LACUNA COIL's CRISTINA SCABBIA On Coronavirus Crisis: 'The World Has Changed'

Earlier today (Saturday, May 9),LACUNA COIL singer Cristina Scabbia spoke to "Saturday Night Lockdown", the weekly video podcast hosted by Francesco Paoli of Italian orchestral death metallers FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE, about how she is dealing with the coronavirus crisis and what the touring circuit might look like post-pandemic.

Cristina, who lives in Italy — one of the hardest-hit countries by the coronavirus, which was the epicenter of the infection for most of March — said that she is angry at those who don't believe the virus is a threat.

"I wish people would understand that it is a bigger picture than just, like, 'Oh, I might not infected,'" she said. "I mean, it's an economical thing. The sooner we get to a sort of a normality, the sooner we will restart everything, and I'm thinking about not only music but everyone who has a job that can't work right now, because of all the restrictions. And that pisses me off even more, to think that there are people that don't care, that are so egotistical to think, like, 'Hey, whatever,' because they don't think about the big picture. It's discouraging."

Cristina went on to say that she is frustrated by the fact that she is unable to perform for LACUNA COIL fans during this unprecedented crisis.

"I miss the adrenaline. I miss it all. I miss the shows. I miss our crowds. I miss traveling. I miss everything about it," she said. "It feels weird to stay at home. In the beginning, I was almost enjoying the being-home thing, because I'm always away, so I started with this mindset: 'Okay, I'm home. I'm gonna do something else. I'm gonna reset my mind and maybe not even think about music, just for a complete reset.' So I started to play video games, to cook, to do other stuff — the stuff that all Italians did, basically.

"In the beginning, it was just, 'Okay, that's not bad," she continued. "It's kind of a vacation but with a preoccupation in your mind. But then, after a while, I was, like, man, I'm missing a part of my life that is so big. I've been doing this for more than 20 years now, and stopping everything all of a sudden, and not because of my own choice, felt so weird. And even not knowing when everything will restart, it confuses me. Because we if had a shop, if we had a restaurant, whatever, we would have an idea in mind: 'Maybe we can reopen with these conditions and maybe we can still work.' In our position, we don't even know when we're gonna start to work again, and [under] which conditions. Because if touring will be possible again, there are a lot of other problems that are included in the package. For instance, flights will be much more expensive because they will reduce the amount of people on every flight. So probably tickets will be way more expensive. And in case of a tour, you have to fly not only the band but also a crew, the equipment. So everything might be way more expensive."

She added: "The world has changed, and I feel that a lot of people didn't realize that [laughs] — yet."

Still, Scabbia believes that the demand for live music will be stronger than ever once coronavirus social distancing regulations are lifted.

"Everyone wants to go out and do something, so when everything will restart, there will definitely be a lot of people coming to gigs and enjoying restaurants and pubs and everything that is social and includes an allowed gathering of people," she said. "'Cause we're human beings — we like the human touch. We like to get in touch with other people and to interact. And at a concert, to me, it's mandatory to feel the energy, not only from the band but also from everyone coming to the gig. So I cannot imagine a gig where you have to stay far away from the others [due to social distancing requirements] and just be afraid to sing or to scream just because you're feeling the energy. I can't think about a concert like this. I understand that we need to find some other solutions in the meantime, but it's also very complicated for my simple mind to think about a concert made this way."

More than 218,000 people have been infected with the coronavirus in Italy, where LACUNA COIL is based, and more than 30,000 have died.

Lombardia, where LACUNA COIL's hometown of Milan is located, is the worst-affected region in the country.