LACUNA COIL Singer Has No Interest In Solo Career

John Parks of Legendary Rock Interviews recently conducted an interview with singer Cristina Scabbia of Italian heavy rockers LACUNA COIL. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Legendary Rock Interviews: I know the last album, "Shallow Life" (2009),was met with a bit of resistance from some of the critics but it's my favorite of all of the albums, easily. I really liked the fact that it was more of a "normal" rock album and all of the songs on the album are incredibly catchy and hooky and not without a sense of humor. Was that a case of you guys growing too fast for some people's taste?

Cristina: I think if you're a band or an artist, you have an obligation to take risks and be challenged or you're never going to go anywhere. I mean, we could have easily stuck with the formula that was established with "Comalies" and done part 2, 3 and 4, but we didn't. We couldn't. We are artists and musicians, and this is our world, and our world is not static. We are constantly evolving and inspired by different things, and that is great. I also think that "Shallow Life" was misunderstood because of the look that we portrayed or presented in the videos and photos that accompanied that album. I think that the images we were trying to get across to show that we were against the "shallow life" or the shallow way of being were just missed completely by a lot of people. I think people misunderstood the fact that we were trying to make light of that and actually took us seriously as "the hip-hop guy" or me as "the pop diva."

Legendary Rock Interviews: Which brings us to the latest album, "Dark Adrenaline", which seems to be the perfect storm. It's taking the leaps and bounds you made in songwriting and mixing it with that image and sound your fans seem to identify with so much. Is it hard to brew up that concoction or is that something you can't even think about?

Cristina: We can't. We really have to arrive at these things on our own. I mean, I love our fans but I we don't consciously create with them in mind; that would not be art. We have to be into what we are doing as a band and we're not interested in selling out or writing for the fans or for the radio. I think people who like LACUNA COIL know that we first have to create our art and music for ourselves and then share it with them and the response we've gotten for "Dark Adrenaline" has been amazing. We especially can't worry about what critics think of an album even though they have responded really well to this album. Going back to "Shallow Life", I agree with you, I think it's a really strong album and I think it's a successful album. It was our highest-charting album prior to "Dark Adrenaline" also.

Legendary Rock Interviews: People have spoken before about you going it alone and becoming a solo artist, but LACUNA COIL has always been about the dual vocals of you and Andrea [Ferro]. Do you resist most people's attempts to try and single you out as the sole ingredient?

Cristina: I think this band has always been about the alchemy that was created by the sum of its parts. If you changed or took away the elements that are performing and composing in the scheme of this alchemy, it would be an altogether different band. It would be something else. I have been approached about a solo career, but I think the interest in something like that only comes about when you are not allowed to be creative or don't feel like you can express yourself in your current band. Honestly, that has not been the case and I have always felt comfortable in LACUNA COIL; it is like a family to me. I like the fact that we had been in a rehearsal studio and known each other for so long in real life and I like the fact that we have toured so much together. I am so happy with this band that I would honestly never consider such a thing as a solo career.

Read the entire interview from Legendary Rock Interviews.