Lacuna Coil is an Italian metal band from Milan. Since their formation in 1994, the group has had two name changes, being previously known as Sleep of Right and Ethereal. Inspired by the combination of gothic imagery and music, the members have been known, musically, for composing mid-tempo songs consisting of prominent guitar lines and contrasting dual female/male vocal harmonies to help create a melodic, detached sound. Much of the band's recent material, however, sees a heavier and more down-tuned style, featuring a more distinct bass line and a higher mixing of the guitars within the songs. The band's 2012 release, "Dark Adrenaline", peaked at number 15 on the Billboard 200. Since inception, Lacuna Coil has sold over 2 million records. They have toured internationally and were nominated for a MTV Music Award.
Formation and debut EP
Vocalist Andrea Ferro and bassist/composer Marco Coti Zelati formed Sleep of Right in Milan, Italy, 1994, and recruited Raffaele Zagaria on guitars, and Michaelangelo Algardi on the drums. After releasing two demos, Bleeding Souls and Noise of Bolgia, Claudio Leo became the band's second guitarist, and Leonardo Forti replaced Michaelangelo on the drums after his departure. The band asked Cristina Scabbia, a friend, to sing background vocals briefly, which led to her officially joining the band. Soon after, the band changed their name to Ethereal, and signed to Century Media at the end of 1997. Finding that the name Ethereal was already taken by a Greek band, they changed their name to Lacuna Coil, meaning "empty spiral", and counted their official formation as a band from this date ever after.
Lacuna Coil released a self-titled EP through Century Media in 1998, shortly after Raffaele Zagaria, Claudio Leo, and Leonardo Forti departed. As a result, guitarist Cristiano Migliore and drummer Cristiano Mozzati were recruited. The band was touring with Moonspell after the release of the "Lacuna Coil" EP when their previous members departed, which meant a necessarily quick change to bring on-board two new members to complete the tour, after which Migliore and Mozzati became full members of the band, included in writing credits. They would remain part of the band for most of the following two decades.
In a Reverie (1998–2000)
Following a second European tour, the band recorded their debut full-length album, "In a Reverie", and added second guitarist Marco Biazzi. The band supported the album with another European tour, co-headlining with Skyclad. Allmusic rated the album 4 stars, saying it was "a fine debut by a band that bears watching." The band toured mostly around Europe, generally as a support act.
Halflife EP and Unleashed Memories (2000–02)
Following their debut, "In a Reverie", the EP "Half-Life" was released in 2000 with five songs, "Half Life", "Hyperfast", "Stars" (a cover of a Dubstar single), the instrumental "Trance Awake", and a demo version of "Senzafine", the only song in their catalogue to have lyrics entirely in Italian. The final version of the latter was included in the 2001 album "Unleashed Memories", though performances years later would revisit both in combination, notably during the 119 show. Both EPs were later combined to create a CD album, "Lacuna Coil - The EPs".
Comalies (2002–06)
The band's breakthrough album, "Comalies" was released in 2002 and received good reviews in the music press. A significant player on Europe's metal scene for nearly a decade at this point, the band was virtually unknown in the United States until it began touring there. The tv series Uranium gave the band some of its earliest US exposure; over a year later, the first single from "Comalies", "Heaven's a Lie", began to receive radio and media attention, pulling the band into North America's musical mainstream. They kicked off their first US tour in 2003, supported by Dog Fashion Disco. Networks such as Fuse played the song's video often. In early 2005, "Heaven's a Lie" won in The 4th Annual Independent Music Awards for Best Hard Rock/Metal Song. The beginning of this song was also used as the introduction music for the audio podcast novel, The Rookie, by Scott Sigler. The second single, "Swamped", was played in heavy rotation and used in the video game Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines. It also appeared on the soundtrack for the movie Resident Evil: Apocalypse. Videos were filmed for both songs and broadcast on MTV2's Headbanger's Ball, which also saw the band perform an acoustic rendition of "Heaven's a Lie" live.
