I've been a Lacuna Coil fan for two years now, and I had been waiting all that time for the follow-up to 2002's Comalies. Finally, after over three years, they delivered Karmacode.

Not much is new in the band's musical direction. The biggest difference is the heavy use of seven-string guitars for a lower sound. The other elements remain largely unchanged. The lead vocal duo of Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Terro are in fine form. However, I find that the music doesn't quite live up to the band's older work. There are some excellent songs; notably, "Within Me," "Closer" and "In Visible Light," but there aren't many memorable songs beyond those. The surprise of the album is the closing track, a superb cover of Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence."

This is an enjoyable album with a number of very good songs, yet I can't place this above Comalies. I've been listening to this for about two weeks and, while has grown on me over that time, I can't see it growing much more. I give it a 3.5/5.