Archive for Cristina Scabbia

Lacuna Coil – Broken Crown Halo

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , on 24th March 2014 by Mickelrath

Lacuna Coil
Broken Crown Halo
Released 31st March 2014
Gothic Metal/Pop Metal
Released via Century Media

To be perfectly honest, I have had an on-off relationship with Lacuna Coil over the years and was seriously impressed with the 2012 release “Dark Adrenaline”, because of this, I was hoping that this was the start of them coming back to the more Gothic sounding symphonic metal rather than the alt. rock sound they’d been going with, but, this isn’t the case with Broken Crown Halo.  It’s another rock record, which is fine, but this leaves little the atmosphere, the tone and overall makes you wish for something a little extra.

Although it’s not what I was expecting, there is still a lot to like with this album, it starts quite well with the song Nothing Stands in Our Way.  A nice opener with a heavy tone and some cool synth in the back of the production, it’s almost a throwback to the previous album.  Then it goes downhill and fast with onslaught of, quite frankly, lazy sounding music and there is nothing to keep you invested in the songs.  At times there is interesting, even beautiful imagery in the lyrics such as in Hostage to the Light and it’s that imagery that kept me somewhat hooked into the album as the music itself was lackluster.  The band have said “We’ve always been fascinated by the differences and comparisons between real life and fairy tales, and on this album we decided to mix the two worlds when writing our lyrics”  and they do manage to write this in to some of the songs to great effect, giving a sense of wonder, however the music never complements it.

It is only by the halfway point of the album that I become interested in the music again, particularly with the song I Forgive (But I Won’t Forget Your Name), it’s only by this track that the actual music captures my interest rather than the lyrics alone and it seems they keep building on it as the last part of the album is really good.  Sure, there is nothing ground-breaking, but there seems to be a passion during these song.  I became fascinated with the tonal shift, the synth wasn’t just there to sound pretty, it creates an atmosphere whilst the guitars drive the songs forward.

If I were to recommend any of the tracks, definitely check out Infection & In The End I Feel Alive, simply put, these are the two track I found the most interesting.  They are not just throwing old sounds at you nor are the songs boring.  The lyrics are deep and I feel show off what the band was trying to achieve with this album the best.

As one of the bigger names signed to Century Media records they show no sign of slowing down now, this being their seventh record and although this wasn’t the dark and Gothic symphonic metal I had hoped for, it is still a good album.  This is by no means is this a good “jumping on point” if you have never listened to Lacuna Coil before, but the fans of the band and the genre there is clever imagery and enough of a heavy tone to keep your interest.

3/5

Mick Birchall

Lacuna Coil online:

http://lacunacoil.it
http://facebook.com/lacunacoil
http://twitter.com/lacuna_coil
http://myspace.com/lacunacoil
http://youtube.com/lacunacoil

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Three more bands confirmed for Bloodstock

Posted in News with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on 28th November 2013 by Hannah

Lacuna Coil, Carcass and Primordial have been announced as the latest acts on an increasingly epic bill for Bloodstock Open Air 2014!

Italian metallers Lacuna Coil will be bringing their sonic wall of Gothic-tinged sound to Catton Hall for the second time, performing the Ronnie James Dio stage on the Saturday. Frontwoman Cristina Scabbia reflected on their return with a sneak peek of what fans can expect from their set:

“It will be LACUNA COIL’s second time there and I’m curious to see how the festival has grown.  We will have songs from the new album and some LC classics, so see ya all in the summer!”

The legendary Carcass will be acting as Saturday’s Special Guests , and after their triumphant debut release with Nuclear Blast, Surgical Steel, gained wide acclaim and rave reviews, they have promised to be ‘firing on all cylinders’ with their set. Also announced are Irish gaelic metal outfit Primordial, returning after a victorious set in 2011. This may be one of your only opportunities to catch them next year, so don’t miss it. All three bands join an exceptional roster including Emperor, Down, Megadeth, Saxon and Amon Amarth, and with Early Bird tickets selling fast, it might be time to secure your place at what is promising to be the metal event of the year.

As Jeff Walker commands, “Let there be rot!”

