Lacuna Coil
Bristol
Lacuna Coil Live
Eluveitie Live
The moment the highly talented Fabienne Erni started singing her parts, the entire crowd stood in awe and shock, trying to fully grasp the power and ability behind her voice. She also plays the harp, which she has only started learning when she joined the band in 2017, but she manages to headbang with it like a pro. Erni, who has never been in a band before outside of school projects, is one of three new members of the band after Anna Murphy (ex-vocals), Ivo Henzi (ex-guitar) and Merlin Sutter (ex-drummer) left the band in 2016 to focus on their other projects, subsequent to being in the band for 10 years. However, she fits the role perfectly and has contributed to taking the band to the next level, musically. Chrigel Glazmann commented: “Looking back on how things have developed, I’m extremely happy. It was probably one of the best things that could have happened for everybody”.
The unique combination of all the acoustic instruments and metal created an energy that could give anybody goosebumps all over their bodies, almost like the Celtic magic has come to life through the vibrations of the beautiful, raw sound. Taking into consideration that SWX had spent about £300,000 on their sound and lighting system, this made the music was pretty much flawless, every instrument added an extra layer of depth which you could not resist getting lost to on a spiritual level. Although their studio records are outstanding, there is something about the live show that needs to be felt to be understood.
Eluveitie’s show holds the power to take you on an adventure to a mystical realm, without even leaving the venue.
“We’ve played a lot of live shows between Delirium and Black Anima," explains Cristina. "We published our book, a chronicle of the Lacuna Coil story. And we crossed paths with our 20th Anniversary, which resulted in a quick switch from the Delirium album cycle to the 20th Anniversary one. We had a big change in our look. Our show changed a lot. We had special effects and artists performing on stage with us. That became The 119 Show, actually.”
The two words tie together perfectly to define the concept, Anima means ‘soul’ in Italian and the feeling throughout the record is dark, black, so it was easy to pair the words together.” Explained Andrea Ferro, vocalist and founder of the band, when talking about the new release. The 9th studio album came out in October this year and portrays the band’s much darker side, which can be heard as well as seen on all visual aspects, however, this doesn’t seem to have swayed away any of the old school fans as the new record still screams “Lacuna Coil” all over.
“We’ve stopped comparing records,” Scabbia says. “Every record we’ve done was a picture of the time in which we wrote it. This record, Black Anima, was really written around our live performances. The songs we enjoy playing live the most are the heavier ones. So, when we started writing, the songs naturally were heavier."
It keeps being repeated that this album is their heaviest material so far, and even though that’s definitely true musically, it is also true lyrically – a lot of meaning and emotion has been poured into this work of art, like it was the band’s outlet to get rid of their negativity and other various feelings, and create something positive from it. The band have also been, rightfully, very proud of how important the visuals for this album are, with an intricate album cover design and tarot card styled descriptions of every song, this album clearly marks an important part of the band’s life, both personally and as a group. Other new songs included ‘Reckless’, ‘Veneficium’ and ‘Cybersleep’, all of which got an overwhelmingly positive response.
Scabbia’s attitude and fight to succeed throughout her career in the face of negativity and the stereotypical controversy she has dealt with, especially considering the global political climate many people are struggling to deal with at the moment, helped tonight’s performance resonate with the audience and reminded us all that no matter how tough day to day life can be, there is a shining light waiting to burst through the darkest of times. Tonight, that shining light was, Lacuna Coil.
“There is a realisation throughout this record that it is sometimes okay to not be okay. I don’t think darkness is wholly negative. We learn who we are in darkness. Sadness is a huge part of life. It’s okay not to be happy. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m always trying to look for the light in the darkness, but it’s okay to live within the darkness for a bit too. I think when you embrace all the shades of life you can live a happier life than if you deny any of it.” – Cristina Scabbia, speaking to NME.
Staff Writer
Educated at Oxford Brookes University in the field of graphic design, live & promotional photography has been my main passion since 2016, which ventured into writing gig reviews, album reviews and interviews. I also love travelling, especially if I can catch a good show out there too!
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