Sleepless Empire CD

Release February 14, 2025

CD Digipack Edition

If you know Lacuna Coil, you’ll already know that every album across their long career is more than just a sound: Each is a richly textured soundtrack of a specific time and place. With Sleepless Empire, that place is dark, cinematic, and unmistakably true to the unique characteristics that have given Lacuna Coil such a celebrated entry into the annals of heavy music.

Without the vocals, guitars, or drums, Sleepless Empire – the orchestral part – would be a cinematic soundtrack. From the colossal choruses of album opener, The Siege, through the devilishly catchy I Wish You Were Dead and the irrepressible classic air of the title track Sleepless Empire, there’s no doubting the confidence of Lacuna Coil’s latest, and it has its share of surprises too. These come in the form of two very special appearances from none other than New Years Day banshee Ash Costello on their epic In The Mean Time and a heartbreakingly over-the-top contribution from Lamb of God vocalist Randy Blythe on Hosting the Shadow.

And if there’s one thing special about Sleepless Empire, it’s more than just that vocal cross-pollination. As Ferro explains, the key to Lacuna Coil’s eternally youthful aura is their curiosity and their ability to creatively respond to new inspiration without losing sight of the qualities that make them who they are, and he counts Sleep Token, Spiritbox, Bad Omens, and Bring Me The Horizon as examples of other bands doing the same to keep the scene and their own sounds vibrant. That independent spirit has been key to balancing Lacuna Coil’s artistic prerogative against the weight of expectation, and Ferro is emphatic in describing how these strange times have yielded no shortage of material to influence the heavy lyrics and mood of Sleepless Empire. Lacuna Coil’s sound is dark, it reflects the society we live in; it’s a portrait of our time. It’s a testament to the changing of our society, the Sleepless Empire, where everyone is always on their mobile, always browsing, always doing something, from morning to night, never stopping. It’s a philosophy reflected throughout every aspect of Sleepless Empire.