Returning for their first new album since 2019’s Black Anima, Lacuna Coil are now on the doorstep of releasing follow-up Sleepless Empire. A long-standing act in the modern metal scene, and one that has made steps to grow along the way, coming from their more purely gothic roots and embracing new paths along the way without dissolving their identity, Lacuna Coil have kept their sound fresh. We caught up with vocalist Andrea Ferro to discuss the impacts from COVID-19, the influence of Comalies XX back in 2022, the core sound of Lacuna Coil, and even what he has gained as a member through the years.
Dead Rhetoric: Looking back at it, how did the COVID-19 pandemic impact Lacuna Coil?
Andrea Ferro: We never thought we would experience something like that. In the beginning it was obviously scary because, especially for older people that were dying, we were worrying about our dear family members who were older and more at risk. But we got lucky with that, and no one got really bad with it. For us, it was definitely weird to be home for 2 years. We have never been home for such a long time because of the touring schedule and recording cycle. So it wasn’t that bad, to be experiencing being at home and being able to play guitar and video games and watching TV shows. Financially, it wasn’t a disaster. Yes we did miss a lot of money from touring. But we got lucky with a couple of things, and with the support of the fans and merchandise. I worked hard on bureaucratic things in order to get money from institutions, and even some money from Facebook from the band.
So financially it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. We made it through without too many problems. But it was definitely not a creative time for us. We did not feel any creativity. We felt blank. Normally, we collect a lot of experiences from touring around the world, exchanging cultures and seeing friends that you only see on tour, and spending time around and visiting new places. We didn’t feel ready to record a new album after the pandemic. It took us some time to focus and start feeling the right vibe. We toured a bit before and we rejoined a bit of what we had before.
Dead Rhetoric: So was there anything during that touring before the album that stuck with you and kind of helped with writing Sleepless Empire?
Ferro: Maybe the fact that before we started working on the new record, we worked on a remake of our classic record Comalies celebrating the 20th anniversary in 2022. So we went back and deconstructed the original to re-evaluate the arrangements. So listening to how we were doing things 20 years before, that helped and sort of unconsciously influenced some of the arrangements we have on the new record. So the record does sound different for sure. A lot of people who have heard it say that in some ways, it does resemble certain atmospheres from back in the day of Lacuna Coil. So maybe that influenced the process, but definitely the title and name of the record came from an observation of reality post-COVID.
It’s not specifically a critique, because we are living the same as the younger generation: always on the phone and always connected with the internet, social media, streaming services, etc. All of those things, we felt that society is a huge empire with all of these possibilities that you can reach very quickly. But on the other hand, it’s overwhelming for a lot of people. We are on the phone even at night, so we are sleepless in this huge empire right now. That was the main idea behind it. It’s not a concept album strictly, in that every song touches that topic, it’s more of an overall picture. When we normally start writing, we start with a title and an image. That really helps Marco [Coti Zelati], our bass player, who is our main songwriter, to start writing.
Dead Rhetoric: What else do you think defines Sleepless Empire as a Lacuna Coil album?
Ferro: I think there are mostly two kinds of bands, generally speaking. There are the types of bands that make their formula over and over, always great…like AC/DC, Iron Maiden, or even Disturbed. They have a formula that works really well and they make slight changes to it and it works great for them. There are other bands that need something a little bit different, to spice it up, or to contaminate somewhere else. We are more of that kind of band. Even though we don’t completely change every record. We change a little bit and introduce different influences we collect along the way, some are heavier and sometimes softer. We are open to be influenced by different things. This record is more dark because of those atmospheres from the past maybe. There’s a lot of raw energy I think, in some of the heaviest songs. We always have a couple of songs that are a little different, like “I Wish You Were Dead,” which is more melodic and easy going, with more sarcastic lyrics. Also songs like “Sleep Paralysis,” which is more of a slow burn and atmospheric song compared to the others. So I think that’s the main difference with previous records. It’s moving forward a little bit.
Dead Rhetoric: So what are the parts of Lacuna Coil that are going to come through, no matter the direction that inspiration comes from?
Ferro: I think there are three elements that describe our music. There’s the metal, for the heavy parts. There’s rock music for the big choruses and melodies. Then there is the dark. It’s more about the atmosphere and the way we make arrangements. I think those three elements play around in our music, no matter what. There’s also the duality of Cristina and my vocals. That’s part of the balance of the music, I think. So we have the two voices, Marco making the directions and the arrangements, it will always be Lacuna Coil. Sometimes it’s more heavy, sometimes it’s more rock, and sometimes more dark, but the same ingredients are there just balanced in a slightly different way. Those elements will always define us, and they have defined our last 10 albums.
It’s something we had the good fortune of being able to develop in the first three records, because we grew up in a world that was still giving bands the chance to do three records before they made some commercial success. You were not rushed to immediately release a record and become a big name. We were fortunate that in our era, you still had time to grow and develop, and to get away from your influences as a starting band – developing a more personal style.
Dead Rhetoric: I think the way that you summed up the parts that make up Lacuna Coil is very cool. Some bands are very specific, and I think your broader answer speaks to the fact that there are different elements in each album. You have wider parameters to play in.
Ferro: We try. We need to keep doing this, we need to be stimulated and to feel a certain freshness that sometimes we get from the younger bands. It’s true that they don’t have the same experiences that we have had, but they have an energy that we can’t have. That moment has passed for us, that we are the fresh new thing and very naive maybe, but we had the energy of people who are out to discover the world. It’s important for us to keep listening to the younger bands because we can take that energy from them, this freshness that we cannot have, because of time passing and collecting experiences and being more mature.
