INTERVIEW WITH LACUNA COIL
The metal world is a male dominated society and it always has been. Over the last 10 to 12 years, however, women have become much more prominent on the scene and are no longer stuck in the background. Do you the roles of women in rock and metal need to be discussed at length since it’s not something that’s special or unique anymore?
Cristina: When we started – and that was 15 years ago – there weren’t so many bands with females in their line-ups. It was The Gathering, Theatre Of Tragedy, Within Temptation, and us. Other than that I can’t really recall any other bands doing that. Now it seems to be a common thing, which is why I find the question overrated. Everywhere you these days you’ll find a female in the line-up. That’s the case in all sub categories of metal these days, so I don’t think it’s a weird thing. Obviously, being a woman in a band, you get a lot of attention because you’re the different element. Loot at television commercials; even if the ad is selling tires a woman will be in there somewhere because she gets people’s attention.
What are your thoughts on bands or record companies focusing on the woman in a band in order to sell the music?
I understand their point of view because whether you have an amazing relationship with your record label or not, for them you’re a product. I think it’s pretty normal for them to try and push the elements that sell better for the company. I know it sounds weird to say that because we’re artists and that’s not our point of view. I totally understand the labels’ point of view, though, because they have to make a living from the art of their bands. The visual part of it is really important, and that’s why they push it. The only thing is that, anyone who buys a record doesn’t do so because of the cool image. If you want something to look at, you buy a magazine or download pictures from the internet. As a band you have to be able make a balance. You can have the look, because it’s an important theatrical part of your art, but it’s also important to justify being out there through your music and your performance.
It’s still early in the release of Dark Adrenaline, but what it your general impression of how the album has been received?
Andrea: We’ve gotten great reactions from the fans on the internet and the ones we’ve met on tour. They’re very enthusiastic and we’re really happy about that. When we play the new single ‘Trip The Darkness’ live, everybody knows the songs already and they sing along, which is pretty cool.
Lacuna Coil hasn’t sounded like a gothic band for years, yet the label still follows you around. How do you feel about that, and how do you think Dark Adrenaline will be perceived?
Andrea: We can play ballads and gothic stuff, but we feel most comfortable playing the energetic stuff, which is why the new album sounds the way it does. We’ve always been labeled a gothic band because when we started that’s what we were into that, especially on the first album. When you’re doing that first album, I think you end up trying to sound like your favourite bands. And, we came up in the time of Theatre Of Tragedy, The Gathering and Paradise Lost, so I think it’s only natural that they inspired us. But, with experience you learn to make it yours and explore where you can take it. We’ve always been open-minded people, so even when we were gothic fans we were also into traditional or more aggressive metal, or experimental bands like Meshuggah. Our sound has been influenced by a lot of different elements, and now I think those elements make Lacuna Coil what it is. For example, in the past we didn’t have the right songs to include guitar solos. It’s not that we were against having them. Maybe it’s because we are coming from the gothic metal scene, where it’s not that common to have fast songs or lead guitar. Now the music fits better to that kind of style.
