Andrea Ferro from Lacuna Coil talks to Rock Overdose and Konstantinos Sotirelis about the band's future plans, about the evolution in metal, about "Delirium" and the band's career so far. Enjoy!
Rock Overdose: I'd like to know the response ''Delirium'' had so far. It's been a year and a half since its release, are you satisfied with the result and what would you change if you could?
Andy: It's sort of a new beginning because we've changed a lot in the line-up the past three years so it was the first record we've done with a new band member and also with Marco the bass player taking over the production. We did some changes, we tried out something different to show the fans we're still here in a more different shape than before but not completely different, just a little bit new, but it's really welcomed by the fans and actually it's been selling more than the previous records, surprisingly nowadays.
Rock Overdose: In my personal opinion, as years pass by the interest for Lacuna Coil grows with each album. Do you feel the same and if yes, is it bigger than ever or did you enjoy more success in a moment of the past?
Andy: I think we had a stable level of success in the past, obviously there is always a moment that you become bigger than you used to be 'cause it's the first time people start finding out about the band, you get more attention from the media as well but generally noticed that we're growing on certain territories and we're stable in some others, there's always new places we're visiting for the first time, for example Serbia, we've never been there, it's going to be the first time, we're going to do some headline shows in Sofia for the first time, we've been to Malta for the first time. It's good to see there's places that the people actually know your band and I think we're in a stable level in our career at the moment. You know, sometimes there's more attention and things are going better and some other times you have more media attention, which is important of course and makes you look fresh and more interesting but we never experienced major change in our fans.
Rock Overdose: The sound of the band seems to get heavier through your evolution. Is it something you want to do on purpose or is it something that comes during the writing process?
Andy: Yeah, we're working the music and when we try to follow what's coming out the songwriting, Marco when he composes the music likes looking TV or documentaries or horror movies, so you turn the volumes down and play like it's a live soundtrack to the images, and so we just follow what the inspiration is dictating so this time around was a lot of heaviness and also having Ryan as a drummer we could push a little more on that aspect of the rhythmical side of the songs, and so we fully took advantage of his ability with double-bass. It was just the way the music was coming, we knew we could do something heavier and we also wanted to surprise the fans, to show an aspect that we hadn't shown so far, so much. We kinda went full way following the music, the music was requiring some more screaming, more growl vocals that we tried, we are happy with the result and there's still a good balance between the heaviness and the melody in the songs, I think we have a Lacuna Coil album with balance of those things.
Rock Overdose: I'm very curious about the way you compose your material. Could you tell us some details?
Andy: Yes, Marco the bass player is usually writing most of the music, and we are working separately our own ideas and then we meet all together in his studio and we sit down, listen to the ideas, we decide which one fits better to the songs, if it's my idea we use my idea, if it's Cristina's we use hers and we sometimes mix them, it's very open and democratic, if we don't like what we have, we start writing all over again, we just throw away all the material we will not use because we think everything has to be there for the songs, the ego is not there when you write, everybody understands what's better for the songs and not for the personal side.
Rock Overdose: The band exists for more than twenty years, which things have remained the same since 1997 and which changed a lot to bring you to today's status?
Andy: Obviously we have more experiences and we know more about music, business and how it works, you make career, you go on tour, so obviously there's more experiences. I think the excitement of writing new music and developing the ideas, the stage and the clothes, they're all still there, the creative part hasn't really changed, obviously we're more aware and we know what we can do and what we can't do but in general we have still the same excitement when there's a demo for a song and we hear it to see if it makes it to the record and then hear the final version of the song, that hasn't changed, plus the artistic part, the artwork, the photos and later on the way you're going to propose the song on stage, that's something that is the same and is a reasong why we keep going as a band, we feel like kids, very excited when we have new stuff to have the people listen to it and to bring it to the road. I think if you miss that part and see it as another job, then it's time to quit, it's close the chapter.
Rock Overdose: I think it's very important for a band to have this flame that had the first days.
Andy: Yes, it's important especially... I understand people that after some years they get bored, no motivation anymore, it's natural, either you have it or you don't have it anymore. I think when the passion is not there anymore, especially in rock scene, people are going to recognize if you're being honest with your music or not, it's important you can communicate with them and have the honesty. People are going to understand if you're true, because you have to do another record, another tour, sell some t-shirts, if that's the case, then it's just another job and I think you should quit and go find another job, because it's not whan an artistic job is supposed to be for me.
Rock Overdose: For every band there is always a special album regarding the fans. It seems that this special moment for you was in ''Comalies'', do you also believe it was the best album you did so far and why do you think it remains the fans' favourite?
Andy: I think it's not the best album we've done, but it's probably the most important album we've done, because with that album the level of popularity of the band grows massively especially in the United States that album brought us from an Italian band to an international touring band and playing along with Ozzy Osbourne and System Of A Down and all the big bands, so our popularity really raised after that record. That record was the one that made us a bigger band, a bigger name, that doesn't mean it's the best record, it's the record that people really discover you and it has a special place in their heart, because it's the first time they hear you, it's the same with every band, like Slayer with ''Reign In Blood'' or ''South of Heaven'', those special records, Metallica with ''Master Of Puppets'' or ''Black Album'', a whole generation, so there's always one or two records that people get attached and for them this is the best of the band, that's what comes for people when they discover you or you get to be a bigger band, and that's probably the most important record we've done, I think it's difficult to say an album is the best for a band, there's songs in that album or another album that you love so for a band it's all about the songs and the vibe of the moment, I think ''Comalies'' was the best album we could write in 2002 and ''Delirium'' was the best album we could write in 2016 so it really depends.
