Cristiano Migliore plays guitar for Italian Goth metal band Lacuna Coil (which means empty spiral in English). Along with guitarist Marco Biazzi, he lays down the thunderous guitar lines that surround the beautiful and poignant voice of Cristina Scabbia and the more angst and metal hardened Andrea Ferro. On bass and keyboards is Marco Zelati, and on drums is Cristiano Mozzati. Besides arrangements that thrive in melody and style, as well as having the ability to force the boundaries of thrash and bang in metal rock, the band’s songs are amassed with passion and diversity. The contrasting emotion in the styles of both vocalists is a quality that has rendered them much attention over the past few years.
It’s no doubt a change in scenery to see an Italian rock band reach such prominent heights, but through huge amounts of touring with
Ozzfest,
Rob Zombie,
Type O Negative, and many others, steady exposure has made them known to metal lovers worldwide. Their latest two albums, released by Century Media, have much to do with that success as well. With diverse and melodic songs like ‘Swamped’ and ‘Heaven’s A Lie’, both from 2002s ‘Comalies’, and ‘Our Truth’ and ‘Devoted’ from the recent ‘
Karmacode’, the band has reached the ears of many through touring, radio airplay, and enthusiastic word of mouth.
The summer of 2006 has been amazing for Lacuna Coil, as they found themselves opening the main stage throughout the Ozzfest tour. This achievement is quite a step forward from their 2004 second stage set, no doubt an accomplishment in itself. Also, an appearance at the Download Festival, in England’s Donnington Park, put them on a bill with the likes of Metallica and Tool.
Below is Brian D. Holland's recent interview with Lacuna Coil guitarist Cristiano Migliore (conducted in July 2006):
Brian D. Holland: Lacuna Coil appears to be doing very well right now. I’d like to congratulate you on the new CD, ‘Karmacode’.
Cristiano Migliori: Thank you, very much.
‘Our Truth’ is a fantastic song.
Yes. That was the first single released from it.
 |
| "There are a lot of good bands in Italy. Maybe if we do get popular, we’ll be able to help some others break through." |
I saw Lacuna Coil at Ozzfest in Massachusetts a couple of years ago. I think we had just arrived when you guys came on, breaking into ‘Swamped’. It was about 1:30pm. I became an immediate fan. I think it’s great that you’re a main stage act in the festival this year.
We’re really happy to be back again this year, especially opening the main stage. It’s a big step forward. [Laughing] What can you say? You get to play Ozzfest; it’s really great. Playing main stage is better than great.
You speak very good English, by the way.
Thank you.
When did Lacuna Coil first tour the States? Was that your first time here?
We actually toured the US for the first time in 2001. It was a very short tour, something like fifteen shows. We opened in support of Moonspell, who were on the same label as us, Century Media. We played really small clubs, to like two or three hundred people. But it was our very first time in the US. It was a lot of fun. Everything was so new for us. We saw stuff that we only saw in the movies. [Laughing] It was exactly the same way. Europe is very different. The very first time we landed in New York, we saw all the limos parked outside the airport, cops on motorcycles and stuff. [Laughing] It was really cool. It was almost like being in a movie. We didn’t come back until 2003, when we toured with Ozzfest. That was our first real American tour. We spent like six weeks over here. We toured pretty much everywhere. Starting in Seattle, we did the whole west coast, and then moved towards the east coast. We literally spent the whole time traveling around. It went very well. I mean, even though we were really different from most bands in Ozzfest, people seemed to really enjoy our music. That’s when it all started.
Then came the Type O Negative tour.
Yes. Then Type O Negative asked us to go on tour with them. They had a new album out, and it had been a while since their previous one. It was probably one of the best tours we had ever done. We became really good friends with Type O. There was a short break in between, in which we toured with Anthrax, and then we went back to the Type O Negative tour for like a couple of weeks. Then it was over.
All of this allowed us to get a lot of radio airplay. WAAF in Boston picked up on ‘Comalies’. They started playing the single and everybody loved it. A lot of other stations followed. I think we had about eighty commercial stations playing the song around that time. It was great. For a small band like ours, from Italy, in the states for the first time, it was like a dream come true. It was really cool.
So the band’s recognition in the US has been a good experience so far?
Yeah. It’s been great. I mean, it’s really different than Europe, but that’s what makes it cool actually. In Italy, for example, the new album is getting great reviews, magazine coverage and stuff. Before, nobody really cared. We were actually more popular over here in the states than in our own country. It was kind of weird. But the problem is that rock music isn’t really popular over there.
