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It’s been 15 years since Lacuna Coil, which the band has described as meaning ‘Empty Spiral’, originally formed in Milan, Italy. In those years they’ve toured the world many times over and released 5 albums. Their sixth album “Dark Adrenaline”, will be released in the US on January 24th. We recently had a chance to talk to Cristina Scabbia about evolution, musicianship and longevity.

Brian: You guys are prepared to release your sixth full length album, Dark Adrenaline. After having fifteen years as a band and five albums under your belt, what do you find yourselves doing differently in the song writing process than when you wrote the songs for, say, In a Reverie?

Cristina: Evolution is part of life, you grow up, you do different things, the influences coming from the outside are multiple and you can’t just be the same person as you were a decade before.
You live and learn. For our music it is the same, we are better musicians now. We are more confident in ourselves and the fact that we can be free to experiment different ways to express ourselves without barriers. We learned to not to squeeze a thousand riffs into one song because we don’t need to prove we’re technical enough. We just want to let our hearts and souls speak for us in a direct way, bringing out the essence and the message we want to deliver for ourselves.

Brian: Shallow Life was in my opinion the most musically experimental Lacuna Coil album to date. Do you consider Dark Adrenaline to be more experimental musically, or did you find yourself going to back to your roots on it?

Cristina: I think that more than experimental, Shallow Life was showing more of our rock side. Dark Adrenaline is going back to our metal style. It’s heavier and more obscure than any of our albums and the old school Lacuna Coil fans will feel a lot in common to the signature sound of our roots.
It’s the bridge between the old and the new; it’s a trip into the darkness to try to find the light.

Brian: I was surprised to see the cover of REM’s Losing My Religion on the track listing! What made you choose that song to cover?

Cristina: The idea of covering Losing My Religion had already been there for a couple of years. We were considering songs from respected bands that we liked, and the lyrics of this song were fitting perfectly with the concept of the album. Plus the music and the arrangements totally make this song a Lacuna Coil song… With REM’s lyrics!

Brian: This marks your second time in the studio with Don Gilmore. With Dark Adrenaline a bit of a departure from Shallow Life, did the band find itself having to consciously work to keep the direction of the album cohesive and heading where intended or was it a natural direction?

Cristina: It wouldn’t be right to compare or connect every album we’ve done, because even if we worked with Don twice, the direction and sound of Shallow life and Dark Adrenaline are massively different. You also have to consider that every producer we worked with, in our case, is a person who helped us out to take the best out of the songs we wrote without even being in their presence. So it’s always been a band effort, with extra help. We never really thought too much if our music was the logical evolution of what we did before. We just always translated with notes and lyrics what Lacuna Coil is or was at the time of every album we did.

Brian: The first single from the album, Trip The Darkness, was released in America on October 18th. After a few listens, I feel it would be right at home on Karmacode. Do you consider the song a return to form or just the direction the band went?

Cristina: I wouldn’t call it a “return” just because it wasn’t something we planned on purpose.The songs we wrote during our career are parts of ourselves; you can’t take this away from us. That’s why part of these inputs and inspirations are coming back  unconsciously, sometimes. They don’t belong to one of our phases or an album, but to us as artists and musicians.

Brian: Lacuna Coil is an enduring name in Metal. What do you attribute your longevity to?

Cristina: I guess there’s not a common recipe for keeping the longevity of a band, but I think Lacuna Coil has been around for a while because we always tried to keep our music fresh to our ears and we never close ourselves in a cliché. We always worked as a band in an extensive team effort because we are all working for the same goals. And we are all friends in real life.  That means that if there is a problem we face it and solve it, just like in a great family.

Brian: You’re supporting Megadeth on Gigantour starting January 26th, along with Motorhead. How does it feel to return to the US on such a prestigious tour and how do you find American crowds in contrast to European?

Cristina: I already know it’s going to be fun! We toured with Megadeth before on Gigantour and we’ve been surrounded by a fantastic atmosphere. This year the package is very interesting and everyone is playing a different type of music, so it’s not going to be boring at all! Can’t wait to start! Crowds are not that different… It always depends on the event. Maybe Americans are a little less “sectorial” than Europeans, in metal.

