Lacuna Coil have a strong fan base in the UK, and this is clearly shown through the fact that they have five sold out shows in UK. Manchester being the first of these. Their last few albums have cemented Lacuna Coil in the metal genre, notably ‘Delirium’ and ‘Black Anima’. This cold November evening sees fans, metalheads and music lovers alike queueing down onto Oxford Road eagerly waiting to enter the venue.
Infected Rain (8/10) have an early set – beginning shortly after doors. After only a couple of tracks the venue has filled immensely. The quality of their sound is incredible; few support bands achieve such a great sound so early in the evening. Lena flows seamlessly between soaring cleans and aggressive harsh vocals. The instrumentation creates a powerful sound. They are down a guitarist and Lacuna Coil’s Diego steps in for a section of their set. Despite this, they give an incredible performance without their sound being compromised. The energy in the O2 Ritz is building early – Lena refuses to take no for an answer as she shouts for the crowd to jump. She succeeds in the formation of a circle pit for their final track of their and it’s only just gone 8pm! Infected Rain are a strong band who are continuing to grow with each new release. Encompassing ludicrously heavy music with a progressive element, they have a good variety of tracks. Their song writing has clearly developed and is an area they can continue to improve on. This being said, their live performance really brings their music to life.
Intense anticipation is in the air ahead of Eluveitie’s (9/10) set. The Swiss band of ten entwine the essence of a powerful metal band with traditional instruments and incredible vocals. Opening with Ategnatos the folk metallers establish a powerful atmosphere. They give a fantastic show – even performing a track in their native Swiss. Fabienne’s vocals soar; she is an incredibly strong live vocalist. Her solo track during their set shows off her confidence and ability. Eluveitie’s set combines an ideal balance of heavier tracks and those which focus predominantly on the folk aspect. Even with this variation the energy doesn’t drop. The crowd alternate between headbanging and dancing, and even doing both simultaneously. Ambiramus is a huge hit. The pop influences in the song writing of this track creates a fantastic party atmosphere whilst staying true to their folk metal sound. They have a longer set and perform a fantastic show, it’s difficult to believe that they aren’t the main act of the evening.
Lacuna Coil (9/10) give a very theatrical performance – the gothic horror stage make-up and flowing hooded clothing creates a dark, mysterious atmosphere. It perfectly suits the mood of ‘Black Anima’ and ‘Delirium’. Opening with Blood Tears Dust, the drama of their heavy sound fills the venue. The singles Layers of Time and Reckless from the latest album both make appearances as is to be expected. They sound fantastic live. They also perform Veneficium and Cristina reaches such a high pitch using a more operatic vocal style. This adds even more drama to the music than just using a backing track. The great range of her voice doesn’t let up throughout their performance. Andreas’s harsh vocals are also strong and dynamic. The addition of smoke machines, raised platforms and dramatic lighting further enhances the haunting atmosphere of their set. It wouldn’t be a true Lacuna Coil performance if they didn’t include some old favourites. Enjoy the Silence and Heavens a Lie sees the crowd singing along and reminiscing. After so many years, these songs still have a huge impact onto their fans. These tracks also suit the newer guitar and bass tones without straying too far from the original recorded versions. The encore brings a somewhat unexpected performance. Now, at this point in November most of us would agree that it’s way too early for a Christmas song. However, the floor vibrating bass, Andrea’s growls and Cristina’s haunting vocals sections make their performance of Naughty Christmas somewhat more acceptable.
This evening has been an incredible combination of genres, theatrics and musical talent. The Infected Rain delivered a set fuelled with infectious metal breakdowns and heavy sounds. Eluveitie brought a dynamic folk metal performance that enchanted the crowd throughout, and gothic metallers Lacuna Coil delivered the dark theatrics combined with their beloved sound. Few gigs have such an incredible line up as this with incredible sound quality and performances throughout. It was not an event to be missed.
And there you have it! Lacuna Coil has some gigs in Europe, South America and Australia coming up. Check out the gig dates below:
Tue. 11/19- Batschkapp in Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
Wed. 11/20- Capitol in Hannover, Germany
Thu. 11/21- Huxley’s Neue Welt in Berlin, Germany
Fri. 11/22- Felsenkeller in Leipzig, Germany
Sat. 11/23- TonHalle in Munchen, Germany
Sun. 11/24- Conrad Sohm in Dornbirn, Austria
Tue. 11/26- Le Rocher de Palmer in Cenon, France
Wed. 11/27- Razzmatazz in Barcelona, Spain
Thu. 11/28- Sala MON Live Madrid in Madrid, Spain
Fri. 11/29- Le Bikini in Ramonville St. Agne, France
Sat. 11/30- L’Etage in Rennes, France
Sun. 12/1- Elysee Montmartre in Paris, France
Tue. 12/3- Garage in Saarbrucken, Germany
Wed. 12/4- Hirsch in Nurnberg, Germany
Thu. 12/5- Center urbane kulture kino Siska in Ljubljana, Slovenia
Fri. 12/6- Babra Negra in Budapest, Hungary
Sat. 12/7- Hala Euronics in Zlin, Czech Republic
Sun. 12/8- arena wien- verein forum in Wien, Austria
Tue. 12/10- Kwadrat. Students club in Krakow, Poland
Wed. 12/11- Progresja in Warsaw, Poland
Thu. 12/12- Melna piekdiena, klubs in Riga, Latvia
Fri. 12/13- Tavastia in Helsinki, Finland
Sat. 12/14- Tampereen Tullikamari(Pakkahuone & Klubi) in Tampere, Finland
Sun. 12/15- Rock Cafe in Tallinn, Estonia
Tue. 12/17- Fryshuset Gymmet in Stockholm, Sweden
Wed. 12/18- Vulkan Arena in Oslo, Norway
Thu. 12/19- Tragar’n in Goteborg, Sweden
Fri. 12/20- Amager Bio in Kobenhavn S., Denmark
Sat. 12/21- Docks in Hamburg, Germany
Tue. 2/11- Opiniao in Porto Alegre, Brazil
Wed. 2/12- Tork n’ Roll in Curitiba, Brazil
Fri. 2/14- Toinha Brasil Show in Brasilia, Brazil
Sat. 2/15- Carioca Club in Sao Paulo, Brazil
Sun. 2/16- Ciro Voador in Rio De Janerio, Brazil
Tue. 2/18- El Teatrito in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Thu. 2/20- Blondie in Santiago, Chile
Fri. 3/20- Download Festival in Melbourne, Australia
Sat. 3/21- Download Festival in Sydney, Australia
For tickets and further information on any of the gigs listed above, click here.
Fans can find Lacuna Coil at the following locations:
www.instagram.com/Lacunacoilofficial
