LACUNA COIL Singer SCABBIA: 'I'm A Woman And I'm Proud Of It'

Pete Richards of ChartAttack.com recently conducted an interview with LACUNA COIL frontwoman Cristina Scabbia. A few excerpts follow:

On "The Hottest Chicks In Metal" tour that includes five other bands with hot chicks: WITHIN TEMPTATION, THE GATHERING, IN THIS MOMENT, STOLEN BABIES and KYLESA:

"I think there's going to be a really positive vibe. Every band is really excited to be on tour and I think it's going to be fun — a lot of energy and a really good technical show."

"It's a common belief that if you have a woman in the band, or if you are a woman, you want to try to sell your image. As soon as I heard about all the bands taking part in this tour — they are all really talented and all the girls can really sing — I thought of it as a way to kill this kind of preconception with a funny name for the tour."

On not taking her sexy image too seriously because she knows she has the talent to back it up:

"It would be a different story if the band sucked or if the girl couldn't sing, but I know it's not like that. For some people it's like, you're using the female on the cover, you're using the female on the 'net, that means you're selling out. But what some people don't realize is that if the talent goes along with the look, then this is just something good."

On the fact that using a lead singer to sell bands isn't limited to female-fronted groups:

"Of course the music is 99 per cent of everything, but there is always a person behind it. There is always a presentation of the band and an image of the band that is really important.

"It's been important to almost every band so far, and I don't think you have to change it just because you're female, or be afraid to show that you are a woman just because people could think you're selling out because you're wearing a skirt. I don't really care. I'm a woman and I'm proud of it."