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Lacuna Coil in studio to record follow-up to Dark Adrenaline

Posted in News with tags , , , , , , , on 11th September 2013 by Nico Solheim-Davidson, the North Sea Poet

Inspired by the massive amount of positive feedback for Dark Adrenaline, Italian symphonic goth rockers Lacuna Coil are now in the studio to record the follow up to their 2012 release Dark Adrenaline. The Italian sextet recently started the recording process for the upcoming album with producer Jay Baumgardner, who has worked with a list of renowned and diverse acts that includes Papa Roach, Evanescence, Sevendust and P.O.D. Following the first days of recording, the band’s vocalist Cristina Scabbia happily commented:

I am so excited to work on new stuff… I am sure a lot of people will be mesmerized by the cinematic vibe of the new album that’s underway. I’m very happy to have the chance to work with Jay. Not only is he a pro in what he does, but I am just loving the fact we are going to experiment with new sounds and are getting a different point of view about our art. We’re swamped with the music already… Lacuna Coil is back baby!

Co-vocalist Andrea Ferro also commented:

We met Jay a few years ago in L.A. and had a really positive feeling about him, as he has produced and mixed some of my favourite records and some very relevant rock/metal albums. We have decided to work with him, because he has the ability to work together with the band towards a common vision without driving the band away from their sound.  In the studio there is the right energy that allows common people to achieve uncommon results!

Guitarist Cristiano “Pizza” Migilore also had something positive to say:

Yeah, and we’re very excited about finally recording new songs –  and I can assure you that the new stuff kicks ass!

Lacuna Coil will also be joining Paradise Lost on their 25th anniversary tour next around the UK. Dates are as follow:

30.10.2013 (UK) Wolverhampton – Wulfrun Hall
31.10.2013 (UK) Glasgow – O2 ABC
01.11.2013 (UK) Manchester – Ritz
03.11.2013 (UK) London – Roundhouse

Lacuna Coil online:

http://www.lacunacoil.it
https://www.facebook.com/lacunacoil
http://www.myspace.com/lacunacoil
http://www.twitter.com/lacuna_coil

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Paradise Lost celebrate 25th anniversary with special guests Lacuna Coil

Posted in Featured, News with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on 21st May 2013 by Nico Solheim-Davidson, the North Sea Poet

Thirteen albums into Paradise Lost‘s 25 year career, namedropping is pointless. The only band they can and should be held up against for comparison and consideration is… Well… Paradise Lost.

With a career dating back to 1988, and their official recording debut in 1990 (Lost Paradise), the band has been riding and rollercoaster of highs and lows. Guitarist Aaron Aedy remembers the early days:

I remember our first rehearsal at Studio X in the Dean Clough complex of Halifax, it was Saturday March 26th between the hours of one and four pm. We had a few ideas flying around and managed to write our first opus ‘Blood-filled-eyes’ and start our 2nd ‘Plains of Desolation’, I can only describe these songs as unique.

Afterwards we all went to the pub after to celebrate. Three and a half months later we were playing live, supporting Acid Reign and Re-Animator at the legendary Frog and Toad Night Club in Bradford. We had a 30 minute slot and only 15 minutes of music so we played one song twice, attempted a Sodom cover we hadn’t even learned and Nick [Holmes, vocals] did his stand up for the rest of it.

Throughout their career, Paradise Lost have not only created and defined genres and styles, but almost immediately transcended them. From the crawling, harrowing doom of their 1990 debut Lost Paradise, to the electronic flourishes prevalent in 1997’s One Second, 1999’s Host and 2007’s comeback to the heavier side of metal In Requiem and the latest opus Tragic Idol in 2012, their sound has continued to evolve vastly, but haunting melody and dark rock power has remained at the very core of their identity.

In 1991 the band released Gothic, not so much an album title as the definition for an entire genre, while the influence 1995’s huge-selling masterpiece Draconian Times – the missing link between Metallica and the Sisters of Mercy – echoes loudly in today’s scene, with the likes of Cradle of Filth, Nightwish and HIM owing a huge debt to their knack for injecting heavy rock with their trademark dark sheen.

Now it’s time to celebrate 25 years of glamour and gloom with four anniversary shows in October to which the band have invited their friends Lacuna Coil. Another, very special guest, will be announced shortly for those dates.

Paradise Lost anniversary shows:

Oct 30th – Wolverhampton – Wulfrun Hall (www.wolvescivic.co.uk)
Oct 31st – Glasgow – ABC (www.ticketweb.co.uk)
Nov 1st – Manchester – Ritz (www.kililive.com)
Nov 3rd – London – Roundhouse (www.kililive.com)

Tickets go on pre-sale Wednesday 22nd May and general sale Friday 24th May and a special VIP package is available to buy (limited to 25 per venue) which includes:

  • An exclusive deluxe box containing 2 engraved beer glasses featuring all the bands album titles and crown of thorns logo.
  • Exclusive VIP Only T-Shirt with artwork from the forthcoming Tragic Illusion album.
  • A 180 gram vinyl copy of the reissued landmark Gothic, personally signed by all the band members.
  • Crown of Thorns Tote Bag
  • VIP lanyard and laminate allowing you access to the show
  • Early access to the show
  • Meet and greet with the band
  • Photo opportunity with the band (please bring your own camera)

Nick had this to say about the forthcoming anniversary shows:

25 years IS a long time, on the surface we may look ramshackled, but playing music for so many years has kept us young in our hearts and I truly believe that a youthful spirit is one of the greatest things you can’t buy in a pub.

