LACUNA COIL releases double single, 'Fragile XX' and 'I Wish You Were Dead' (SWARM Remix), to celebrate 20th anniversary of 'Karmacode'
22-10-2026
Italian metal icons LACUNA COIL have released a double single featuring a redux version of “Fragile” (titled “Fragile XX”), plus a remix of “I Wish You Were Dead” by electronic/metalstep producer Swarm, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their fourth studio album, 2006’s “Karmacode”. Combining their past and present history into one celebration of this milestone, “Fragile” originally appeared on “Karmacode” while “I Wish You Were Dead” is taken from LACUNA COIL‘s latest album, 2025’s “Sleepless Empire”.
The lyric video for “Fragile XX” can be seen below.
LACUNA COIL‘s Andrea Ferro (vocals) comments: “‘Fragile’ has always been a live favorite. It was actually one of the very first songs we debuted on stage even before ‘Karmacode’ was released 20 years ago. Its message of accepting life’s vulnerability, never surrendering though we live in a fragile circle that is often breached, is one that we still relate to today.
“While reworking a much loved song can initially feel unsettling (in particular for Maki (LACUNA COIL bassist Marco Coti-Zelati), our main songwriter), we faced the process as a tribute to ‘Fragile’ and ‘Karmacode’, and are really excited by the result. ‘Fragile XX’ feels and sounds like LACUNA COIL in 2026, and we look forward to performing it live for the next 20 years!”
Swarm states: “As a longtime fan of LACUNA COIL, I am incredibly honored to have been asked to reimagine a song of theirs. I remember hearing ‘Karmacode’ back in the mid-2000s and thinking that the melodies sounded so interesting and exotic. That whole album really helped to shape my taste in music, and I have been a fan ever since.
“I’m cautious about agreeing to do remixes, especially when it’s for a band I love. I never ‘remix for the sake of remix’. I want to make it worth the listen; to respect the original while tastefully and aggressively turning it upside down and shaking something absolutely crazy out. I’m very proud of how I was able to do that here.”
Stream the remix of “I Wish You Were Dead” below.
In a 2025 interview with Belgian Jasper, LACUNA COIL singer Cristina Scabbia was asked how she initially felt about being featured on the cover of the February 2006 issue of Revolver where she was also included in the magazine’s “The Hottest Chicks In Metal” article. She said: “The thing is that I never saw the malice in it. I always thought that it’s actually a very powerful thing for a woman to be feminine. I love women power. I love to be empowered by who I am, and I don’t want to hide myself because I’m a woman and if I show my legs that means I’m worth less. That’s not my problem. So when I actually went on that cover of Revolver magazine, because I was the very first woman to to actually appear on that cover, for me, it was just the biggest honor because it was the first time that a magazine, an American magazine, would give a woman the pleasure of being on a cover. So for me, it was something that blew my mind back then.”
Cristina continued: “I was just happy if more women could come on board of this women-fronted, the female-fronted band movement, stuff like that, even if that’s a definition that I never liked. Maybe because I was coming from a different world before LACUNA COIL — I was listening to a lot of dance and R&B music, so, for me, it was already normal to see women playing music and singing. It was nothing new. Metal was predominantly followed by guys because it was a more aggressive and heavy sound, but I never looked at myself as the different element or I am different or I’m worth less because I’m a woman. So it was never my personal problem. It is true that perception of people — you have to deal with it. You have to expect a reaction. Everything you do, everything you say, you have to expect a reaction. And I would never go over the line, showing myself, but that’s because I don’t want to do it. But I don’t care about what other persons want to do, other women want to do with their body — it’s up to them, and I’m not going to judge them, but for sure you have to prepare to a reaction as soon as you do something. It’s discouraging that they only see the look of it, but I’m also sure that every woman included in those Revolver magazine ‘Hottest Chicks In Metal’ were talented as well. So at least we got attention back then. And I mean, it happened to ladies as well to look at a singer because he was hot or considered sexy a singer. So whatever. If you can use it as a tool to get attention and you’re okay with it, as long as it’s your decision, you can do whatever you want.”
Watch the previously released “Gravity”, ‘Oxygen’, ‘Hosting The Shadow’(featuring Randy Blythe of Lamb Of God), ‘In The Mean Time’ (featuring Ash Costello, of New Year’s Day) and ‘Never Dawn’ taken from 2025’s “Sleepless Empire” below.
