LACUNA COIL's ANDREA FERRO Says Former Members Lost Their 'Passion' For The Band

Inside The Mosh and Xpress Radio conducted an interview with vocalist Andrea Ferro of Italian heavy rockers LACUNA COIL prior to the band's November 10 show at the Marble Factory in Bristol, England. You can watch the full chat below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On blending old influences with new on LACUNA COIL's recent "Delirium" album:

Andrea: "Every step we've taken in our career, we have changed a little bit, or in sound, but always in a way you can recognize the trademarks of the band. Even if this record is heavier and has more double-bass or more growled vocals, there's still the balance between the two voices, me and Cristina [Scabbia]; the harsh parts and the melodic parts. There's still dark atmosphere in the music. It is different, but definitely everything connects in the same line. We definitely have established our sound. No matter what kind of direction we take, we can go a bit more rock, a bit more metal on some other albums, but in general, we have our defined style."

On why critics and fans seem to appreciate the band:

Andrea: "Yeah, our music has a wide variety of tastes. Even if you like more melodic stuff, you have something, and if you like more heavy stuff, you have something as well. We always have this balance that fits pretty well for any kind of audience. That's why we usually have people of every age at our shows — some are very young, like the new generation and also people our age or older. That's pretty important for us because it's good to have this kind of appeal to all different people. It's music for mature people, but also for the new generation of fans. Sometimes we have more metal people, sometimes more people who listen to rock music, so it's good to have a variety of people who can sing to the songs, but also do a little jumping or I don't know what to say…a mosh pit, but some kind of stuff like that. It's cool to have both."

On what he likes to see from a LACUNA COIL crowd:

Andrea: "I think the crowd is the one who makes the show. You can sing better or worse; you can hear yourself better or worse on certain stages or with certain technical equipment, but, what really makes the show is the interaction between the band and the crowd. If the crowd responds to the songs, singing along, and really interacts with the band, that's when you have a special show that everybody is going to remember, both us and the people. When you have a show with only the band playing really well but the crowd is just listening, it's cool, but it's not a show to remember. I think there needs to be some deeper involvement from both parties to become a special show so you will remember it and we will cherish it as an artist, but also, people will say 'That night, I really had fun. I really sang my voice [out]. I really enjoyed being there and had a unique experience.' Sometimes after you do a lot of shows and concerts, you take it for granted, like it's another day and another city, concert, but now we're a bit older, we appreciate the fact people are coming out to see us for one night and they spend their money in a very hard market when you have shows every day, or almost every day. People spend money on it, or they buy a t-shirt. They really come out and support a band and want to be here and don't take it for granted. When you're younger, you kind of say, 'Okay, another city, another show.' But now we appreciate every show. We try to make every single night — whether you're tired or not — a special event for everybody."

On dealing with internal changes to the band:

Andrea: "Sometimes it's necessary, even if it's not easy and you say, 'I don't want to go through the process and find new people.' But, in the end, it's very stimulating and you recognize you're having somebody on board who is fresh and really wants to be there. It's very important, even if it's a pain in the ass, but it will be very important for the future of the band."

On if recent lineup changes have rejuvenated LACUNA COIL:

Andrea: "Yes, especially if somebody in the band or even outside in the entourage of the band loses their passion for it, or just settles on something else, then it's really frustrating for you that you really want to push this project. You need people that have at least the same strength that you have, if not even more. That happened with the band members. We changed in the past couple of years and it was not easy because we've been with those guys for a long time. We did most of our history with them, and we're friends, but obviously, people want to take different directions in life and you have to respect that. Now that we have new people onboard, we really appreciate the energy they bring to the band."

On what's left on the band's to-do list:

Andrea: "There's always new stuff, especially since this business is changing so fast and so radically since downloading kicked in, and now streaming has kicked in. The way business is done is different. Live shows are way more important and polishing is important. Record sales are not that important and charts aren't important either. It's changed a lot. Even for us, we have to go with the flow. Now social media is very important, so you have to have a big presence there. It's exciting in one way, but it's way more work on the other hand, but there's so many things we can still achieve. We can still go places we haven't been; we haven't played in Africa. It would be cool to play South Africa, or Israel, or some Arabian countries. That would be cool. There's still a lot to do. We always look forward; we have a new project coming out around Christmas. There's always something new."

"Delirium" was released on May 27 through Century Media. The CD was recorded at BRX Studio in Milan between December 2015 and February 2016. The effort was produced by LACUNA COIL bassist and main songwriter Marco "Maki" Coti-Zelati, with engineering by Marco Barusso and additional assistance from Dario Valentini. Coti-Zelati also created the artwork for "Delirium", which is based on an atmospheric session captured by Italian photographer Alessandro Olgiati.