Musical Joy

Lacuna Coil

Lacuna Coil is a band from Milan Italy. Their music is sometimes classified as alternative metal and at others gothic metal. Formerly known as Sleep of Right and Ethereal, the band was heavily inspired by gothic imagery. The members are known musically for composing midtempo songs consisting of guitar lines overlayed with prominent keyboard work and contrasting dual female/male vocal harmonies to help create a melodic detached sound. Most of their more recent material displays a more down-tuned style than their previous work, featuring a more distinct bass line and a higher mixing of the guitars within the songs. Andrea Ferro and Marco Coti Zelati formed Sleep of Right but soon changed the name to Ethereal and signed to Century Media at the end of 1997. They soon found that the name Ethereal was already taken and thus they changed their name to Lacuna Coil, which means empty spiral. The band consisted at that point of co-vocalists Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro with bassist/keyboardist Marco Coti Zelati. The band recorded a self titled Ep released in 1998 and went on tour supporting label-mates Moonspell. The band was accompanied for this tour by guitarist Cristiano Migliore and drummer Cristiano Mozzati. Following a second European tour, the band recorded their debut full length album, In A Reverie, and added second guitarist \pard fs24 Marco Biazzi. The band supported the album with another European tour, co-headlining with Skyclad. Following another EP entitled Half-Life in 2000 and album entitled Unleashed Memories in 2001, the band released Comalies in 2002, an album that received acclaim and rave reviews from certain corners of the metal world. Over a year later, the first single from this album, Heaven’s A Lie, began to receive radio and media attention and pulled the band into the mainstream. The second single, Swamped, was played in heavy rotation, and was used in the video game “Vampire The Masquerade – Bloodlines”, in one of the games fictitious clubs and in the game’s ending credits. Music videos were filmed for both songs and broadcast on MTV2’s Headbanger’s Ball. By 2004, Comalies had become the best selling CD in Century Media’s history. The band appeared at Ozzfest in between headlining club tours in America and Europe. In an effort to best take advantage of Lacuna Coil’s rise in popularity, the band and label postponed the release of their highly anticipated follow up album to Comalies, Karmacode, until early 2006. According to the band’s website, this made it possible for more time to be spent on production while also avoiding the crowded summer 2005 release schedule for metal albums. Our Truth is the very first single and video from Karmacode and the song featured on the soundtrack of the movie Underworld: Evolution. In March of 2007, Lacuna Coil joined Stone Sour and Shadows Fall on the Jagermeister Music Tour. In May, they will tour the United States with Within Temptation and The Gathering on the Hottest Chicks in Metal Tour 2007.

Discography (That I Own)

1. Lacuna Coil 1998 – The first EP by Lacuna Coil. The very first thing that grabbed me about this album was the team of Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro. They share the vocals equally and better still, he doesn’t grunt and growl. Instead he sings masterfully, showing off his handsome voice. Cristina has a beautiful voice herself, and sings marvelously with Andrea. The music is a weaving of melancholy and lighter stuff, sadness with hope.
2. In A Reverie 1999 – The first full length album by Lacuna Coil. It was released through Century Media in 1999. In A Reverie is often considered the darkest recording ever produced by Lacuna Coil. From the sweeping overtones of despair to the depressed ethereal ambience conjured, the listener is thoroughly engulfed in torrents of melancholy. Every riffl holds a dark entrancing quality. The vocals of Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro flow with the music rather than act like part of a second element.
3. Halflife 2000 – An EP by Lacuna Coil. It was released by Century Media in 2000. The tracks from this album were later included on their album Unleashed Memories. I admit that this album did not attract me much at first, yet after a few listens I found the songs to be quite catchy. The aggressive tones of Andrea Ferro combined with the angelic and stunning vocals of Cristina Scabbia weave together perfectly. To be very cliche, they create beautiful music together.
4. Unleashed Memories 2001 – This is the second full lengthy album by Lacuna Coil. The album was released through Century Media in 2001. American releases of this album appended the Halflife EP. Each song on this album contains the ability to strike a different emotional chord with almost anyone depending on what that persons preference is. Once again Cristina and Andrea prove that their vocals can work together, complimenting one another to produce a beautiful sound.
5. Comalies 2002 – The third full length album by Lacuna Coil. It was released by Century Media on October 8, 2002. Considered one of their best albums by many fans, Comalies was the result of hard work and creative explosion by Lacuna Coil. Once more Cristina Scabbia proves that she has a beautiful voice with incredible versatility. The gritty masculine vocals of Andrea Ferro compliment the ethereal vocals of Cristina Scabbia perfectly.
6. Karmacode 2006 – The fourth full length album by Lacuna Coil. It was released on March 31, 2006 by Century Media. The album differs in style from Lacuna Coil’s previous works. It abandoned their gothic sound replacing it with nu-metal riffs, hard rock, and female vocals. Many of the songs have a pseudo Middle-Eastern element to them. Cristina’s voice is once again mesmerizing and she blends perfectly with Andrea’s strong masculine vocals. The heavy bass and guitar riffs give this album a fierce sound.
7. Visual Karma 2009 – Live album by Lacuna Coil. It was made along with a DVD. It contains mostly songs from their Karmacode album and it was recorded at two concerts that Lacuna Coil played, Wacken and Loud Park.
8. Shallowlife 2009 – The latest album by Lacuna Coil. This is a definite step away from their older works. It is more in vein with Karmacode. I really like the album. The songs are catchy and I was pleased that Andrea Ferro managed to have larger vocal parts on the songs in this album. Of course the real reason I listen to Lacuna Coil is Cristina Scabbia and she did not disappoint at all on this album. It was worth the wait.

In Conclusion
Lacuna Coil has become one of my favorite bands. I love the way that Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro sound together. I also think it refreshing to see a duo sharing the vocals instead of a female simply singing with a guy grunting to back her up!