LACUNA COIL Answers Fan-Submitted Questions Regarding Forthcoming Album

Italian hard rock/metal band LACUNA COIL has entered the studio to begin recording the as-yet-untitled follow-up to 2009's "Shallow Life" for a fall release via Century Media Records. The group is once again working with producer Don Gilmore (PEARL JAM, LINKIN PARK, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE),this time choosing to record in its native Italy to help focus on the more personal nature of the new material.

Earlier this month, LACUNA COIL members Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro began answering weekly fan-submitted questions about the new album at the band's official fan site, EmptySpiral.net. The first couple of sets of answers can be found below.

Q: How many songs are written yet?

Andrea: "All of the songs for the album have been written and were now working on the lyrics. Obviously in the studio some things are gonna change a little bit, but weve been quite severe with ourselves and weve been throwing lots of stuff in the bin, even before it makes it to a demo."

Cristina: "We definitely write constantly! Whether it's a whole song idea, or a riff, or a vocal melody, we collect everything we create, and this time it's a LOT of stuff! Not all of the material is going to be used for album, or for bonus tracks though... but we still have it all and we keep it. There's always something interesting to go back to and re-listen to again!"

Q: Have you thought about doing a super fan packaging, like super classy and super expensive?

Andrea: "That is actually a pretty good idea! I would love to create something special for our loyal fans. Well need to talk about it with the label and see what we can do. Maybe it could be something special for the 10th anniversary of 'Comalies' which is coming up next year."

Cristina: "It's definitely in the air. In the download era I'm still convinced that the material copy of an album is still something cool to have in your hands. Even more so if it's protected by beautiful box enriched with a stunning graphic, visual and artistic ideas, plus gadgets. I personally have TONS of ideas... but with these ideas the cost of the final product might end up being waaaay too high!"

Q: Any "concept" for the album?

Andrea: "No concept. Just a collection of songs inspired by all of the events that we have experienced in the past couple of years. For some of us, it was some really dark times."

Q: Is the direction still "heavier and darker" or has it changed since?

Andrea: "Absolutely, some stuff is pretty tight, probably the heaviest we have ever written. But then we have some cool songs with a dark, 'old-school' vibe, and then some other rocking songs which are a bit more modern and anthemic sounding."

Cristina: "I just want you all to listen to it 'cause I think the old fans will be pleased as well as the new one fans. The collection of songs is the perfect balance between an older and a newer style of rock metal with a heavy punch and melancholic shadows. It's hard to describe music I hope you can just enjoy the trip with us!"

Once LACUNA COIL completes the recording sessions for the new album, the band will spend the summer performing at a select number of European festivals, including Greenfield, Graspop Metal Meeting and Sonisphere in Spain.

When asked how the new material is sounding, Cristina said in a 2010 interview with Kerrang! magazine, "It's still a rock sound. I like the direction we took on 'Shallow Life' and this is going to be in that vein. I still love metal to death, but at this point I like rock more. I like being able to bring different things that are not necessarily from metal to the album because I like the contamination between sounds. I like that music is always evolving and that you can be free to take sounds and mix them together."

Regarding whether there are any other surprises in store, Cristina said, "At this stage I actually don't know. We don't plan that, because in some ways I like to stay with that classic sound and in some other ways I like to do something completely different and surprise people. I've learned over the years that you cannot make everyone happy. If you stay classic, there will be some who say you're not innovative, and if you're innovative, people will complain that you sold out or you went off the rails. I can honestly say I don't care anymore. We want to be free to do whatever we want. We love rock and roll and we love metal, but we don't want to put any limitations on what we might make."