The Upward Spiral
Cristina Scabbia discusses Lacuna Coil's Metal Masterpiece And Striking Out On An Endless Tour
>>INTERVIEW BY Jackson Ellis

Already Century Media’s best-selling act and only several months following the release of their critically acclaimed full-length Karmacode, Lacuna Coil show no signs that they will be slowing down anytime soon. I spoke to Scabbia the day after Lacuna Coil ended a two-month North American Tour supporting Rob Zombie, and the day before they would conclude their spring show schedule by appearing on the “Jimmy Kimmel Show.” I expected, perhaps, she might be unenthusiastic to spend a rare moment of downtime doing yet another interview, wishing she could rather take her mind off of her music and band, just for a while. Not the case. It was a pleasant conversation with a musician whose energy, enthusiasm, and positive attitude are (compared to all the interviews I’ve done over the years) rivaled by few.

*Hey Cristina.*

Hi Jackson, how are you?

*Great, how are you doing?*

Doing great! Busy day, but soon [I’ll get to] relax before the summer festivals. We had a photo session this morning, and now all the guys are visiting [at the Century Media offices in LA], doing some promotions, all the endorsements. And I’m doing another photo session later, and some interviews — and tomorrow it will be the “Jimmy Kimmel Show.”

*I saw your recent tour schedule, you guys are pretty relentless.*

(laughter) Yes, and that is nothing because you probably just saw the schedule of the Rob Zombie tour! We’ve got a lot of summer festivals lined up, and after that it’s Ozzfest, and after Ozzfest we go back to Europe for another tour. We’re troopers! But it’s fine; we love what we do, so it’s not heavy at all.

*It must have been interesting touring with Rob Zombie. In interviews he always seems like a very thoughtful, intellectual person with calculated opinions. Did you get to spend much time getting to know him?*

Especially in the last part of the tour, we got to know each other much better because we had the chance to talk with each other. He’s an awesome person; he’s really down-to-earth. It’s unbelievable how an icon like him can be so easy, and so adorable as a person. When he talks with you, he puts you in a comfortable way. He doesn’t put a barrier between you and him. I totally enjoyed our tour — him, the band, the crew were awesome; the clubs were sold out. It’s been a great experience. I would love to repeat it immediately!

*Who have been the musicians you’ve most enjoyed touring with over your career?*

I would say Rob, for sure, and Type O Negative, for sure — that was one of the best tours ever. They came to see us at the New York show with Rob Zombie; they hung out with us in the dressing room. They’ve become really close friends. I would [also] say Moonspell — I don’t know if you know them; they’re a band from Portugal and they’re pretty big in Europe, pretty “known” in the metal scene. Basically, we’ve had fun with every band! We’ve [toured] with POD, Opeth, Within Flames, Dimmu Borgir, many bands. We’re really nice people; we always respect everybody, we like to have fun, and I think we’ve never had problems with anybody.

*As far as the fans go, do Italians — or Europeans in general, since you’ve toured across it so many times — have the same fixation with celebrities and celebrity culture as Americans do?*

You know what, gossips are everywhere, and I think it’s always interesting to have a look at them... But as far as I know, especially in the California area, there are a lot more gossips, and celebrities, and stuff — it seems that a lot of people are just living hoping to become a rock star or an actor. There is a lot of [attention given to] image. But I think that, in a way, it might be cool if you approach it with the right attitude, and you just realize that if you become famou