Brian: Having toured the world so extensively, what bands have been your favorite to tour with?

Cristina: We had so many amazing experiences on the road and we played and partied with great artists from Iron Maiden to Metallica, from Rob Zombie to Anthrax, but the best tour we did and we’ll remember forever was with Type O Negative. Not only have they been one of the main bands we’ve taken our inspiration from, but they are great people we love and we loved to hang out with. Losing Peter Steele was a complete shock for us, but his legacy will be with us, forever.

Brian: Thanks for taking the time to do this interview, we at Upstate Metal wish you the best of luck and continued success with the new album and tour!

Cristina: Thank you! Hope to see you on the road, with Dark Adrenaline!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3dKSpPRVgc&w=560&h=315]

For more information on Lacuna Coil, visit them online!
http://www.facebook.com/lacunacoil
http://www.lacunacoil.it
http://www.twitter.com/lacuna_coil
http://www.myspace.com/lacunacoil
http://www.youtube.com/lacunacoil

-Brian Lawrence

Buffalo based Mutant Suicide Squad is going to rip your head off! Not literally, but you catch the drift. This band in it’s early stages of development, has something to prove to all of you…and they surely will! Steeped in the Horror based Punk and Hardcore styles of some past greats, the band is growing musically on a daily basis. One listen to the Reverb Nation page will give you the idea of the possibilities that lie within.

Although, the recordings are raw and of an un-studio like quality, you can see what the band is aiming to do. I can not wait to see the results. The live show is where the band is going to make their impression for the time being. They dress the part, they rage with theatrics, and they destroy the audience. I was highly excited to find a band with this kind of vision in the Upstate scene. There are few and far between. So I had to get their take on things, and see what can we expect next from these guys. If you are not familiar, I introduce you to the Mutant Suicide Squad!

Erik: Who are your biggest musical influences? How did your involvement in creating music begin?

Izzy Deadly: I have a wide variety of musical influences but for this project, the two main ones would be The Ramones and Misfits. I grew up in the 90’s back when 103.3 The Edge was called The Fox. It was a good time for music. I was always trying to start bands with my friends. Even if it was just banging on an empty pop corn can or strumming ferociously on a makeshift guitar built out of cardboard with rubber bands serving as strings. I’ve gotten a little better since those days.

Jez A. Disaster: Misfits, Ramones, Riverdales, The Riptides, Deftones, Johnny Cash, and other influences. Some are oldies from 50’s & 60’s. My involvement in music began when I was a child. I often wrote lyrics and made up melodies to them. There were periods where I went a few years without writing, but here I am writing again. I never imagined I would be doing it again let alone doing it for a band.

Dirty Horror: I’ve been playing since I was a little kid in the early 90’s in groups that were more like bands that never made it out of the garage and did not last very long. Myself and Izzy have been playing music together since late Summer of 2006. So far we have collaborated together in 3 bands (Sprung Corpses, Aaron Omen and Mutant Suicide Squad). In Buffalo there’s really not much around when it comes to musicians of this style of punk rock. Me and Izzy have always collaborated very well together and I think in this band we are doing the absolute best we have ever done. As a drummer I didn’t have to change much of what I usually do and that’s pretty comfortable for me. Though I’m always up for a challenge within certain limits.

Erik:  How did the band come together originally, and what have been your biggest struggles in the early stages of the band?

Izzy: It originally started when me and Jez jokingly said maybe we should start a band together. Shortly after, we’d hang out, drink beer and play songs we both knew. It started to progress into playing open mics. Once we started making up originals, we figured it was time to start looking for band members. Considering this is still the very early stages of the band, we are currently trying to find a couple more members to complete the line up.

Jez: We are still in our early stages of development. At first, it was hard to find ways to play out. At the time we could not find a drummer who had similar taste in music.