We have written many albums, played many concerts; we are older and not really any wiser, but there is a strong possibility we may play a song you thought we never would. So please come along and join the celebrations with us, including our biggest UK headline show to date!

Lacuna Coil’s frontwoman Cristina adds:

Paradise Lost were in between the bands that strongly influenced me as a singer, when I started my career with Lacuna Coil, so it is just awesome for me to realise we’ll share the stage with them on this upcoming tour.

I am sure that the dark vibe coming from the stage will totally embrace old school and new fans making it an event you absolutely CAN’T miss! Boy, I can’t wait!

Stay tuned for more exciting anniversary announcements including a special audio surprise for fans!

Paradise Lost online:

http://www.paradiselost.co.uk
http://facebook.com/paradiselostofficial

Lacuna Coil online:

http://www.lacunacoil.it
http://www.twitter.com/lacuna_coil
http://www.myspace.com/lacunacoil
http://www.youtube.com/lacunacoil
http://www.facebook.com/lacunacoil

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Lacuna Coil FOH Russia pics

Posted in Misc. with tags , , , on 18th October 2012 by Nico Solheim-Davidson, the North Sea Poet

Front of House photos from Lacuna Coil’s recent stint in Russia:

Pictures by Richard Wolfgang. Also, thanks to Mikey Bolton for sending them in.

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Lost Effect – Salvation Of One

Posted in Review with tags , , , , , , , , on 20th December 2011 by Nico Solheim-Davidson, the North Sea Poet

Band: Lost Effect
Album: Salvation Of One EP
Release year: N/A
Genre: Melodic Metal/Femme Metal/Yorkshire Metal

Hailing from the historic city of York (well, near York), come female fronted melodic metallers Lost Effect. Formed in 2008, the Yorkshire quintet have grown to fame in the North Yorkshire area, supporting acts such as Cryptic Age and Morpheus Rising. Following the departure of former frontwoman Beth Parkinson, Emily Burt joined the band in September. Since then, Lost Effect have gone to record their new upcoming EP “Salvation Of One”.

The first track of the EP is none other than the title track “Salvation Of One”. While Lost Effect have a modern sound, I was surprised to hear a hint of classic metal influences in Steven’s guitar work. The keyboard melodies by Dave work wonders alongside the guitar riffs. The biggest shock I found with this track was the eerie similarities between Emily’s vocals and those of Cristina Scabbia. Dave’s vocal work reinforces the Lacuna Coil-like sound of the vocal sections.

“Whispers” is the longest track of the EP, featuring a very symphonic sounding introduction, similar to that of bands such as Epica and After Forever. The bass work is damn powerful with its strength being reinforced by the hypnotic drum work of Pete. The ‘beauty and the beast’ vocals create a very Gothic sound but the song retains its metal sound. The EP comes to its grand finale with “Martyr”, bringing the thunder back after the softer melodic intro section. Though being a heavier track, there is still a sweet use of melodic riffs that blend well with Emily’s vocals. However, I will admit that I found some of the guitar work towards the end a tad bland.

It’s always nice to see more female fronted metal bands appearing on the metal scene, especially in the UK. Though I don’t think “nice” is the correct word to use for Lost Effect. “Salvation Of One” is one of the best releases to come out of the British metal scene. Though the vocal work is similar to that of Lacuna Coil, Lost effect have done well retain their own unique sound considering how many influences the members have. Epica, Lacuna Coil and maybe Within Temptation fans should definitely give “Salvation Of One” a listen.

4.8/5

Nico Davidson

Don’t forget, Lost Effect are playing the Valkyrian Music Birthday Bash 25th February @ Hollywood & Vine, Hull. Entry is free.

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Leaves’ Eyes @ Manchester Academy [Live Review]

Posted in Gig, Live with tags , , , , , , on 24th October 2011 by Nico Solheim-Davidson, the North Sea Poet

Bands: Leaves’ Eyes, Stream Of Passion, Awake By Design
Location: Manchester Academy, Manchester
Date: 20th October 2011

I have no idea why Awake by Design were touring with Leaves’ Eyes and Stream of Passion I think the tour would have been better, but not only that they didn’t have any of the same elements that the other two bands offered. With low communication between the band and the audience it was probably good that they had a short set (only a couple of songs) though to be fair the amount of space that they were given – which was next to none – they just had enough to fit the band on and off, which maybe they could of done better with a bit more space.

