I also really enjoy the second track, titled "Broken Things." It has the energy of an opening track, although "The House of Shame," with its aforementioned choir opening, works much better. "Broken Things" is consequently placed perfectly on the album. The best part of this song is the anthemic chorus, when Cristina and Andrea sing: "1, 2, 3, the count of your lies..." The song is lyrically pretty simple, at times reminding me of "Daylight Dancer" from Comalies: "As you keep smiling inside, you cannot be afraid of your destiny. All the walls you've built around..." It seems to speak of feeling like you have to live with your metaphorical insides being broken due to past trauma. The third track is the title track and is quite honestly probably one of my least favorite songs on the album, just because the hook doesn't really go anywhere; it just repeats the title over and over again. The fourth track on Delirium is titled "Blood, Tears, Dust," and I love Cristina's refrain here: "Can you believe this, my friend? I was empty and broken inside. She came to save me from the storm." Both lyrically and vocally, it's incredibly powerful. Cristina, like in "The House of Shame," sings in a higher register than she normally does, and she sounds, in a word, amazing. "Downfall" is the fifth track and starts on a quiet note that quickly picks up and gets loud and heavy. This is another one that doesn't do a whole lot for me. It does have a really awesome guitar break break more than halfway through, but one the whole, the song doesn't really make much progress. The refrain isn't particularly catchy, but lyrically, it's pretty meaningful, as it seems to be about clinging onto someone because of how lonely and dark that your life feels.
I briefly mentioned before that I ultimately have two favorite songs on the album. One is the opening track, "The House of Shame," and the other is the sixth track, "Take Me Home." The song starts off sounding very disjointed and has a very dark, creepy sound that reminds me of the remix of "Trip the Darkness" that fans were treated to on the Underworld Awakening soundtrack. There is a children's choir chanting "Big train down the track. Tick-tick, coming back. It's time. Jump on board. There is room for many more." It sounds really creepy and reminds me a bit of the rhyme from A Nightmare on Elm Street. Interestingly, Cristina revealed in a Spotify commentary that it isn't actually children that were used for the part; it's their own voices distorted. The chorus of this song is ridiculously catchy. Over distorted guitars, Cristina sings, "Sit with me. I'll take you for a ride. Tick-tock time, it will be so fine. Tick-tock time, it will be so fine. Stay with me. I'll take you for a ride. Tick-tock time, we will be all right." I simply love this song; it's not only one of the best songs on the album, it's one of the best songs that Lacuna Coil has ever done. The seventh track is titled "You Love Me 'Cause I Hate You" and starts with Cristina singing in a nasally voice. The song becomes one of the heaviest on the album by the chorus, when Andrea roars the title of the song. This is another song that I unfortunately feel doesn't really go anywhere in its refrain; the title of the song is repeated (like "Delirium") along with "everything but love." Although it isn't one of my favorites, however, I can definitely see it being a future single. It has the energy that I think could really fit a music video very well, but unfortunately, there currently is not a single music video, except the lyric video for "The House of Shame," from the album.
The eight track is "Ghost in the Mist," which I guess is technically a promotional single since, along with "The House of Shame" and the title track, it was released prior to the album's release. Although I am sure that it is a total coincidence (especially since it isn't similar enough to have been copied), the riff at the very beginning reminds me of a faster version of the riff from the beginning of "Until the End" by Breaking Benjamin. It's a moderately heavy song with a moderate tempo, which is carried primarily by Cristina's voice in a low register. The song's chorus is decent enough but is not a highlight for me. I do like the ninth track, "My Demons." It's somewhat of a softer one, although still fueled partially by heavy guitars and Andrea's growl. The melody of Cristina's refrain, however, is quite beautiful, and once again, she climbs, quite successfully, to some higher notes. Like many songs on the album, there is also a memorable guitar break more than halfway through. "Claustrophobia" is one that doesn't really go much of anywhere melodically, but I love the lyrics, such as: "Claustrophobic hate starts a chain reaction if it doesn't kill you" and "Why, why don't you try? Time is over. When I'll be gone, you will be suffering for me." I think that the next track, titled "Ultima Ratio," closes the standard edition of the album. By far, my favorite part of this song is Cristina's bridge, sung in a low register: "Inmate out. Time to rack him down. Never ends. Lock him back down inside his cell!" The refrain is also lyrically and melodically great: "Save me before I fall apart," Cristina desperately pleads. "Come closer to me while I'm still alive. It never ends." With its powerful lyrics and powerful sound backed by strings, it is a decent closing track, but, of course, the deluxe version doesn't end there.
The deluxe version of the album starts with "Live to Tell," a cover of the 1986 Madonna song of the same name. I am a really big Madonna fan, and Cristina said in an interview years ago that Madonna was a big inspiration for her, so I have really been looking forward to something like this. Unfortunately, however, I was kind of let down. The song's content is a perfect addition to the album, as it fits the album's theme of mental instability. "Live to Tell" seems to tell the story of someone who witnessed and/or experienced something traumatic but inexplicably (perhaps out of shame or fear of being judged) keeping it a secret even into adulthood. There are parts of the song, however, that are melodically unrecognizable because they are so drastically changed. I have no problem with a band drastically changing a song and making it their own, but this is a Madonna classic, and it almost seems wrong. By far, the best version of this song is the version that Madonna performed on her Confessions Tour. Next on the deluxe version is "Breakdown," another one of my favorites. I love the chorus of this song, during which Cristina powerfully sings in a higher register, "Embrace the pain that breaks me down." A little more than halfway through the song, Cristina wordlessly chants, calling back to the band's 2006 effort Karmacode. I think that this song probably sounds the most like a closing track. The final song on the album as a whole is "Bleed the Pain," another song that doesn't do much for me and doesn't really work as a closing track. I do like the underlying strings, though, playing a melody reminiscent of the Broken Crown Halo lead single "Nothing Stands in Our Way." The album is, overall, decent, and I really like its theme, but it's probably one of my least favorite Lacuna Coil albums, if not my least favorite. There are some unforgettable gems here but also a lot of throwaways that don't sound like they come from a band from whom I am used to hearing much better.
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