Rock Overdose: It would be very interesting to know your influences as a singer, which ones made you want to grab a microphone and do the same?
Andy: When we started I used to admire singers that were able to do more than one thing, my favourite of all time has always been Mike Patton from Faith No More, because he's always been able to do the very clean, very melodic voices as well as the crazy screams, high pitched and everything, so he is quite a complete singer. I also like singers like Nick Holmes in the beginning of Paradise Lost who influenced my style of distorted vocals, James Hetfield of Metallica, some of these singers may have not been the style of technical singers but had a very personal and very strong style, you recognize them right away. Generally in metal the most famous singers are not really the good ones, like Ozzy or Lemmy, they're not technically the best singers, but they're the most recognizable, they're the ones that say two words and you know who they are. So I really like more personality in singers than the technique, technique is nice too but my way of listening to music is I don't mind about the technique, I'm much more about the impact.
Rock Overdose: Do you have any specific favourite bands?
Andy: I don't have one that is my favourite, I have a lot of bands that I like, songs that I like, albums that I like, but I don't have one favourite band. If you would ask me when we started back in 1997 I would have said bands like probably Paradise Lost or Type O Negative, two of my favourite, I still like those bands but also much more, so I wouldn't say there is a favourite one.
Rock Overdose: What do you believe about today's evolution on the metal sound?
Andy: I like it! I like all kinds of evolution, obviously sometimes some are better than some others, but in general I love the fact that metal is still alive and there are so many stuff that you can't even name them all, because they are so many and I love the fact that people is loyal in metal, people are listening to metal because it's a lifestyle but not because is a music played in the surroundings, it's something deeper and very attached to people with their lives and being in a band through the music business I see people getting merrier because they come to a show or they come with their kids and new generations find about other bands. People are attached to metal, but not only to us but the whole idea that is metal. That's what's so special about metal and that's why it's still here, alive and with so many different styles.
Rock Overdose: In my opinion Ryan and Diego have offered a lot to the band. I would like to know how they were chosen and which new elements they have brought to your sound.
Andy: Ryan has been with us for a few years now, he was our drum tech for Cristiano, our previous drummer, so he's been with us for eight or nine years, and he plays with us for five or six years, ''Delirium'' is the first time where he could contribute, like recording and the arrangements of the songs, he's very good with the double-bass, a very modern style of drummer, you can push him to do really fast stuff or really tricky ones, he'd be able to do it quite easily. He's a great addition, technically-wise but also as a side of personality, he's a very good guy, never complains, always positive, he's very good to have on tour, we're very happy to have him on tour and we're starting to know his family as well, so we have a big relationship that has developed and going really well. Diego is the latest addition, he hasn't really contributed to the record yet, he's done a couple of lead guitars after it was already done, he's a friend, he used to play in a band that Marco our bass player produced in the past, so that's how we met him. He's a very good guy, a very nice person to have around and also very enjoying the opportunity we offer him to tour with us to all the world by playing music. He has a very good style of guitar playing, he's a very good mix of the two previous guitar players that we had and we'll see actually to the future where we're gonna work a record together how much he'll contribute in a different way.
Rock Overdose: It's been 14 years since March 2003 when we first saw you in Greece together with Tiamat. Since then you come whenever you can and we can see you love the Greek audience, do you have any special memories from the first time or the next ones in Greece?
Andy: Yeah, obviously I love Greece, not only the Greek audience, obviously we love the shows there, but I come to Greece very often for vacation, I was there this summer with my wife in Santorini island so we come very often. We love the food, the culture also is very similar to our culture in Italy, so we would like to come every time and we'll have a great show. Every time we come it's a lot of fun, the people are participating with a lot of energy to the show so we're looking forward to be there again and meet the Greek fans again, it's always a pleasure for us and we also try the food with a little wine, maybe see some friends like the guys in Rotting Christ and Septicflesh.
Rock Overdose: What should we expect from your shows here?
Andy: We're gonna bring the ''Delirium'' tour mostly, but also some classic songs from ''Comalies'', ''Karmacode'' and all the releases, and we're gonna play one song that we haven't played yet live, so it's gonna be pretty intense, a lot of songs, a lot of energy, a lot of jumping around and a lot of singing together, it's fun, it's a fun show for sure.
Rock Overdose: Are there any ready ideas for a new album?
Andy: Not yet, because we're doing this tour and then it's Christmas time and then we're working on a show in January in London where we're celebrating our 20 years of the band, where we're gonna record a live DVD as well and next year we're gonna start writing for the new album, I think it's still a bit early to talk about it, we have collected individually some ideas but nothing like a demo, so we don't know what direction we're gonna go and all that, it's too early to think about it. Obviously the idea of bringing some heaviness to ''Delirium'' we really liked it and the fans liked it so we'll keep the sound like that but also try something different. We don't want to repeat the exact same thing, we're gonna keep some of the heaviness for sure, but try also something else.
Rock Overdose: Thanks very much for this interview, it was a great honour for me!
Andy: My pleasure!
Rock Overdose: I would like you to close it with a message to the Greek fans!
Andy: Yes, I wanna invite everybody to the shows in Athens and Thessaloniki so see you all at the show, we're very excited, we can't wait to get there, it's very close these days and get ready!
For Rock Overdose,
Interview: Konstantinos Sotirelis
Transcription: Dimitris Aloras
Comments
