Female fronted Italian modern rock band, Lacuna Coil offers the 12 track conceptual affair Shallow Life. Even though Cristina Scabbia continues to reign as the best female metal lead (and best looking), the album as a whole, falls into the realm of mediocrity due to lame programming, predictable lyrics, and out-dated guitars—the riffs employed on the single “Spellbound” are awfully generic, better suited for a 1996 feature video on Much Music, and Piano driven ballads “Not Enough” “Shallow Life,” and “Wide Awake” fall short of inspiring emotion and personal reflection for the listener. “I Like It” sounds like a Gothic Abba tune, while the Arabian-inspired opener “I Survive” is a highlight of the disc.

Lacuna Coil is Cristina Scabbia (Vocals), Andrea Ferro (Vocals), Cristiano “Pizza” Migliore (Guitars), Marco “Maus” Biazzi (Guitars), Marco Coti Zelati (Bass), & Cristiano Mozzati (Drums).