In 2007 Stream of Passion had to cancel part of their European tour, one part of this tour was in the UK when immigration denied Stream of Passion from entering the UK on suspicions that they were coming here to actually settle in the UK illegally, each member was separated and questioned but despite providing the legal documents they were unable to come over to the UK, that was 4 years ago and Stream of Passion hadn’t even announced a UK yet they talked about returning until the original support act Visions of Atlantis had to cancel their shows in the UK, Czech and France because of Mario Plank voice problems but seemed to be able to make it for their MFVF where they will be shooting there live DVD.

Stream of Passion opened with a song from the new album Darker Days (released June 2011) entitled Lost. They continued to play a lot of songs from their latest album, so if your an old fan there wouldn’t be a lot of songs that you would know, though they did perform Passion and Out of The Real World – Passion is from their first album Embrace The Storm, where the Marcela told the crowd that  it’s a really old song and told everyone to raise their hands and clap within time. They also had one from their second The Flame Within, my favourite song of the night was Collide (there new single), I was happy to see lead singer Marcela Bovio using her violin for the show and did on a numerous of songs through the show but also how she was okay at head banging on the stage I have only every seen that on Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil and Floor Jansen (ReVamp), and how the whole band seemed to be on their music and great hopefully Stream of Passion will get more recognition for what they do as they are great to see live and musically talented. I think that the band enjoyed there time in the UK, more so in London and will be returning (according to their official site and also Marcela mentioned) that you can see Stream of Passion at Fused Festival 2012. 4.5/5

Its been 5 years since Leaves’ Eyes last visited the north of England, so by performing in Manchester they definitely made up for lost time, despite Academy 3 only being a small venue the gig did not sell out but they did have a heavy and respectful crowd which Liv Kristine Espenaes Krull did mention. They kicked off their set with Spirits’ Masquerade, Liv being the last one to come onto the stage in a pure black medieval styled dress with corset around her middle, the sleeves edges of the dress and designed in a gold pattern, where she wore fish nets and high heeled shoes (which she later used to put holes in the set list) as the song progressed she held her hand out and touched everyone that she can reach in the audience.

The next song was from their first album Lovelorn, and is the first song I heard of Leaves’ Eyes, this is Ocean’s Way during the introduction Alexander Krull walks on with his desirable waist length, who encourages the audience to be a bit more brutal referring to his wife as ‘too nice’ and demands that the audience throw their fists in the air. The pair make a great duo Liv’s soft vocal with Alex’s definitely make Leaves’ Eyes unique.

I thought that My Destiny would be the last song or one of the last songs on the set list if not the last song but was pleasantly surprised when it appeared to be the third song in the list, this maybe because Alexandra was already on the stage? Who Knows. The audience is silent and Liv begins to sing the beginning vocals gently taking a quick break to tell the audience she loves them before the guitar riffs start off, Alex’s still encouraging the audience especially to call back at him often holding his ear to crowd in response to get more noise out of us.

From there I don’t know the order of the songs that they played, though the set list was cut short with songs like In To Your Light not being played because of lack of time, the band did continue to play songs from all 4 of their albums, one I didn’t think that they would play was Farewell Proud Men this is probably the songs that Liv came close to head banging and often raising her arm up in the arm to create the rock on symbol \m/

Not long after these songs they began to be slower songs with them playing Krakevisa which was dedicate to the horrible tragedy that happened in Norway this year with a man killing loads of teenagers, the song was sang in Norwegian and has the element of folk in it, the song i think is on about the hunting and killing of something.

After another song the perform Elegy probably one of the mans most famous and icon songs that appears in their second album Vinland Saga, the crowd is encouraged to clap along with the rhythm of the song and to call out the lyrics making sure that the crowd are were on the rising vocal range begin the song ‘Are you ready to sing really high? Are you?”. From this song there o into some musical difficulty with the intro of To France beginning, the crowd than edges them to carry on singing along to To France’s chorus, the next song is obviously To France.

The Last Leaves’ Eyes song is one that I didn’t think would even be on the set list and is off third album Njord Frøya’s Theme, Alex joins his wife on stage to perform their last song.

Leaves Eyes are great performers and the next time that they are in the UK you should totally go, a Security memeber after the show and told Liv that he had never heard of them before but totally enjoyed it. Definitely 5/5.

Danielle Eley

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