LACUNA COIL
The Italians confronted loss and came out stronger than ever, launching the band into a brave new era
Lacuna Coil’s ninth album, Black Anima, took its name from the Italian for ‘soul’ and the darkest colour they could think of. It was recorded in bassist Marco Coti-zelati’s basement studio over a period of six months, serving as well-timed therapy for vocalist Cristina Scabbia. She recently lost both parents and her longtime relationship with Slipknot’s Jim Root came to an end.
“This is a healing record,” she explains. “During [2016’s] Delirium,
I was suffering tremendously; I was in full pain with things happening in my life. Through Black Anima, I learned to walk in the darkness and manage the darkness that appears in my life. I feel bulletproof; I’ve experienced so much pain I feel stronger now. It’s not about seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, it’s realising that it’s not OK to be fine all the time, because that’s part of life.” Following Delirium’s touring cycle, Lacuna Coil almost missed their deadline to finish a follow-up – though Cristina says the pressure helped them produce some of their best work. “I think the rush helped us,” she explains. “Of course it’s not nice to have a deadline and know you have pressure on you, but at the same time if you don’t have deadlines, you’ll procrastinate. We’re Italians, we’re lazy bums sometimes, so we need a little pressure on us to help us push the velocity of things.”
While 2016’s Delirium was a concept album about a mental health institution, with each song a story told from a patient’s perspective, Black Anima is more about personal loss. “Black Anima is a journey,” says Cristina. “I really like the intensity of Apocalypse and I have a special place for Veneficium, because I tried to sing in Latin and it touched my heart in a special way. That’s the beauty of music; you can’t see or touch it but it comes from within.”
Delirium featured numerous guest spots, as guitarist Marco Biazzi left their ranks just two days before they entered the studio. Black Anima is the first to feature new axeman Diego Cavallotti and drummer Richard Meiz, marking a new era in the Milanese metallers’ 25-year history. While they’re moving forwards, they’re not
“I LEARNED TO WALK IN THE DARKNESS”
compromising on their dark, gothicmetal vision for the band.
“We don’t write for other people because it would be contrived,” Cristina says. “A record is still a product because you’re putting it out and trying to sell it to continue making music, but it’s still something you shouldn’t create as a product, because you have to put yourself into your music.”
While Lacuna Coil emphasise that fan responses don’t influence their material, it’s a challenge for any band to remain relevant nine albums in. Through the fresh devastation of Sword Of Anger and the brutal pace of Now Or Never, Black Anima
shows Lacuna Coil are bang up to date with the sound of modern metal.
“We like to live in the present while keeping an eye on the future without getting stuck in the past,” says Cristina. “Whatever we do is a representation of a period in time; we never try to reproduce the same thing, because whoever was listening at the time was also living in a different period. The best way is to give yourself to music the way you really are – it’s the only way to be sincere with yourselves and your fans.”
The band celebrated the release of Black Anima in September with a special listening party organised by Hammer
and the London Dungeon. They caught a glimpse of the positive fan reactions before fresh tracks Reckless and Layers Of Time crept into their live setlists.
“This is the very first time I haven’t seen any negativity about our album,” Cristina smiles. “There’s usually a small percentage of people criticising that we’re not the same or don’t sound like [2002 third album] Comalies, but I haven’t heard anything on this record and it’s surprised me immensely. What the fuck is going on? Usually when we play new songs onstage, people need time to digest them, but the participation is already there.”
With great numbers of albums comes great responsibility, especially with Lacuna Coil’s dedicated fanbase. The impact of the band’s output on listeners has been a recent revelation to Cristina Scabbia. “Now I really realise that we can help someone else with our music without even thinking about it, and it feels great,” she says. “When you get messages from people telling you that you helped them to go on, it’s a beautiful feeling. When I was going through hell, I used music to heal myself, so it’s great to know that we can be part of that for other people.”
With healing tunes, dark imagery and a heavy-as-fuck approach, Black Anima showed why Lacuna Coil are still a vital force.