MWE: How you doing Cristina?
CS: I’m doing awesome, thanks.
MWE: LACUNA COIL translates as “empty
spiral”. You guys have been making a musical impact internationally
for almost a decade, where did the band name come from?
CS: Well, it’s something that was actually born right before
we
signed the deal with Century Media (Records), because back then
we had a name that was ETHEREAL. ETHEREAL was the old moniker
of the band, but we had just found out that there were other bands
with a similar name, or including ETHEREAL in the name itself,
so we just decided to create something new. The best way to do
it was mixing something in Italian and Latin, which is “LACUNA”,
which means “a lack of space”, or “a missing
gap”, and “COIL” is “spiral” in
English. It’s still an abstract meaning. It’s still
abstract. It’s still ETHEREAL, but can be kind of translated
as “empty spiral”.
MWE: Did you have a name between
ETHEREAL and LACUNA COIL?
CS: No. ETHEREAL was the same band with a different line-up, because
when we started, we had a different line-up. We completely changed
the name.
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MWE: Can you compare your success
in Italy and elsewhere around the world with that in America?
CS: Well, it’s basically the same thing, I mean you grow
up in different territories, and of course, we had a different
kind of growth in Italy because the promotion was different. The
recognition of the band is different, plus rock-metal is not as
popular as in America.
MWE: You guys are one of the biggest
rock bands in Italy, if not the biggest.
CS: We’re THE biggest rock band, really.
MWE:
So how are you going to take that, and translate that to America?
CS: I cannot translate it. It’s something absolutely different.
You cannot translate it. You can just give different ideas of
both
places. Here, it’s twelve times bigger than Italy, I mean
Italy is really small, compared to America. America’s just
like one state, with different little states between. In Europe
it’s completely different…different languages, different
cultures. You can’t compare Italy to France to Spain. You
can’t really compare it.
 MWE:
Would you consider yourself on the level of, like, the MADONNA
of Italy, perhaps?
CS: No. I wouldn’t say that, but definitely in the rock-metal
scene we are the MADONNA because nobody really achieved what we
did so far.
MWE:
What’s selling gold over there? About twenty-thousand copies
or so?
CS: Should be thirty…forty thousand.
MWE:
You guys exceeded
that, I believe.
CS: Yeah, we passed silver.
MWE: And that’s on Karmacode?
CS: Yeah
MWE:
O.K. Going back to the album before Karmacode, Comalies.
At the time, a couple years back, that was the largest, highest
volume selling album that Century Media Records put out. Have
you already, or how do you expect to surpass that?
CS: Well, we already did because…well, we didn’t reach
the same level of sales, because, of course, Comalies
had four years of promotion and touring, and Karmacode
is a little bit more than a year old. So there are still a lot
of things to do, a lot of promotion to do, but we definitely sold
more with Karmacode, so we already achieved what we wanted
to achieve.
MWE: Explain the songwriting process
of the band. You’ve got another vocalist, a male vocalist
as well. I’m wondering how does the song progress.
CS: We always start from the music, at least this has been a typical
way of writing a song for LACUNA COIL. We start from a melody
from an idea of a riff, and when the music is done, when everybody
draws ideas and once we practice in the practice room, Andrea
and I come together with ideas for the vocal lines and the lyrics
at the very end. We want our voices to be two other instruments
you can use, instead of giving a message or anything like that.
We basically want to please ourselves, first.
MWE: Are you writing that lyrically
in Italian, or in English?
CS: No. No. We start it in English. We never write in Italian,
and then translate because then it would be pretty stupid just
for the fact that it’s a completely different language.
Even if the phrase is really good in Italian, then you translate
it and it has a completely different sound, so it wouldn’t
really make sense.
 MWE:
Do you play any other instruments?
CS: Ah, no. I’ll try to learn a little guitar.
MWE:
Sit around the campfire, at least. Now, did you grow up as a kid
knowing you wanted to be an international rock star.
CS: Not at all.
MWE: It accidentally unfolded that
way?
CS: I wouldn’t say accidentally, I would just say that I
made the right choice at the right moments because I think if
you’re dreaming too much about something, if you’re
longing for something too hard, you’re never going to get
it, or at least you’re going to stress too much. And so
what happened with me, is that I met the guys that were playing
good music that I liked, and for the first time, I just wanted
to be involved in the band. I wanted to sing with them. I liked
the music. And that’s how it happened. It’s basically
the job chose me.
MWE: And they respected you immediately
because of your vocal talents, or because they wanted a woman
as a front person?
CS: No, No. They just found that it was something good. It was
something really original to have two singers, a male and a female
that weren’t having the usual roles that a male and a female
have in a band together. You know, like the girls singing lyrically,
and the guy’s
growling all the time, but we’re singing together. It was
something that they liked, and they asked me to stay, and that’s
how it started.
MWE: When you guys harmonize, do
you have other members of the band harmonizing on stage with you?
CS: Not at all. It’s just me and Andrea. For some double
voices we have some recorded parts because, of course, we’re
not able to sing three kinds of vocals at the same time. We’re
still practicing, but…
MWE: Unless you can sing out your
arm pit or something, right?
CS: Exactly.
MWE: How’s the HOTTEST CHICKS
IN METAL tour going?
CS: It’s doing awesome. It’s something that never
happened before because nobody really thought about a package
with females, at least of this kind of music, and at least giving
out different kinds of music at the same time. Every band has
a specific style, so the show is not boring at all, and it’s
a lot of fun.
 MWE:
Last question, I guess we can sum it up. Who is the hottest chick
in metal?
CS: Of course, me…and Andrea…and Marco…and…(laughs)
MWE:
…and Marco to, right?…all right!
CS: To be honest, I think that the hottest chick in metal is every
girl who knows her potential and feels unique and feels strong,
despite what everybody else will say.
MWE: Because there’s a lot
more than “physical” that defines the word “hot”?
CS: It’s everything else more, because to me, “hot”
doesn’t mean good looking. It means confidence, it means
power, it means to care about your physical aspect, but not to
rely on that only. It’s more of a personal growth, as I
said, a personal knowing of your own power and potential.
MWE: With that outlook, and with
that maturity, I can see why LACUNA COIL has gone so far. I wish
you nothing but the best.
CS: Thank you very much. Have a good day, and have fun tonight!
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