Review: Lacuna Coil Releases a Powerful Performance with Live From The Apocalypse

Lacuna Coil Releases Live From The Apocalypse

The Covid pandemic had a big impact on the music industry in 2020 and the first half of 2021. Due to health concerns and local restrictions, most concert tours during this period were cancelled. Several performers attempted to reach their fans via livestream events. One of these bands is the Italian gothic metal band Lacuna Coil. On September 11^th, 2020, the band performed with no audience in attendance at the Alcatraz Club in Milan, Italy. Live From The Apocalypse is the band’s latest album which captures the band’s performance from that night.

Lacuna Coil is Cristina Scabbia (vocals), Andrea Ferraro (vocals), Marco “Maki” Coti-Zelati (bass, keyboards), Diego “DD” Cavallotti (guitars), and Richard Meiz (drums). When the original livestream was announced the band stated: “When the world changed, we were in the early stages of touring our new album, BLACK ANIMA. Months have gone by and the desire to get back up on stage and play our music for you has just grown bigger and bigger. While the pandemic won’t allow us to travel to your hometowns, it can’t stop us from coming directly into your homes. Please welcome Black Anima, Live From The Apocalypse.”

A band like Lacuna Coil, which has several albums under its belt, would normally only perform a selection of songs from a new album while touring. Fans typically want to hear the band’s previous hits which limit the number of songs they play from the album. However, Live From The Apocalypse is Black Anima on steroids in that the band performs all the songs from the original album.

Metal was not a musical genre that interested me up until a couple of years ago. That changed when I photographed Lacuna Coil in the Fall of 2019 as they were just starting their Black Anima Tour. I walked out of the music hall that night impressed by the band and enamored with Cristina Scabbia. It was probably the most powerful musical performance that I witnessed in 2019. This power is in full display in Live From The Apocalypse.

The band has released three videos from the album, “Bad Things”, “Apocalypse” and “Veneficium”. They provide a sampling of the band’s performance that September night. Scabbia’s haunting mezzo-soprano vocals are countered and balanced by Ferro’s forceful unclean vocals. Cavollotti’s guitar playing is heavy and his melodic solos provide the two vocalists a brief break. As usual Scabbia mesmerizes and send chills down the spine with her soaring vocals.

The band comment on their performance, “On one hand, it felt awkward to play for a huge empty room,” tells vocalist Andrea Ferro. “But, on the other hand, it felt great to finally reconnect with our fans at home and with the people working behind the scenes. A lot of people enjoyed the show—it was definitely a one-off event loaded with a lot of emotions and feelings. Live from the Apocalypse is an opportunity to offer a new release to our fans while the COVID-19 crisis is still a real thing, affecting them and us. The live album represents a unique moment in our career (and life) that will be forever remembered as that one time when we literally ‘rose from the Apocalypse.’”

Discussing “Apocalypse” Scabbia said, “Looking at the sand gliding down through the hourglass… ‘Apocalypse’ is factual and actual in today’s pandemic, though, we couldn’t foresee this when we wrote it: the separation, the solitude, the confusion, the resilience. We keep on fighting for our will to survive”. Ferro added, “Apocalypse is usually a huge concept involving destruction or damage and the way the world ends. In our vision, there’s no big apocalypse just endless little ones. Ignorance, complacency, selfishness alone can bring apocalypse.”

“Veneficium is the painful and fierce scream that rises from the darkness. Another day has born and has new hope in it, the poison inside has been defeated and a new refreshed and healed life can start again,” states Scabbia.

Lacuna Coil: Live From The Apocalypse is currently available on all major streaming services. If you are a current subscriber to one of these services, then the album is definitely worth checking out. However, rather than purchasing at this time I would recommend pre-ordering the CD or LP versions which also include a DVD of the livestream show. It’s a great way to experience the band if you have never seen them live.

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