CRISTINA SCABBIA Says LACUNA COIL 'Made A Big Mistake' With The Imagery For 2009's 'Shallow Life'

Metal Wani's Matthew Powers recently conducted an interview with vocalist Cristina Scabbia of Italian heavy rockers LACUNA COIL. You can listen to the full chat below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On LACUNA COIL's 2016 album "Delirium":

Cristina: "I think that everything went amazingly, because our old-school fans are happy; we got a lot of new fans coming to the gigs and are complimenting us on the record, which is always something amazing, even though we don't write music to please other people. You can only be honest, do what you like and then in a way, just wait for reactions. But I think that the new songs are killer, they work really well, especially on a live perspective, and it's always cool to see people singing the songs and going nuts during the shows. I couldn't be happier. Also, the fact that we have a new lineup made a big difference because there was a new energy and a new vibe in the band that everybody is seeing. Nobody is complaining about it; everybody is actually saying, 'Wow, it's great!'"

On whether LACUNA COIL ever experienced disagreements over musical direction with members who are now no longer in the band:

Cristina: "I think it was more of a technical problem. As I said, not that I'm saying the previous drummer wasn't as good as Ryan [Folden], but simply he had a different style that didn't really combine what we wanted to do. So now that we can do it, obviously, there are more chances for us to explore."

On whether LACUNA COIL will continue in the heavier direction of "Delirium" and whether the band would consider touring with more "extreme" bands as a result:

Cristina: "Why not? We love, speaking of bills, during shows, we love when every band is doing something different. We don't want to put together packages where every band is playing the same thing over and over because from our side it's more interesting if you can see bands that are doing something different and maybe find out something new. About the future, I don't know because the inspiration for 'Delirium' came from real life and experiences that we were living, so the music came natural because of what we were living in those years. I can't tell what the future will bring. We will write about the experiences that we will have in the moment when we start songwriting. Who knows?"

On avoiding stagnation:

Cristina: "Some people don't appreciate [change], because they want the same formula over and over. They like one thing and they want to produce the same feeling over and over. For example, you have a favorite record, but it might be your favorite record because you also associate a song to a specific moment of your life. That happens to me. I have some favorite records that are not recorded well where the singer is singing completely out of tune and the quality of the recording sucks, but they are my favorite record because I remember when I was doing this and that at that period of my life, I was free of thought, I had no problems and I was going with my friends. I feel connected with all of that. I don't understand why someone wants the same thing over and over from bands. Obviously, if you are a metal band and then you put out a techno record, then it's wrong because that's too much."

On 2009's "Shallow Life", which received criticism for its streamlined direction:

Cristina: "I think there are some very good songs on 'Shallow Life', but I also understand why some people didn't like it. I also think that we made a big mistake in delivering the image of that record because the purpose of this record was kind of to make fun of a more superficial world, but a lot of people didn't understand the pictures. For example, me and Andrea [Ferro, vocals] are dressed as a pop princess and a rap guy, and everybody thought that we changed our image. We thought we were being too complicated in delivering, at least the visuals. Of course, we will not change the songwriting, but at least we can deliver an image in the proper way, maybe the message will be clearer. I think that was a bad mistake, more than musically."

On her approach to her image on social media:

Cristina: "I deeply, deeply, deeply hate lies and I think it's really important to show your real self, especially nowadays that everybody is so influenced on social media. They always see you perfect or see you happy, but that's not how it is. That's not how it always is. I want to show, let's call it the 'perfect side' when I post a picture from a photo shoot when your skin is shining and there are no defects and you look stunning with a wig on. But I also want to show a picture with no makeup and stuff I do every day. Because that's how you are; you're not perfect, but you're perfect with your imperfections because every single human is unique and there is no one else just like you. Because of that, you're fucking special."

Scabbia and Ferro revealed to the Brazilian metal channel Heavy Talk earlier in the year that they were planning "something special" to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the release of their self-titled debut EP.

LACUNA COIL will join Dutch symphonic metal giants EPICA on the North American leg of the band's "The Ultimate Principle" tour. The month-long September trek marks the band's first U.S. tour dates in over a year, as they continue to support "Delirium". Joining LACUNA COIL and EPICA on "The Ultimate Principle" tour are INSOMNIUM and ELANTRIS.

LACUNA COIL in December released a new song called "Naughty Christmas". The front cover and font were all created by bassist Marco "Maki" Coti-Zelati.

"Delirium" entered The Billboard 200 chart at position No. 33 with first-week sales of just over 13,000 units — nearly all from pure album sales. The set followed the No. 27-peaking "Broken Crown Halo", which also opened with around 13,000 copies back in 2014.