Dirty Horror: Izzy got a hold of me awhile back asking if I’d be interested in playing bass for his and Jez’s project. At first I was hesitant because we all have our bumps with former band members but then I just said fuck it and said I’m in. After around that time Izzy got a hold of his friend Joe and started recording the three originals. Within days the demo was done and sent to me to learn and get a feel for the songs on bass. I called him up the next day and said I’m ready and did bass for a few practices while we were going over ideas for the songs and auditioning drummers. Shortly thereafter I moved to drums since it’s hard to find a drummer or a reliable musician where we live, especially for a sound you already got in mind of what you want. For all of us the waiting for even a decent drummer was tiring. I have my kit at my practice space and I play well so I just thought it would be better for the band, and it has been.

Erik:  The songs on the ReverbNation page are raw, but show a brutal display of power! I think the potential is endless. What are your future plans with recording and are you currently working on getting something together?

Izzy: The songs on the Reverbnation page are an unofficial demo and should probably never have been posted for anyone to hear. but as Bill O Reilly would say- Fuck it, we’ll do it live! We do have plans for recording in the very near future.

Jez: Our future plan is to definitely do a professional recording when we have created more music. This is something we are currently working on.

Dirty Horror: I’m hoping to actually be on a recording. [Laughs]. Those recordings on the page are of a fellow band mate from our Sprung Corpses/Aaron Omen days Eareckson who’s playing drums on that demo and he also filled in for bass for one recent gig. At the time, I was going to do bass and Izzy and Jez were in the process of recording the demo for me to learn the songs. . We have more tunes done now and are still in the process of working on some new ones. You’re gonna love’em or hate’em. Either way, you’ll still be a fan.

Erik:  What are your favorite venues to play?

Izzy:  I’ll have to get back to you on that seeing as how we haven’t played an actual show with a full line up yet. But from past experiences I don’t think I have any favorites. I think it just depends.

Jez: We have used open mic nights as practice to prepare for live shows.

Dirty Horror: I always loved Mohawk Place. It’s a great venue downtown where we live and where we practice upstairs. The Fallout Shelter in Aliquippa, PA was a great place to play. I hope to play there again soon. So stay tuned.

Erik: The Horror/Punk/Hardcore scene is also a great place of morbidly beautiful art and theatrics. What is the most appealing thing about not only creating the music, but creating a vibe that people will latch onto artistically?

Izzy: I just think its fun to do. Plain and simple. We could be the average band or look and act like weirdos. I think, weirdos suits us the most.

Jez: The most appealing thing about creating the music is being in an atmosphere where we can just be ourselves.

Dirty Horror: We’ve always been huge fans of The Misfits and similar horror type of bands. However there are some good ones and some awful ones. I personally got tired of a lot of the “bad Danzig imitators” around in the genre. That’s what I like with this one. Jez’s voice is different than bands like The Creepshow, Zombina and The Skeletones or The Spookshow do. Vocally it shows so much potential and skill without sounding like a current day pop diva. She’s got talent that’ll blow people away and with all our back ups we really bring in a tight sound. I like how we’re not limiting ourselves with different types of sounds and styles of music that range from pop-punk, thrash, hardcore punk even 1950’s sounding old time rock n’ roll. I love what we’re doing and only hope we keep at it and still have fun. We got a look down. In this type of band I feel it’s important to have that rather than just going up in street clothes or something like that. It gives a vibe to the audience of what they’re in for and  they will be surprised what we play in the process. Next to the splattering of blood from us [Laughs].

Erik:  What are the band’s goals in the next year?

Izzy: To keep creating the type of music that we want to hear. Aside from that, the future is a mystery.

Jez: Making more music, and getting more out there.

Dirty Horror: To continue making music together and infecting it upon the minds of our listeners keeping the nightmare alive on stage. I hope we hit up more out of town and out of state gigs soon when the weather clears up a little bit. That’ll spread it faster than playing the same old venue once or twice a month. Locally, there’s no other band similar to us in our area and that’s both cool and in some ways it sucks. Here, some bands and promoters are really picky of who they put on a bill for a gig. I feel this band really has something and together we’re really going to open some eyes. Get ready.

For more information on Mutant Suicide Squad-
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mutant-Suicide-Squad/132237720211212

-Erik Jensen