LACUNA COIL's ANDREA FERRO: 'We Were Fortunate Enough To Grow Up In An Era When Bands Could Still Develop'

In a new interview with Angela Croudace of Australia's Heavy, LACUNA COIL co-vocalist Andrea Ferro spoke about the band's early success after forming nearly three decades ago in Milan, Italy. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's been very step by step. We've been fortunate enough to grow up in the era where bands could still develop. You didn't expect you to do one record and — boom — explode. There was no Internet, so it was a time where you have to go door by door, play every city, [do an] interview with every magazine, with every fanzine, and bring the name out, and then support this band, support that band and make your audience wider and grow album after album. So our success came on the third record, [2002's] 'Comalies', which was usually the classic make-it-or-break-it record. Back then the third record was the most important. It was the one that either it would bring you to another level of band or you're gonna stay where you are. So, luckily, that record was 'Comalies', and it really brought it to a much bigger level as a band."

He continued: "Italy, especially, it was hard because it is not the typical metal market in Europe. There's places like the U.K. or Scandinavia or Germany, which are much bigger than — the southern [parts] of Europe, like Spain, France, Italy, Greece, it's not as metal as the rest of Europe, but now it's changing, actually, especially France, maybe because of the success of bands like GOJIRA. It's become a much more solid market for metal. Spain is still growing, and Italy is also. For us, it's good because we are kind of a unique example, let's say. We are the first band to have kind of this international success, and in reflection of that, we got to do some more mainstream stuff also in Italy that brought us to a different level. But in general, Italy, it's still not as good as other places for metal, even for international bands. Some bands, in Germany they do arenas, maybe in Italy they do a club, because it's not as big as it is [in other places] — unless you're talking about METALLICA or IRON MAIDEN; those are names that always work no matter where. So it's been interesting to develop also. And I think nowadays there's more Italian bands that are able to tour and to make an international career, also [on the back of] our experience, because we kind of opened doors for everybody else.

Asked how it feels to be considered the frontrunners of the heavy metal scene in Italy, Andrea said: "It feels old. [Laughs] But we're still very curious people. That's why I think we still do this and we're still able to make some records that are still developing new crowds and still interesting for people because we are still very curious about music. We don't listen only to the classic bands, but we are also very curious about the newer bands. Our guitar player, bass player and drummer, they all produce underground bands, so they keep in contact with the different reality of the younger musicians nowadays, which is very different than when we started. And that help us keep an open ear and an open eye as well on what's the music nowadays. And for us, it's important, when we release a record, even if you realize it's LACUNA COIL, because we do have a certain sound, certain characteristics, but it still incorporates something that makes it a record that has sense in the contemporary world, that has meaning also nowadays. It's not something that just repeats a formula of the '90s or a formula of the early 2000s. It's that, but plus some more contemporary elements, because that's what we are as people… It's our classic sound, which we can't escape, obviously, because it's what we are, and we have been developing for many, many years. And I think we do have our unique sound that you can always recognize, [whether] you like it or not. And then we released a record in 2025, last year, and we want that record to make also sense in 2025, somehow."

LACUNA COIL recently announced the 2026 leg of the "Sleepless Empire" U.S. tour, which is set to start in March. Featuring special guests ESCAPE THE FATE, as well as VOWWS (March 24 - April 13) and AXTY (April 15 - April 29),the tour will kick off in New York on March 24 and conclude in Albany on May 1.

LACUNA COIL's latest album, "Sleepless Empire", came out in February 2025 via Century Media Records. Inspiration to create the LP came during the sessions for "Comalies XX" (2022),the acclaimed remake of LACUNA COIL's breakthrough third record "Comalies".

In October 2024, Italian guitarist/producer Daniele Salomone confirmed that he had joined LACUNA COIL as the replacement for the band's longtime guitarist Diego Cavallotti. Salomone made his live debut with LACUNA COIL on August 4, 2024 at the Rockstadt Extreme Fest in Râșnov, Romania.

In June 2024, LACUNA COIL announced Cavallotti's departure. Diego, who joined LACUNA COIL in 2016, initially as a fill-in guitarist following the exit of Marco "Maus" Biazzi, later said in a social media post that "this decision is not the result of my dissatisfaction or desire to explore new opportunities."

Cavallotti and Salomone played together in the Italian metal band INVERNO, which released its debut album, "Stasis", in December 2023.

Photo credit: Cunene