Lacuna Coil - Bristol Review

Lacuna Coil are one of those bands that I listened to a lot around 2007/2008 when I was just starting to properly get into heavy music. They were one of the first 'goth' bands that I listened to, although around the time I was heavily into them they had tagged themselves on to the end of the nu-metal scene - with albums such as 2002's Comalies and 2006's Karmacode having turned the band into big hitters. I saw the band around this time too, in 2008 I think, when they supported Bullet for My Valentine at the Plymouth Pavilions. I do not remember much about the show in general, but I remember enjoying Lacuna Coil's set despite the dodgy sound that the venue is known for. Not too long after this however I had somewhat moved on from Lacuna Coil, as my obsession with bands like Nightwish and Kamelot really started to open my mind to all kinds of melodic metal bands. I always kept up with Lacuna Coil, although sometimes from a distance, but I never got properly back into the band until 2016 with the release of Delirium. I had bought all of the band's intervening albums - but none of them had really grabbed me all that much. Delirium did however, and it was the album that made me a big Lacuna Coil fan again. Since then I have gone back and gained an appreciation for their albums that I 'missed out on' at the time, and enjoyed the band's transition away from their nu-metal sound towards a heavier, denser sound in retrospect. It was therefore time for me to see the band again, and a tour with the Swiss folk metal giants Eluveitie seemed like the perfect opportunity. Eluveitie are another band that I have started to appreciate in a big way in the last couple of years also - so the pairing could not have been more appropriate. A few UK shows were slotted into a larger European trek, with Lacuna Coil and Eluveitie switching between the headliner and special guest slots depending on their pull in each respective area. The UK shows were billed as Lacuna Coil headline shows, with Eluveitie as the special guests. In truth however, the evening felt like more of a co-headline show, with Eluveitie enjoying a healthy amount of time on stage - but Lacuna Coil did play for longer by probably 15 or 20 minutes. The bill was obviously an enticing one for many, as all of the UK shows sold out well ahead of the tour. The show I opted for was at the SWX in Bristol, which seems to be becoming a regular stop for metal bands on their tours - which is great to see. It was an early show, with the doors opening at 6pm, and I managed to snag a spot on the raised platform to the right of the stage which - to me at least - seems to be one of the best vantage points in the venue.

Being an early show, the gathering crowd did not have long to wait before the first band of the night, Infected Rain, took to the stage. The Moldovan five-piece were certainly an energetic band, and they made a good impression throughout their short set with their enthusiasm and the powerful stage presence of frontwoman Lena Scissorhands. Soundwise, Infected Rain were a bit of a mix of styles. There was certainly a big chunk of nu-metal in their sound, but there was also some melodic death metal to be found - which gave the band a heavy and angular sound. While the band were certainly fun, some parts of their sound just felt a little old fashioned. In my opinion, nu-metal in general has aged about as well as milk so some of their songs sounded a little too Kerrang! TV circa 2006 for my liking. Some of their songs however sounded more like the path that Arch Enemy have been treading more recently - so those numbers certainly stuck with me more. The band were a guitarist down, and are for the duration of the UK tour, so roped in members from both Lacuna Coil and Eluveitie to play on certain songs which was nice to see. It is always good seeing bands helping each other out, and it shows that there must be a good amount of camaraderie between all three acts - which is always good on a lengthy tour! I think this also helped some of the crowd to get into what Infected Rain were doing, and by the end of their set large portions of the crowd seemed to have come around to what the band were about. I enjoyed parts of the band's set, and while I cannot see myself going out and picking up any of their albums it was nice to see someone flying the flag for Moldovan metal.

