By Michael Swanger
scenescribe@mchsi.com

Lacuna Coil performs Monday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. at People’s Court. Calous, Shatter, Superchief and Twelve Days Silent open the show. Tickets are $16 through Ticketfly.

The news of Lacuna Coil’s sixth album “Dark Adrenaline” debuting at No. 15 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums chart was only a few hours old when a phone call placed to the Italian goth metal band’s lead female vocalist Christina Scabbia revealed the pride in her voice when asked about the band’s highest album debut to date.

“It’s been an exciting week,” Scabbia, 39, said last week with a thick Italian accent. “First, the record gets released, then I woke up this morning with the beautiful news that we made the Billboard chart. It’s good news and it’s good to be back with a lot of positive reviews and fans telling us how much they love the new album.”

“Dark Adrenaline” also nabbed the No. 2 spot on the Current Alternative Album, Top Hard Music Album and Current Hard Music Album charts thanks in part to the strength of its first single and video, “Trip the Darkness,” which placed at No. 27 on the Active Rock chart. Having sold nearly two million copies of its first five albums, graced the covers of metal magazines and captivated audiences at festivals like Ozzfest, Download and Graspop, Lacuna Coil’s newest chart success is the culmination of more than a decade’s worth of hard work.

“The difficult thing will be to keep it up, because you can be on the charts one week and off the next and no one will buy your album,” said Scabbia.

One thing the sextet is assured of is never resting on its laurels when it comes to creativity. Scabbia, Andrea Ferro (male vocals), Cristiano Migliore (guitar), Marco Biazzi (guitar), Marco Coti Zelati (bass) and Cristiano Mozzati (drums) have become a fixture in the international metal scene by creating a sound that blends modern, melodic, sensual and metallic forms of rock that is difficult to categorize. Even the band’s cover of R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion,” for instance, fits in nicely on “Dark Adrenaline.”

“Since the beginning, we never got stuck doing the same thing over and over,” said Scabbia. “We were inspired by bands like Paradise Lost and Type O Negative when we started so we got labeled as goth metal, but we embraced different styles and went for something a little more experimental. I think our music is different from other metal bands because we challenge ourselves and don’t want to repeat ourselves.”

One big difference between Lacuna Coil and most metal bands is the rare male-female pairing of lead singers Scabbia and Ferro.

“Having that is cool for different reasons. First, I think we use our voices in different ways. Usually when you see a male and female in a lineup it’s about roles because you put together the angelic voice with the woman and the man would be growling or more aggressive,” Scabbia said. “For us it works differently. We can each sing parts for women and men, so we feel free to do whatever we want.”

Having a powerful female lead singer also adds sex appeal to Lacuna Coil, a luxury not afforded to most metal bands.

“I don’t want to be a man. I am proud to be a woman and there’s nothing wrong for a woman to express her sensuality,” Scabbia said.

To be sure, though, Scabbia has earned respect of her peers for her ability to sing.

“Being a female metal singer attracts a lot of attention at first and you have to prove that you are capable of doing your job,” she said. “That’s why I’ve never encountered any problems with our fans or people in the business because I’ve always been respected.”

That respect is evident as Lacuna Coil tours with Megadeth for its “Gigantour,” which includes Motorhead and Volbeat.

“We toured with Megadeth years ago in Australia, so we know the guys and it’s great to see them again. I get to sing a song with Dave (Mustaine) every night and the guys in all the bands have been really nice to us,” she said. “It’s a very relaxed tour. We’re all doing our jobs and getting along perfectly and having fun.” CV