Well, the whole experience must be truly overwhelming for the band. It’s unusual for an Italian rock band to be so successful.
Exactly. There are a few others who became popular in Europe, though they never really made it over here.
Maybe you guys will be that first huge success, and then others will follow. Kind of like what U2 did for Ireland.
Well, hopefully. There are a lot of good bands in Italy. Maybe if we do get popular, we’ll be able to help some others break through.
Exactly.
There are other bands in Italy who deserve it. Unfortunately, the record companies over there don’t like to risk it. They know they won’t sell enough records, especially in the Italian market.
 |
| "Playing main stage at Ozzfest is better than great." |
What is the rock music scene in Italy really like? Is there a Goth metal market?
The rock bands that are popular in Italy are basically the ones that come over from America or the UK. We have all kinds of music. But if you actually want to become a musician, and play music in Italy, you have to stick with the Italian pop music, which doesn’t have anything to do with rock. [Laughing] I think things are changing, though, maybe because of us. People are starting to realize that Italian bands can actually do something by playing this kind of music. But it’s hard, as I had said, because the record companies don’t want to invest money on music that won’t sell, like say, for example, pop, R&B, or stuff like that. But I guess it’s kind of the same way everywhere.
Lacuna Coil has a great sound. You have the best of both worlds. You have Cristina’s voice providing the Goth, dark, and yet beautiful side, and then you’ve got the harder edge on the other side, with the harsher male vocal and metal guitars.
Yes. We do.
Another band that comes to mind that contains both edges to their sound, yet without a female attribute, is Sevendust. Yours is kind of like Evanescence.
It gives you a lot more things to play with, you know. It’s something we’ve wanted to do since we started. When we started we were listening to bands like Paradise Lost, Carcass, and others. We were really reeling to this kind of music. We wanted to add something extra to this music. That’s why we started working with Cristina. She was our bass player’s girlfriend. She had come in just for fun, or just as a backing vocalist. In the end we realized that she was something really important to the music we play. For example, the most obvious place to use her voice would be in a soft part or a very aesthetic part. The female vocalist fits well in that music. But we actually found out, by trying and experimenting a little more, that she works out very well in some of the heavy parts, too. Nobody would expect her to sing on these parts. Andrea started singing more in a growling way, like the death metal bands were doing at the time we started. And then he was like, “Why should I keep growling like this? If I sing in a different way, I could experiment with a wider range.” To have two vocalists is great, because you can try a lot of different things that you wouldn’t even think of with one singer. Whether a girl or a guy, you’d still be limited by one type of voice. I think it has become our trademark, and now we’re trying to develop it even further.
Did Evanescence open doors for Lacuna Coil?
I think they helped us a lot in a way. Even though we were around before they even started, the fact that they made it so big caught a lot of attention. We thought, wow, women can actually sing to this type of music really well. Our last record, ‘Comalies’, had a lot of really heavy songs on it. But having a female vocalist made the songs a lot more accessible to those who wouldn’t ordinarily listen to this stuff. Ordinarily, they’d say it’s too heavy, with a guy screaming all the time. But even though it’s the same heavy music, people are more willing to listen to it because a girl is singing. They also helped us a lot because people would ask, "Who is this band that has a style somewhat like Evanescence?" Those who knew would say, "Oh, that’s Lacuna Coil. They were there before them." We’re moving along on our own, like we always have. But they opened some doors, I’m sure.
How would you categorize your music? Is it progressive Goth metal?
It’s really hard to categorize the type of music we play. When we write songs, we don’t really think style at all. In the beginning, for example, we were a bit more progressive in that we had a lot more parts in the same song. We actually learned to keep it simpler because we wanted a more fluent structure to the songs, so people wouldn’t get lost, let’s say. We wanted to do songs that were more memorable. It doesn’t mean we wanted to become commercial; we just wanted to keep it simpler than we did in the beginning, because the music actually sounds better that way. And when playing live, it’s more direct. We don’t really think style; we just play whatever we like, and if it fits the curriculum then that’s good.
You recently toured with Rob Zombie?
Yes. It was great. It was another of the best tours we’ve done. Every show was pretty much sold out, with at least two thousand people every night. We had a great time. The guys were really cool, and they made us feel at home. Even though we were the support band, we had catered food everyday, dressing rooms, and even the crowd was very good. We got a very good response from his fans. It was worth it, and it was a lot of fun.
 |
| "Andrea started singing more in a growling way, like the death metal bands were doing at the time we started." |
What influenced your guitar playing when you were young?
