Lacuna Coil at the Gramercy Theatre

Vocalist Andrea "Andy" Ferro, born in Arona, Italy, started playing music with multi-instrumentalist Marco “Maki” Coti-Zelati in Coti-Zelati's house in the winter of 1994, when it was "too cold to skate." Calling themselves Sleep of Right, they covered classic rock with just a guitar and vocals. Eventually they became more interested in music than skating. They met Cristina Scabbia, who had been singing professionally in other bands since 1991, in a music club in Milan, Italy. In 1996, Ferro and Zelati, then known as Ethereal, prepared to record a demo, and they enlisted Scabbia for background vocals. Ferro and Zelati liked the blending of male and female vocals that they asked her to join their gothic metal band at the front line. Ethereal changed its name to Lacuna Coil ("empty spiral") after learning that a Greek band already claimed the name Ethereal. Lacuna Coil presently consists of vocalists Ferro and Scabbia, bassist Coti-Zelati, guitarist Diego "Didi" Cavalotti, and drummer Richard Meiz. Lacuna Coil has sold more than two million albums worldwide; the band will release its ninth album, Black Anima, on October 11, 2019.

Revolver magazine presented Lacuna Coil's The 119 Show at the Gramercy Theatre for two nights, where the band's staging resembled a carnival tent. The look of the musicians, however, with their black cassocks and white and bloodied corpse paint, suggested macabre rather than wholesome family entertainment. Lacuna Coil came armed with a retrospective featuring songs from most of its albums. Scabbia's light, floating melodic voice climbed scales and soared into the stratosphere, helping to give the mid-tempo songs a symphonic metal touch. Ferro frequently contrasted Scabbia's light approach with dark, growling vocals; when singing along with her, however, he used clean vocals. The compositions spotlighted this dual vocal interplay, with few opportunities for the instrumentalists to flex their chops. The heavy, down-tuned grooves focused on supporting and augmenting the dynamics of the vocalists. Towards the end of the performance, the band left Scabbia on stage, a crew brought an electric piano, and Scabbia introduced Pennsylvania-based singer/songwriter Melissa VanFleet. With Scabbia on vocals and VanFleet on electric piano, the duo reinterpreted Lacuna Coil songs. The rest of the band returned to the stage, and Lacuna Coil closed with a cover of Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence" and a 2014 track, "Nothing Stands in Our Way."

Lacuna Coil will return to New York City on September 15, co-headlining with All That Remains at Webster Hall.

Setlist:

1. A Current Obsession
2. 1.19
3. My Wings
4. Blood, Tears, Dust
5. Tight Rope
6. When a Dead Man Walks
7. Closer
8. My Demons
9. Soul Into Hades
10. One Cold Day
11. Heaven's a Lie
12. Senzafine
13. Comalies
14. The House of Shame
15. Falling (Cristina Scabbia on vocals and Melissa VanFleet on keyboard)
16. Wide Awake (Cristina Scabbia on vocals and Melissa VanFleet on keyboard)
17. Our Truth
18. Enjoy the Silence (Depeche Mode cover)
19. Nothing Stands in Our Way