Lacuna Coil

Lacuna Coil is a Gothic Metal and alternative Metal band formed in the city of Milan, Italy, in 1994. Other names of the band, before arriving at the current one, were Sleep of Right and Ethereal. The band is inspired by gothic imagery, and its members are known musically for composing songs that consist of guitar lines intertwined with the keyboard, contrasting with female and male vocals, making the sound very melodic. According to the group, they are inspired by bands such as Depeche Mode, Paradise Lost, Tiamat, Septic Flesh, Type O Negative and In Flames, among others.

It was the 1990s. Andrea Ferro and Marco Coti Zelati assembled a Rock band without much pretension. Despite the style not having a strong scene in Milan, the band Sleep of Right recorded their first demo with Ferro on vocals, Claudio Leo on guitar, Marco Coti Zelati on bass and Forti on drums. The sound surprised the young members. But there was still something missing to complete the band’s proposal.

Cristina Scabbia, Zelati’s girlfriend, was appointed by him to record some additional vocals. Cristina had no contact or experience with Heavy Metal but had already participated in dance music projects. That’s when the band’s history began to change. The tracks “Shallow End” and “Frozen Feeling” gained the shine of Cristina’s soft voice in the sound of the Italian band.

The sound of the bold and innovative instrumental, the low contrast of Ferro added to the high notes of Scabbia, reached the record label Century Media, which believed in the potential and opened the studio doors to young Milanese. It was the band’s big opportunity.

The sound became slower, and the polished arrangements highlighted the gothic influences. The name was also changed to Lacuna Coil. Italy, with little tradition in rock, launched into the world one of the most competent and sophisticated bands on the current scene.

In 1998, an EP titled “Lacuna Coil arrived in stores”. The band already guaranteed its presence at the German festival Wacken, playing alongside The Gathering and Moonspell.

“In a Reverie” was the first work which featured a refined instrumental and the voice of Cristina Scabbia.
In 1999, the Italians were one of the main attractions at the Dutch festival Dynamo Open Air and at Gods of Metal in Italy. The group also had excursions alongside Grip Inc. and Skyclad.

The band in an acoustic concert
At the beginning of 2000, the group prepared the second EP of their discography, entitled “Halflife”, which was released in March. This EP earned the band their first European headlining tour. Concerts like the one in London were scheduled, as tickets were sold out. The EP included the track “Senzafine” sung in Italian. In the same year, in October, the band began recording the album “Unleashed “Memories”, which was released on January 29, 2001. This was an intense year of touring for the band, starting with a European tour with Theater of Tragedy throughout January and February. They are also included in Odyssey Metal touring with Dimmu Borgir, Nevermore, In Flames and Susperia, playing thirteen dates throughout Europe. In April, they return to Italy for a series of concerts.

After returning from a tour of America and a stop for Christmas, the band begins work on their third studio album. The next few months are mostly dedicated to rehearsing and writing songs. In April 2002, the band worked on pre-production in Milan with producer and long-time friend Waldemar Sorychta and on April 17th, they entered Woodhouse’s studio in Germany and began recording the album that would bring them global recognition.
Comalies is the title the band chose for this new album, released in September 2002. It is heavier and more dynamic than Unleashed Memories, having many positive reviews and a great response among fans. In this work, synthesizers were added that gave a nostalgic air to the songs, leaving a little of the old proposal. The tracks were quite different from each other, which proved the band’s maturity and had an extremely positive impact on the underground scene.

In the remainder of 2002 and in 2003, the band toured several times in Europe and the United States and recorded the music video for the song “Heaven’s a Lie”, which became one of the most played in Italy. In 2004, the band signed with the record label Century Media and continues touring around the world. They also record another music video, this time for “Swamped”, which is also included in the film Resident Evil Apocalypse soundtrack. At the end of that year, the band started working on a new album.

2005 begins, and Comalies continues to sell well; in March, the album surpassed the mark of two hundred thousand copies sold. As summer approaches, Lacuna Coil continues writing songs for the new album and is preparing for many festivals across Europe. In July, Century Media re-releases all albums and EPs before “Comalies “with new inserts and extras. Festivals continue throughout the summer months. On October 23, the international press is invited to a special session at Estúdios de Galáxia em Mol in Belgium, where the band reveals six new songs: “What I See”, “Fragile”, “In Visible Light”, “Fragments of Faith”, “Within Me” and “Our Truth”. All of them would be released on the next album.

At the end of 2005, the band completed the recording of Karmacode and released it on April 4th of the following year. A little earlier, on March 4, 2006, the band released the single “Our Truth”, which appears on the soundtrack of the film Angels of the Night: Evolution. A music video is also recorded for the song.

Two years later, the band finished recording their new album, titled “Dark Adrenaline”, being released in early 2012, produced by Don Gilmore (Pearl Jam, Linkin Park, Bullet For My Valentine) and recorded by Century Media Records.

“In some songs, there’s a lot of anger, probably the heaviest we’ve ever written. Some other songs are intense, loaded with sweet, dark emotions, and there’s even a little space for some light at the end of the tunnel,” says co-vocalist Andrea Iron on the Dark Adrenaline album”.

In September 2013, the band announced the start of recording their new album “Broken Crown Halo” with producer Jay Baumgardner, scheduled for release in the first half of 2014 in North America. The first track from his new album called “Nothing Stands In Our Way” has been premiered online. On February 14, 2014, the band announced via their Facebook page that guitarist Cristiano ‘Pizza’ Migliore and drummer Cristiano ‘Criz’ Mozzati decided to leave the band after 16 years, citing personal reasons. Ryan Folden (The Agony Scene; Queime Halo; After Midnight Project) took over as the band’s drummer, while on guitars, the band only has one guitarist, Marco Biazzi.

“Black Anima” was released on October 11, 2019, by Century Media Records and on 19 July 2022, the band released the first single for the LP, “Tight Rope XX”, along with a video clip.
The reworked track was played live for the first time at the US music festival INKcarceration a week prior.

On 1 April 2023, the band announced their contribution of a new song titled ‘Never Dawn’ to ‘Zombicide: White Death’, the latest board game Kickstarter project by game designer Nicolas Raoult and publisher CMON. The song is featured in the game’s soundtrack and is the band’s first involvement in a board game project. Zombicide: White Death is a cooperative survival board game set in the Arctic in the midst of a zombie outbreak.
Lacuna Coil released a full version of their single “Never Dawn” on June 2.

Members

Andrea Ferro – vocalist (1994–present)
Marco Coti Zelati – bassist (1994–present)
Cristina Scabbia – vocalist (1996–present)
Ryan Blake Folden – drummer (2014–present; touring musician: 2012–2013)
Diego Cavallotti – guitarist (2016–present)
Richard Meiz – drummer (2019–present)

Studio Albums

In a Reverie (1999)
Unleashed Memories (2001)
Comalies (2002)
Karmacode (2006)
Shallow Life (2009)
Dark Adrenaline (2012)
Broken Crown Halo (2014)
Delirium (2016)
Black Anima (2019)
Comalies XX (2022)