By 2004, "Comalies" had become the best-selling CD in Century Media's history. The band appeared at Ozzfest in between headlining club tours in the United States and Europe. A bonus, extended version of "Comalies" was released both on iTunes and in stores, on 2 CDs. This version consisted of both live and acoustic versions of the songs "Heaven's a Lie", "Swamped", "Unspoken", "Aeon", and "Senzafine", all but the last included on "Comalies".
Karmacode (2006–08)
The band and label postponed the release of their follow-up to Comalies, "Karmacode", to early 2006. According to the band's website, this made it possible for more time to be spent on production, and to avoid the crowded summer 2005 release schedule for metal albums. On December 23, 2005, the band announced on their website that all recording, mixing, and mastering on "Karmacode" had been completed. It was then announced that the album would be released in the United States on April 4, 2006.
During their 2005 European tour, Lacuna Coil debuted two new songs from "Karmacode" at selected concerts, "Our Truth" and "Fragile", under the working titles "Antonio" and "A2" respectively.
"Karmacode" debuted at number 28 on the Billboard 200. Considered by Billboard to be "the biggest album in the history of Century Media Records", it was acclaimed by music critics and magazines, spoken of as "much heavier" than the band's earlier material. Corresponding with the release of the new album, Lacuna Coil toured with Rob Zombie throughout North America in early 2006. After their tour with Zombie, they performed on the main stage at Ozzfest 2006, along with System of a Down, Ozzy Osbourne, and Hatebreed, becoming the first female-fronted band to be asked to co-headline the heavy metal festival and to play. That summer they also played on the main stage of the Download Festival (a three-day metal and rock festival held annually in England's Donington Park), which was headlined by Metallica, Tool, and Guns N' Roses. That December, Lacuna Coil teamed up with In Flames, The Sword and Seemless for a US tour, as well as The Blackest of the Black 2006 tour.
Four singles were officially released from "Karmacode": "Our Truth", "Closer", "Within Me", and a cover of Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence". "Our Truth" was the first single to be released and to have a music video produced for it. The song was also featured on the Underworld: Evolution soundtrack, and entered the top forty on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart in the United States.
The band toured extensively to support the album throughout 2007. This included the Jägermeister Music Tour, The Hottest Chicks in Metal Tour 2007 Loudpark Festival '07 in Saitama City's Saitama Super Arena, and the Australian leg of Megadeth's Gigantour.
Lacuna Coil's first live DVD was released in November 2008, entitled "Visual Karma (Body, Mind and Soul)". The CD/DVD package is a retrospective of all things from the band's "Karmacode" album cycle. The set list features performances filmed at Germany's Wacken Festival and at the Japanese Loudpark Festival, both in 2007.
Shallow Life (2008–10)
In 2008, it was announced that Lacuna Coil's fifth studio album would be produced by Don Gilmore, and would include some Arabic influences. Cristina Scabbia explained in the magazine Rock Sound, "It's different, but it's our style. We haven't done anything absolutely different from our style, because that wouldn't be natural, that would be weird - it wouldn't be us. The songs are definitely more powerful, more complete, more intense, more straight-to-the-point". Andrea Ferro said, "We've put more attention on the real meaning of the songs, so the vocals are a bit more prominent. We've worked a lot with Don Gilmore on the pronunciation of the words in English, so people really understand the meanings of the words. There are strong choruses, where people can relate and really understand what we mean".
On December 13, 2008, it was revealed that the new album would be titled "Shallow Life". The album was released in Europe on April 20, 2009 and in the United States on April 21, 2009. It debuted at number 16 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart, and became Lacuna Coil's first Top 20 album in the U.S. As of September 2009 it had sold nearly 70,000 copies in the United States.
