Rocket 88 does it again! Oh, you don’t know this fine publishing house of even finer rawk books and more? The publishing house that brought you the Devin Townsend biography? Books on Porcupine Tree and Opeth and Dinosaur Jr? An upcoming book on Devo??? More importantly, they’re the reason you’re sitting here reading about a book that you will soon hold in your hand about the greatest Italian heavy band of today.
We’re, of course, talking about Lacuna Coil who is celebrating twenty years of existence on the tail end of their finest release to date (Which we reviewed! Delirium. It’s killer. Read our review here.) with some once-in-a-lifetime performances (The 119 show from earlier in 2018…but more on that later) and capped off with Nothing Stands In Our Way, an oral history of the band as told by the people who lived it.
If you’re looking for a scathing tell-all then buyer beware: Lacuna Coil ain’t got time for that shit! The overlying theme throughout the book, curated by Mark Eglinton, is family. Despite line up changes and in house relationships ending, The Italian Gothfathers have persevered as a tight knit group that’s also weathered the ever changing climate of the music industry.
But. I. Digress.
I first heard about the band much like others in the States when WAAF (The station that, in fact, broke them in the US) started playing “Heaven’s A Lie” nonstop in 2002. But for me, it wasn’t until I actually got to experience the band live much later in 2007 on a tour with Stone Sour that I was hooked by the sheer intensity of their live performance. They’re one of those bands that consistently makes kickass records or kickassily makes consistent records (Their most recent has been in my regular rotation since its’ release in 2016). And reading this book, I kinda wish they were touring the States right now.
But the book!
What a book it is! Fans get an inside look (Even more so thanks to the fabulous candid and professional pictures throughout) into what makes the band tick. From their humble beginnings with band influences ranging from Paradise Lost, Pantera, and Type O Negative (While individual influences come from Slayer to Carcass to Run DMC) through to their most recent celebratory anniversary show (At the O2 Forum Kentish Town in London with UK circus performers Incandescence which happened on “Lacuna Coil Day, January 19th, of this year), fans get an oral history like no other.
And you get so much more! How Ethereal eventually became Lacuna Coil and signed with Century Media. How that Depeche Mode cover came about and how big a Duran Duran fan Marco Coti Zelati (“Maki”) is (It’s a secret, though) and how Cristina Scabbia hated the “Losing My Religion” cover (From Dark Adrenaline). But what do they do in their downtime? Find that out in the book! But spoilers: Maki loves to cook! Andrea Ferro loves soccer! Cristina plays video games!
Scabbia goes on to mention Faith No More as a comparison to the band within which is fair to say when you consider that similarly Lacuna Coil is this enigma that transcends genres. Later still, they talk about how injecting new blood like Ryan Blake Folden (Drum tech from 2009-2012, Drummer from 2012-present) was inspiration towards the heavier sound of Delerium.
And can I just reiterate how amazing Delerium is? And I’m not the only one who felt that way as the book confirms that statement and shares how Maki took everything he learned working with longtime LC producer Waldemar Sorychta (And later, Don Gilmore and Jay Baumgardner) in house to create the most “Lacuna Coil”-sounding record of them all and the precursor for the twenty year celebration that culminated in this beyond fantastic book you’ll hopefully be holding in your hands soon.
A must have for Lacuna Coil fans and rock bio enthusiasts, Nothing Stands in Our Way is out on November 28th through Rocket 88. There are two versions of the book which can be pre-ordered right now by clicking here. Lacuna Coil, meanwhile, is celebrating their 20th anniversary even more with the release of the live album, The 119 Show, which is out now through Century Media. Get your own copy by clicking here or here. And for the latest from Rocket 88, let your digits click right here.
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