13 Lacuna Coil calendar and a three button set in plastic pouch.
*''Darkest Adrenaline Super Deluxe Box Set Edition'': Limited to 500 copies. Contains a vinyl, digipak, hardcover photo book (40 pages), poster, sticker, guitar pick, autographed lithographs, ink vials, syringe pen packaged in a metal medic box.
*''iTunes Edition'': The regular 12 tracks + the following bonus material: 'Soul Inmate', 'Closer' (live on WCC), 'Heavens A Lie' (live on WCC), 'Within Me' (live on WCC), 'I Won’t Tell You' (live on KXFX), 'Spellbound' (on WBYR Second Visit), 'Trip The Darkness' (video).
*''Hastings Edition'': Limited to 3000 copies. The regular 12 tracks + the following bonus material on a bonus CD: 'Our Truth' (Taken from ''Karmacode''), Spellbound (Taken from ''Shallow Life''), Heaven's a Lie (Taken from ''Comalies''), When a Dead Man Walks (Taken from ''Unleashed Memories''), Falling Again (Taken from ''In a Reverie''), Reverie (Taken from ''In a Reverie''), Distant Sun (Taken from ''Unleashed Memories''), Self-Deception (Taken from ''Comalies''), In Visible Light (Taken from ''Karmacode''), Swamped (Taken from ''Comalies''). Also contained a coupon for $5 off any CD from Lacuna Coil's Catalog at Hastings locations.
Personnel
Credits for ''Dark Adrenaline'' adapted from
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller. It is a Fortune 1000 company and the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. As of July 7, 2020, the company operates 614 retail stores across all 50 U. ...
. and from
allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
*Cristina Scabbia: Vocals
*Andrea Ferro: Vocals
*Cristiano Migliore: Guitars
*Marco Biazzi: Guitars
*Marco Coti Zelati: Bass, Keyboards
*Cristiano Mozzati: Drums, Percussion
**With: Mario Riso on guest percussion
;Technical
*Don Gilmore – composer,
producer
*Lacuna Coil – composer
*Marco Barusso - Mixing Engineer
*Mark Kiczula - Recording Engineer
Marco D'Agostino- Mastering
*Adam "Doom" Sewell - Management
*Mark "Gus" Guy - Tour Manager
*Tim Borror - Booking
*Paul Ryan - Booking
*Michael Toorock - Legal Advisor
References
{{Authority control
Lacuna Coil albums
Century Media Records albums