Another benefit of the show being an early one was the quick changeovers, so it barely seemed that any time had passed before Eluveitie took to the stage for their hour or so of music. I had seen the band a couple of times before, but since the last time I have become quite a big fan of them so I was really looking forward to catching them again. I have also been listening to their most recent album Ategnatos quite a bit since its release earlier in the year - so I was more than up for the show. The material from Ategnatos dominated the set, with the title track getting things underway in style with Nicole Ansperger (violin) and Matteo Sisti (whistles/bagpipes) laying down intricate folky melodies while the band's founder Chrigel Glanzmann (vocals/mandola/whistles) led the charge with his ferocious vocal delivery. The band's sound is an extremely rich and powerful one, and it always manages to come across well live despite the challenge it must be to the mix the nine-piece band! There did seem to be some technical issues though, with both Rafael Salzmann (guitar) and Kay Brem (bass guitar) having to leave the stage early on to get things fixed. Brem in fact seemed to be having issues throughout the whole set, and spent large portions of it off stage, which was a shame to see. He did not even come back out at the end to partake in the band's end-of-set photograph - so I do hope all is well with him. Issues aside, the band were fantastic. An early highlight for me was the melodic Deathwalker, which opened with Michalina Malisz's hurdy gurdy melodies before Glanzmann and Fabienne Erni (vocals/celtic harp) owned the stadium-worthy chorus. While Glanzmann dominated vocally, Erni still had a few chances to show off - such as during the poppy Ambiramus and the folk metal stomp of Breathe. She has a wonderful voice, and seems to have settled into the band really well over the past couple of years. Even songs from before her time with the band, such as the gorgeous ballad The Call of the Mountains, she owned - with that song being sung in the band's native language of Swiss German at the request of the crowd. Of the two main bands, I thought that Eluveitie seemed to receive a slightly better reception. They are certainly a unique band, and it seemed that throughout their set they really managed to connect with the sold out SWX. Towards the end of their set the crowd seemed really into it, with the explosive Rebirth, containing shredded solos from both Salzmann and Jonas Wolf (guitar), really getting everyone going before the band's signature track Inis Mona had the crowd bouncing and singing along. It was a shame that it had to end when it did, as I - and others I am sure - would have loved to hear a few more songs! The setlist was:

Ategnatos
King
The Call of the Mountains
Deathwalker
Worship
Artio
Ambiramus
Havoc
Breathe
Rebirth
Inis Mona

Lacuna Coil had to work hard to top Eluveitie's powerful set. Despite trying hard to do so, I am not quite sure that they managed it - although the Italian five-piece still put on a strong showing. It had been eleven years since I had seen the band last, and much of the material played came from the albums that had been released since that 2008 show, with the bulk of the songs coming from Delirium and the newly-released Black Anima. Blood, Tears, Dust got the evening underway, with Andrea Ferro (vocals) barking the harsh vocals with real venom, while the gorgeous voice of Cristina Scabbia (vocals) made the chorus shimmer. Focusing on the more recent material was a wise move in my opinion, as Lacuna Coil have become a much heavier band in recent years. New(ish) guitarist Diego Cavalotti has really given the band the kick that they needed, and his angular tech metal riffing brought the new tracks to life. The few older songs that were played sounded tame in comparison, although it was fun hearing Our Truth live again as I used to listen to Karmacode a lot as a teenager. The newer material has also seen Ferro come into his own as a singer, as he sticks to harsh vocals for the vast majority of the time. He was never much of a clean singer, which is why hearing him growl his way through songs like Layers of Time and The House of Shame much more satisfying than his strange crooning during tracks like Swamped. Scabbia has always been the band's main draw in any case, and her voice is as good now as it ever was. Gorgeous slower tracks like Downfall are made that little bit better by her performance, and she spiced up the heavy, fast-paced Sword of Anger with a biting chorus that jumped out of the song's mechanical riffing with ease. Considering that the venue was sold out, I did think that the crowd's reaction to Lacuna Coil could have been better. While it may be true that there were more Eluveitie fans in the house, and it did seem that way considering how both bands were reacted to, Lacuna Coil deserved better than the polite applause and muted cheers that they largely seemed to receive. Much of the main set received this treatment, although their closing number Enjoy the Silence did seem to get everyone going a bit more - and prompted a bit of a sing along towards the end. The band did not seem too phased however, and came back out for a four-song encore despite the cheers for one not exactly taking the roof off. The encore was better received however, with the band's silly Christmas tune Naughty Christmas going down well, before two old favourites in Heaven's a Lie and Swamped whipping up some no doubt nostalgic energy. By this point everyone seemed to have woken up a little, sadly a little too late, but it did mean that the evening's final song Nothing Stands in Our Way was met with enthusiasm with the crowd singing along as requested by Scabbia. It helped to inject bit more energy into the end of the night, and ensured that the evening ended on a high. The setlist was:

Blood, Tears, Dust
Trip the Darkness
Our Truth
Layers of Time
My Demons
Downfall
Reckless
Veneficium
Cybersleep
The House of Shame
Sword of Anger
Enjoy the Silence [Depeche Mode cover]
-
Naughty Christmas
Heaven's a Lie
Swamped
Nothing Stands in Our Way

Despite a strong showing from Lacuna Coil, who really seemed to have to work hard to elicit any kind of response from the crowd, the evening for me belonged to Eluveitie. They seemed to create a lot more excitement during their set, and their perfect brand of folk metal was presented really well live. I would not be surprised if I was not the only person to have this view either, and I hope that next time the band return to the UK it will be as a headliner so we can all get to witness a longer set from the Swiss band.