"I hate my voice!"

Cristina Scabbia presents Lacuna Coil's first-ever official DVD release, "Visual Karma (Body, Mind and Soul)", due to be released in November 2008...

Vassil Varbanov: Hey, Cristina, hello! How are you?

Cristina Scabbia: Hi, I'm doing awesome! How are you?

V. V.: Good! Where are you at the moment?

C. S.: I'm in Los Angeles recording the new album.

V. V.: It should be out in 2009, right?

C. S.: Yes, and that's actually the only thing I can tell you about it. My mouth is completely zipped at the moment.

V. V.: You don't want to tell more or you don't know more?

C. S.: We don't wanna do that. We don't wanna spoil the surprise. It's too early to talk about the album. We're still working on it, so we'll talk later.

V. V.: Just tell me - was it a good start?

C. S.: No. I'm just gonna tell you that the album is gonna blow you away, because it's amazing. That's the only thing I can reveal now. Everybody will be really surprised in a positive way.

V. V.: Ok, let's talk about your new, first official DVD. Why have you released it just now, after four studio albums behind you?

C. S.: Because we just wanted to be ready for it and be able to offer a good quality DVD with a lot of stuff in it. I see too many DVDs out that look like as if the bands just wanna steal money from the fans. I mean it's not necessary to put out poor DVDs with poor live shows filmed in a bad way, just because you have to have a DVD out. That's why we decided to wait and take care of it personally. Now it was the right time. We wanted to celebrate “Karmacode”, because it was our latest album and one of the most popular ones. So it's not celebrating the career of Lacuna Coil, but just “Karmacode”. We wanted to be focused on just one thing.

V. V.: Can you think of any DVD that you can say is among your favourites?

C. S.: I think my all-time favourite DVD is "Vulgar Display of Power" by Pantera. It's perfectly describing all the backstage of the shows and what's going on behind - of course Pantera-style! I love DVDs that show more of the private part of the artist, more than just the live show, because if you get the DVD by a band you like, there's a 99% chance you've already seen or will see the band live. You don't really need to see just a live show on DVD - you wanna see something more. Some backstage stuff and private stuff.

V. V.: I'm sure the guys would have kicked you out of the band if you were a man, because you're getting all the attention, your picture is in the magazines...

C. S.: You know, we're not stupid, and most of all - we are friends. The guys perfectly know that a woman gets more attention, no matter what - even if you're not doing anything in the band, you're gonna be the focus point. So we never had these kinds of problems, because we know that it's not me and the band, but everybody. Every one of us is doing something in the band, and even if just one member leaves, everything would be fucked up. So it's not our case. We're getting along perfectly, and we never fought about being in the center - it doesn't really matter, as long as we can do great concerts and great records.

V. V.: If you had to form an all-girl band, which ladies would you pick?

C. S.: I probably wouldn't, ha-ha! I like to be in a band with guys, because they're really close to my mentality. I'm not like a girly girl, you know, despite of everything you see on the pictures. I can be really tough sometimes - and that's what you have to be in this business. So I don't think I'd ever put an all-girl band together.

V. V.: Is there any particular chapter of the new Lacuna Coil DVD that you're particularly proud of?

C. S.: I love it all. I love the live show we gave at Wacken, Germany, because it's so full of power. I usually hate to see myself live and the band performing, but when I saw the Wacken video it was just amazing! I mean we've been good at that gig and I'm really proud of us. The other part I love is the personal videos we did - six videos for each member of the band. I think this is something special, because I don't know of any other DVD where each member has filmed his own stuff.

V. V.: Most people don't like hearing their own voice on tape unless they're not used to it. Do you remember when you got used to listening to your own voice?

C. S.: To be honest, I still have this feeling. Even when I record and I hear back my parts I'm always like, "Ah, this could have been done better, I don't really like it...", but once you hear it in the final mix everything sounds great. It's still happening to me - for example now, as I'm talking to you, my voice is coming back to me in some echo and... I hate my voice!

Copyright: Tangra Mega Rock