Dead Rhetoric: How do you feel that Lacuna Coil has allowed you to grow as a person?
Ferro: We have done a career that we never thought was possible when we first started, especially coming from Milan, Italy. It’s not really a rock and roll heaven [laughs]. There’s not much history with Italian rock or metal bands, singing in English, making international careers when we started in the ‘90s. There weren’t many examples to follow. In Germany, you have bands since the ‘80s that made rock history like Scorpions or Kreator or Rammstein. There are a lot of bands that made a name for themselves internationally. The same for Scandinavia, England, and America, obviously. Italy is more known for traditional/operatic singing or folkish stuff. So for us, to have a career like this has been beyond expectation.
For me personally, to get to travel the world and see places I only dreamed of. To see cultures, it allows you to grow as a person and understand that there are different traditions, ways of thinking, and philosophies. I still learn every time. Every time I go to Japan or China, for example, you see a very different culture than Italy. America is different but it is still sort of similar in a way. The same with South America, it’s mostly similar. Japan is an entirely different world. Especially the first time we went there in the early 2000s. There were very few people speaking in English, there were no signs in any Western traditional alphabet, only in traditional Japanese signs. So it was very different culturally. So you learn a lot. You learn your vision is very limited as you grow up, as much as it can be democratic and open, it’s different. So it’s great. I think the greatest gift is to know people around the world and to have friends all over the place.
There’s also the legacy you create with your songs. That’s more important than how many records you sell and how much money you make. Obviously everyone likes to make money, we aren’t against it [laughs]. But the legacy is more valuable after. When we are gone, the only thing left is our legacy and our exchange of energy with the people. That’s the greatest result and what fulfills you the most I think.
Dead Rhetoric: It’s almost 20 years since Karmacode. What do you remember about making that album?
Ferro: It was the first one after we really grew up as a band. Comalies was the one that really set the name of Lacuna Coil internationally, especially in North America. Radio and a lot of things came that we didn’t expect. That record went 100 bigger than any of the ones we had done before. It became the best selling record of the label at the time. It was a big change in our name and our possibilities for touring, recording, and budget. Karmacode was the first record after we achieved all of that step in our career. So there was a bit of pressure, especially from the outside, in order to go even further up the level with the singles and all that. So it was a lot of pressure, but we tried to not overthink the record too much.
On the other hand, it was also the first record where the digital was coming in. The digital world was coming. Napster was starting with downloads. Our first single from the record was “Our Truth,” and we released it in a ‘fake file’ online, where you would download it and it was actually white noise. It was an experiment we did to see how many people would download it, so we could understand how it was working. In one week we had like 3 million downloads. It was unbelievable. Then we really understood how the world was changing and how fast it could change. We were shifting into a new era of music business. So it was an important record for us. Not only did we become more aware of our possibilities as a band at that level, but we also understood where we were starting to go in the future.
Dead Rhetoric: You mentioned the time off touring during COVID. Then you jumped right back into it. How do you handle life on the road as you get older?
Ferro: We are still enjoying the touring side of things. But we try not to burn ourselves out. We have done 3-6 months on the road, touring America without going back to Europe. We have done that, because it was different times and we needed to build the name of the band. We don’t have to play every city in the world now. We have done that, so we try to have more of a balance with life at home versus life on the road. When albums come out, like now, we need to tour. It’s new. COVID made it even longer between tours, so we need to go to North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, so it’s going to be a lot of touring this year. It’s an album release year. But we try to not burn ourselves out. We want to be able to enjoy it.
I think nowadays we appreciate the fact that we can go to a city in the world and people go out and see us. We appreciate it even more. When you are younger, it’s just another show and tour. You don’t stop and think, “wow, people in LA came to check us out and we are from Milan.” Now we appreciate it more, we can understand we have been doing this for 20-25 years and we can still do it. We can still sell out in LA or New York or Tokyo, and that’s amazing! We enjoy it even more with the passing of time. But we try to schedule it more reasonably.
Dead Rhetoric: Do you see different generations of fans at shows at this point?
Ferro: We have a lot of different generations at the shows, and different types of people as well. One thing we noticed, especially after COVID, is that there are people older than us coming to the show. Like, 60 and older. I asked them, since it’s usually people our age and younger, but there are regularly people there older [than us]. They said, during COVID they were at home and searching Spotify and it suggested other bands they might like, so they found us and they have money, and they might not be working as much. So they come to the show, and once the lights have turned off, they are just a part of a crowd. They aren’t that 65 year old guy, they can just be part of the crowd and scream and sing and move. They normally wouldn’t go to a rock bar and be with people 30 years younger, but at the show, the distance gets erased – it doesn’t matter if you are old or young, male or female, or whatever. You are just part of the crowd, so why not? They can do something just like anyone else.
Dead Rhetoric: Finally, what’s planned for the rest of 2025?
Ferro: Mostly touring. We just shot a video a few days ago that will come out around the time of the release, probably around the 11th or 12th of February. We are going to do a lot of touring this year because we need to promote the album, and there will be a lot of press and signings, things like that. But we also don’t want to stop our other collaborations. We also very nerdy and we have a lot of stuff with comics and board/video games, and movies. So there are a lot of collaborations for that as well. There are more surprises to come!
Photo credit: CUNENE