In February and March 2009, Lacuna Coil played the Australian music festival Soundwave alongside metal acts including DevilDriver, In Flames, Lamb of God, and Nine Inch Nails. The festival spanned five capital cities, at which they performed the single "Spellbound", from "Shallow Life", for the first time. Early June saw them play in the UK, returning to the Download Festival. Their set was scheduled for the opening day, where they played on the second stage, preceding Opeth and Mötley Crüe. Later in July 2009, Lacuna Coil embarked on the American Spellbound Tour, alongside Kill Hannah, Seventh Void, and Dommin. This was Lacuna Coil's first U.S. headlining run in over two years, and the first tour the band had been on since the Music as a Weapon Tour IV alongside Disturbed, Killswitch Engage, and Chimaira in early 2009. During early 2010 (Jan/Feb) the band travelled back to the United Kingdom one more time to headline the "Shallow Life" tour, with support acts Dommin and Dirty Little Rabbits. They then returned to the UK again in September/October 2010 headlining the "Survive" tour, this time at more intimate/VIP venues, with the support act Slaves to Gravity.
Dark Adrenaline (2011-2012)
A new album, that had been in the works since the first quarter of 2011, was confirmed under the title "Dark Adrenaline". On September 2, 2011, it was announced that the first single from the record, titled "Trip the Darkness", would be released digitally on October 17, 2011, with the album's release to follow on January 24, 2012. The album's third single, "End of Time", was released on December 12, 2012; the music video for this song was shot in Italy on October 17, 2012.
Broken Crown Halo (2013–2015)
In September 2013, the band began recording a new album with the producer Jay Baumgardner. Lacuna Coil announced the title of this upcoming album as "Broken Crown Halo", due for release April 1st in North America.
The first track of their new album, called "Nothing Stands In Our Way", was premiered online. On February 14, 2014, the band announced via their Facebook page that their long-time guitarist Cristiano 'Pizza' Migliore and drummer Cristiano 'Criz' Mozzati decided to retire from the band after 16 years, citing personal reasons. Ryan Blake Folden (The Agony Scene; Burn Halo; After Midnight Project) joined the band shortly thereafter.
Delirium (2015–2017)
On December 8, 2015, it was announced that the band were recording a new album, titled "Delirium", which was scheduled for a 2016 release. On January 14, 2016, Lacuna Coil announced the amicable departure of long-time guitarist Marco Biazzi. On April 8, 2016, Lacuna Coil premiered the song "The House of Shame" along with announcing the release of the album: May 27, 2016. On April 11, 2016, Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro, during the Italian press tour, presented Diego Cavallotti as a new guitarist for the "Delirium" tour.
The 119 Show (2018)
Lacuna Coil celebrated their 20th anniversary with a one-off show at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, London, England, on the 19th of January 2018. The live show was accompanied by performers from the British circus theatre company Incandescence, and the set list included songs from throughout their back catalogue, some of which had never previously been performed live. As a result of the success of this show, 2 American 119 shows took place in New York. Lacuna Coil were nominated and won Best Live Act at the Golden Gods Awards as a result of the London show, which was recorded in full and released in CD/DVD and CD/Blu-Ray a few months later as "The 1.19 Show - Live in London".
Black Anima (2019 - 2022)
The band's latest album, "Black Anima", was released on 11th October 2019. During the build-up to the release of the first single from this album, Ryan Folden confirmed on his social media that he had not recorded the new album with the band and had stood down as full-time drummer. He did, however, play with the band on the American dates of their tour in support of the Black Anima album. The album was recorded and the European dates played with Richard Meiz (Genus Ordinis Dei) as drummer, but the band have yet to confirm if he will take over on a permanent basis. Diego Cavallotti, however, has been confirmed as a full member of the band, given full writing credits and appearing on all promotional materials.
Comalies XX (2022 - Present)
Lacuna Coil have announced the release of Comalies XX in October 2022. This is a re-imagining of the album released 20 years ago. The first single "Tight Rope XX" was released on the 19th of July.
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