Exclusive Interview: Lacuna Coil

Here is Home’s exclusive interview with Lacuna Coil! Home caught up with lead singer Cristina Scabbia to get her thoughts on their cover of “Enjoy The Silence”, Depeche Mode, and more.

Was “Enjoy The Silence” a song you were already performing or was it a
song you picked specifically for the album?

When we had to think about a cover to include in our latest album, “Karmacode”, “Enjoy the silence” was one of the choices. When we realized that with the new structure and arrangements we made, the song was definitely in our style, we went for it!

Were you looking for a band outside of Metal to cover or was it a song you really connected with?

Most of the guys in the band (plus me) are Depeche mode fans, but we considered different songs in different styles, either metal or not. “Enjoy The Silence” is definitely a wonderful song.

Did the whole band agree on doing the cover or was it a majority vote kind of thing? Also, was there any resistance to covering a song by Depeche Mode? Maybe by the your label?

We never release any song unless everyone in the band agrees on it. And we are totally free to do what we want with our music. It happened the same with “Enjoy The Silence”.

Were there any other songs you tried or was “Enjoy The Silence” the pick from the beginning? Any other song of theirs you would like to cover as well?

No, it wasn’t the obvious choice from the beginning, we considered other songs of other bands, including “Black Hole Sun” of Soundgarden.

There are so many bands to cover, especially in Metal, why a song from a band like Depeche Mode?

Cause it makes no sense for us to cover a song of a band who’s sounding like us. It’s way better to experiment with a different kind of music. That’s what we did. We have a very cool video for the cover of “Enjoy The Silence”, as well. We filmed it in Los Angeles with the direction of a cast called “Fort Awesome”. You have to check it out!

With artists like Rammstein and Marilyn Manson both having successful Depeche Mode covers, why do you think their music appeals to artists making music that is so different to their music?

Cause even if you play a specific genre as an artist or a band, doesn’t mean you don’t understand the beauty of the music of other musicians. When a song is beautiful its beautiful, no matter what.

How has the reaction to the cover been from other Metal bands? Any surprises there?

Everyone liked the cover and as far as I know, Depeche Mode themselves listened to it, as soon as the producer of our album “Karmacode”, Ronald Prent, worked for them several times and played the song for them. As far as I know they liked it.

How has the song been received from the crowds so far on the Ozzfest Tour?

Depeche Mode are a huge band, but the rock/metal scene in the USA is not the one where they’re known the best. But it’s so amazing to hear huge crowds in front of us singing every single word of the song with us.

Does Lacuna Coil want to challenge the taste of Metal fans by doing a song like this or was it even that thought out?

Honestly we couldn’t care less about that. We are pretty selfish when we put out a new album. We mainly want to please ourselves.

Have you heard anything from the band about what they think of your take on the song?

As I said before, yes. They did and they liked it. And this is great!

How busy have you guys been now that you are out promoting the new album “Karmacode”? Pretty hectic?

Yeah…It’s kind of a crazy period… We were touring in the US with Rob Zombie even few weeks before the release of “Karmacode”, then we played some major festivals in Europe, like Download, Rock Im Park, Rock Am Ring, Heineken Jammin’ Festival and Graspop. Now we are touring with Ozzfest and after this we’ll be back to Europe for a headlining tour around September/October.

I’m sure a lot of Depeche Mode’s fans will go check out the new album, what would you hope they would take from your music?

I hope that most of Depeche Mode fans that will read this and will listen to our version of “Enjoy The Silence” will be open to listen to something different from what they usually listen to. I hope that our cover song will bring them closer to our music and rock metal in general, there’s so much good stuff out there.

Aside from your new record, what else can we look forward to from Lacuna Coil?

Touring, touring, touring. Everyone who wants to know more about the band has to go to www.lacunacoil.it or thekarmacode.com. That will bring the viewers in a sort of a portal which is connected to the fan club as well. There’s a Lacuna Coil page on the My Space site as well, you’ll find all the dates we are gonna play in the next future.

For more information on Lacuna Coil, please visit:

www.lacunacoil.it
www.thekarmacode.com
www.myspace.com/lacunacoil

Interview by Element. (C) Home. Do not steal this article without giving full credit and a link! Photo appears courtesy of Lacuna Coil.