I actually started listening to the music my father was listening to. He had a huge record collection. He played guitar when he was young, and he taught me a few tricks when I started learning. I was into bands like Dire Straits, The Eagles, and more stuff like that. Later on I discovered Metallica and Maiden. It was good because my father actually taught me how to play all of these songs by these 70s bands. He was a pretty good guitar player when he was young.
Excluding Lacuna Coil, what other music do you listen to these days?
A lot of different music, sometimes metal, pop, or jazz. I like a lot of different bands. For example, I just got The Best of Suzanne Vega. It doesn’t have to be metal for me to like it, just as long as it gives me something.
2002s ‘Comalies’ kind of put Lacuna Coil on the map, and made people stand up and take notice. Did you expect that record to do as well as it did?
Honestly, no. We didn’t expect it to be so successful. We were hoping it would, as you always do when you record a record. But it wasn’t planned. We just recorded it and went on tour. Truth is, when we came over to the US and toured with Ozzfest and Type O Negative, everything just started blowing up. Radio stations started playing ‘Heaven’s A Lie’ while we were touring. It was really unexpected. We didn’t think it would be this big, mainly because we’re not with a major record company.
You must be pleased with Century Media, after making four records with them.
Sure. It’s understanding what companies can do for you. It’s better to be the first priority of a small record company than the last wheel of a major label. If the first record doesn’t work, they just let you go. It’s so far so good for us and Century Media.
‘Karmacode’ is a slight diversion from past work. Did you do things differently?
Actually, we had a lot more time to finish this album. We started collecting ideas almost four years ago, right after we finished recording ‘Comalies’. Of course, a lot happened in between; four years is a long time to write an album. We toured a lot, with a lot of different bands. These bands may have even influenced us somehow, you know. Also, playing live so much can give you a different view. You start to realize which songs you like to play the most, which are often the ones the fans like to hear the most. We had more time and a higher studio budget. This gave us the chance to experiment more with sounds and ideas. It all reflected in the music on ‘Karmacode’.
Besides ‘Our Truth’, I love your version of Depeche Mode’s ‘Enjoy The Silence’. From what I understand, Cristina is a big Depeche Mode fan.
Actually, we all are. We were thinking of covering a song by one of the 80s bands we listened to a lot when we were younger. We were thinking of Soundgarden’s ‘Black Hole Sun’ or Sisters Of Mercy’s ‘ ‘Temple Of Love’. We had a few ideas in mind. In the end we chose ‘Enjoy The Silence’ because it was a song we all really liked. The way we arranged it sounded so good to us. We’re really happy with the way it came out.
Talk about the Ozzfest setlist.
We won’t have much time to play, so we’ll be sticking to new songs. It’ll be as intense as possible.
Will ‘Frozen Feeling’ ever be released?
We don’t know yet. That was like one of the very first songs we wrote. We still have the tape masters. It’s something that sounds really different than what we do right now. Maybe one day. Who knows?
 |
| "We just play whatever we like, and if it fits the curriculum then that’s good." |
Who are your favorite guitar players?
I have a lot of people I really like. Steve Vai is great. I really like Mikael (Akerfeldt) in Opeth. He’s a great guitar player. There are so many, with completely different styles. Al di Meola. I like a lot of players.
Let’s talk gear.
We’re using the Stephen Carpenter signature ESP guitars, the seven string. It's the ESP LTD SC-607B. We’ve been using them for a couple of years now. For the music we play, and because of the sound we have, the seven string is a must. It gives us more possibilities.
We use Line 6 amps and cabinets. We’ve been using them for years now. We used to have the Line 6 Flextone IIs, but we just got in the HD 147s. I used one for a couple of shows at the end of the Zombie tour.
I use Dean Markley strings.
Do you have any advice for young guitarists?
The only thing I can say is play, and keep on playing all the time. That’s the only way to get somewhere.
2006 © Brian D. Holland
| "Karmacode" (Century Media Records, 2006) track listing, two full MP3 links:
01. Fragile
02. To The Edge
03. Our Truth (MP3)
04. Within Me
05. Devoted (MP3)
06. You Create
07. What I See
08. Fragments Of Faith
09. Closer
10. In Visible Light
11. The Game
12. Without A Fear
13. Enjoy The Silence
Purchase "Karmacode"
Lacuna Coil (website) is:
Cristina Scabbia: vocals
Andrea Ferro: vocals
Cristiano Migliore: guitars
Marco Biazzi: guitars
Marco Coti Zelati: bass and keyboards
Cristiano Mozzati: drums |
/ my profile 
