Cristina Scabbia: Lacuna Coil weren't taken seriously in Italy

Cristina Scabbia
Cristina Scabbia (Image credit: Getty)

Cristina Scabbia says she wasn’t taken seriously as a musician when she began singing in Lacuna Coil.

The frontwoman says being in a band wasn’t considered a real job when the group were starting out in Italy in the 90s – when rock and metal groups in the country were few and far between.

She tells MetalSucks: “At the beginning it wasn’t easy, because when you say you’re a musician, people immediately say, ‘Ok but what’s your job?’ ‘I’m a musician,’ ‘Yeah, but what’s your real job?’ ‘No, really, I’m touring the world, this is how I pay my bills.’

“People still don’t look at musicians as people who really work. At the beginning my parents were worried for me, like, ‘Where do you think you’re going?’ – especially coming from Italy. There aren’t a lot of rock or metal bands from Italy.”

Scabbia says that, though her parents are “proud and supportive” of her career, she rarely discusses Lacuna Coil with her loved ones.

She says: “I almost never talk about my work with friends and family. I never go into details.

“It might be exciting for me, but it might be super boring for whoever is listening, who don’t really know about it. So unless they ask, I don’t talk about it.”

Delirium is released on May 27. Lacuna Coil are currently touring the US.

Lacuna Coil Delirium tracklist

  1. Delirium
  2. Blood, Tears, Dust
  3. Downfall
  4. Take Me Home
  5. You Love Me ‘Cause I Hate You
  6. Ghost in the Mist
  7. My Demons
  8. Claustrophobia
  9. Ultima Ratio

Lacuna Coil tour 2016

May 25: Brooklyn Saint Vitus, NY
May 26: Uncasville Mohegan Sun Wolf Den, CT
Jun 24: Parabiago Rugby Sound Festival, Italy
Jul 01: Piazzola Sul Brenta Postpay Sound, Italy
Jul 09: Les Remparts De Longwy Rock’n’Roll Train Festival, France
Jul 22: Vinci Festa Dell’Unicorno, Italy
Aug 13: Graz Metal On The Hill Festival, Austria

Lacuna Coil: We want Delirium to feel like being in an asylum

Former TeamRock news desk member Christina joined our team in late 2015, and although her time working on online rock news was fairly brief, she made a huge impact by contributing close to 1500 stories. Christina also interviewed artists including Deftones frontman Chino Moreno and worked at the Download festival. In late 2016, Christina left rock journalism to pursue a career in current affairs. In 2021, she was named Local Weekly Feature Writer of the Year at the Scottish Press Awards.