Inspiration to create “Sleepless Empire” came during the sessions for “Comalies XX” (2022),the acclaimed remake of LACUNA COIL‘s breakthrough third record “Comalies”. Writing and recording took place in northern Italy between Milano (the band’s hometown) and Como, where SPVN Studios are located. As with their previous albums, production was done in house with Marco “Maki” Coti Zelati at the helm, and artwork was hand curated by the talented Italian artist Roberto Toderico. Two other very special talents enrich the album, namely the guest vocalists: LAMB OF GOD‘s Randy Blythe on the song “Hosting The Shadow” and NEW YEARS DAY‘s Ash Costello on “In The Mean Time”.
As a token of the band’s love for the gaming world (which we’ve seen in past endeavors such as their card game “Horns Up” and their collaboration with Zombicide for which they wrote the track “Never Dawn”),the band have created an oracle “game” to be played with custom made dice available only in the box set version of “Sleepless Empire”.
The new album is comprised of 11 tracks; each one is a richly textured soundtrack to 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 in the annals of heavy music.
The band previously shared: “‘Sleepless Empire’ captures, through our eyes, the chaos of a generation trapped in a digital world that never stops, where social media consumes identity and every day pushes us one step closer to becoming soulless zombies. We find ourselves in between, having witnessed a full analogic world and the modern one, confronting the evolution and searching for a true meaning of it all. Throughout every song, the journey is an undercurrent of rebellion, a desperate cry to reclaim oneself in an era that seems to have lost its sense of time and reality.”
“Sleepless Empire” track listing
01. The Siege
02. Oxygen
03. Scarecrow
04. Gravity
05. I Wish You Were Dead
06. Hosting The Shadow (feat. Randy Blythe)
07. In Nomine Patris
08. Sleepless Empire
09. Sleep Paralysis
10. In The Mean Time (feat. Ash Costello)
11. Never Dawn
This past October, Italian guitarist/producer Daniele Salomone confirmed that he has joined LACUNA COIL as the replacement for the band’s longtime guitarist Diego Cavallotti.
Salomone made his live debut with LACUNA COIL on August 4, 2024 at the Rockstadt Extreme Fest in Râșnov, Romania.
This past June, LACUNA COIL announced Cavallotti‘s departure. Diego, who joined LACUNA COIL in 2016, initially as a fill-in guitarist following the exit of Marco “Maus” Biazzi, later said in a social media post that “this decision is not the result of my dissatisfaction or desire to explore new opportunities.”
When LACUNA COIL announced Cavallotti‘s exit on June 17, the band wrote in a statement: “As we step into a new cycle, writing and recording our next album, we are parting ways with Diego ‘DD’ Cavallotti. We thank him for the many unforgettable moments shared over the years and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavours.
“All future live plans remain unchanged and the new songs are taking form, we can’t wait to share them with our fans.”
Cavallotti and Salomone played together in the Italian metal band INVERNO, which released its debut album, “Stasis”, in December 2023.
Sleepless Empire is now available for pre-order.
Tracklist
- The Siege
- Oxygen
- Scarecrow
- Gravity
- I Wish You Were Dead
- Hosting The Shadow (feat. Randy Blythe)
- In Nomine Patris
- Sleepless Empire
- Sleep Paralysis
- In The Mean Time (feat. Ash Costello)
- Never Dawn
- Ltd. Deluxe CD Box Set with symbolic dice oracle
- Ltd. CD Digipak
- Ltd. CD Digipak (US version)
- black LP & LP-Booklet
- black LP & LP-Booklet (US version)
- Ltd. white LP & LP-Booklet
- Ltd. deep blood red LP & LP-Booklet (exclusive Sony Music Entertainment Italy version)
- Ltd. Sparkle Rainbow LP & LP-Booklet
- Ltd. transp. glow in the dark LP & LP-Booklet (exclusive band version)
- black LP & LP-Booklet (US version)
- Ltd. ultra clear LP & LP-Booklet (US version)
- Ltd. silver LP & LP-Booklet (US version)
- Digital album
Lacuna Coil are
Cristina Scabbia – Vocals
Andrea Ferro – Vocals
Marco Coti Zelati – Bass, Guitars, Synths
Richard Meiz – Drums
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