Give it time

I've been a fan of this band since the first album & on first listen I didnt care to much for Karmacode, I was looking for the obvious hooks from previous albums, but first impressions are very very misleading with Karmacode... It takes awhile to hear all the nuances contained on this brillant album & i think alot of the low scores on Amazon are a knee jerk reaction from the first or second listen. I now enjoy this album more than their past ones. Because this album is so densely mixed it requires a great sound system/headphones but unfortunatley this is the ipod generation & the compressed sound on those things sound friggen awful(unless you use some type headphone/mp3 amplifier)but thats how most people will experience this music.

Not Comalies, but still great!

Karmacode is not as impressive as Comalies in my opinion, but still a great effort. Songs 1 through 9, as well as 13 are right up there with their previous album, but 10 through 12 bring it down a little bit. Standouts to me are Fragile, Within Me, Devoted, What I See, and Closer. The Depeche Mode Cover "Enjoy the Silence" is also well done. They lost some creativity from Comalies, going for a heavier, edgier sound, but they pull it off nicely. They still have their European style, just not as much. "Fragile", "Devoted", and "What I See" show off LC's ability to rock hard while still maintaining melody, and "Within Me" is a ballad that shows off a softer side of the band. "Closer" is a pop-metal song, if you will, that shows the band is going in a new direction. Overall an outstanding CD.

Much Better Than I Expected

Man, judging from the other reviews, longtime Lacuna Coil fans really don't seem to like Karmacode. I suppose I can understand why. I've been a fan of the band since their self-titled EP and saw them in concert supporting bands they have since overshadowed. On the one hand, I think everyone wants the band to experience the success they deserve. On the other hand, I think we tend to regard Lacuna Coil as "our band" and don't want to see them get so big they become some unrecognizable MTV entity.