May 3, 2009 — Cristina Scabbia has been a lot of things: a bartender, a waitress and a graphic designer. But an international rock goddess? That’s something she never would have pictured. Before being asked to sing backup vocals in her friends’ band Sleep of Right, Cristina didn’t know where her life was headed. She only knew she loved to sing. It’s now been 15 years since Lacuna Coil formed in 1994, and Cristina couldn’t imagine her life any other way…

Shallow Life just hit the stores on April 21. It’s the fifth studio album for Lacuna Coil. How does it feel to have come this far with the band?
It feels great because it’s a wonderful job. If you love travelling, it’s fantastic. If you love music, it’s amazing. I’m just happy to be in this situation because it’s what I want to do, and it’s just what I hoped it would be. It’s really rewarding.

What was it about the gothic metal genre that spoke to you guys when the band first formed?
When we started to do this kind of music, gothic metal was the only music that was communicating real emotions, at least to me. I don’t know why, but sometimes I think the more melancholy stuff speaks to you directly. We were attracted by these bands like Type O Negative and Paradise Lost. It was just the music that we liked to do. Now I think that we’re not a Goth metal band anymore, in the way that music has evolved. The old genre probably died a few years ago, but we’re definitely keeping the roots and some melody and melancholy vibes in our music.

How did the creation of Shallow Life differ from your last album, Karmacode?
We wrote more in the practice room instead of in front of our computers. In the past, we were basically meeting in the practice room when the songs were done to try them before we entered the recording studio. This time we wanted to try the songs in a live situation, to hear how they would sound before we needed to record them. That’s probably the main difference.

What was it like to work with producer Don Gilmore (Linkin Park, Pearl Jam) on this album in L.A.?
It was awesome. He’s such a great guy. First of all, his professionalism is amazing. He’s really precise and anal when it comes to the point where you have to record your parts; he really squeezes you as a lemon. He makes you give 100 percent of yourself. At the same time, he’s an extremely funny guy. He helped us focus on the recording, but we had a lot of good laughs.

What inspired the theme behind Shallow Life?
We live in the fashion capital Milan, Italy. We notice that everything in the media and press has to be absolutely perfect and shining. There’s not a lot of place for normal people, normal jobs. If you want to be a winner, you have to have a shiny car. That basically inspired the whole album, even if it’s not a concept album.

For your music video “Spellbound,” you shot in Dolce & Gabbana’s restaurant Gold in Milan. How did that come about?
They basically gave us the location for free, so we could use that over-the-top restaurant completely covered with mirrors and gold, it was perfect. It was representing the Shallow Life.

Why did you choose “Spellbound” as the single?
It was really difficult to pick out one song because we like them all. They’re so diverse from each other. ‘Spellbound’ is the perfect song that represents the evolution of the band, but at the same time keeps a lot of the old vibes. We wanted a song that wasn’t too different from the past, so the fans could understand our growth.

Do you have a favorite song on the album outside of “Spellbound”?
No, every song is different. I like them all for different reasons. I like “The Pain” because it’s really cinematographic and dark. At the same time, I love “Survive” because it’s a powerful song. “Wide Awake” is a ballad, and I love it because it’s more mellow and passionate.

You’re currently on the road with the Music as a Weapon tour, how’s that going?
It’s going amazing. The venues are always packed; there are always a lot of people. It’s great fun because we knew the bands we’re touring with from previous tours. The tour is like a two stage event, and on our stage has Killswitch Engage and Disturbed. It’s good to be on tour with friends.

Over the years, you’ve played with Lamb of God, Nine Inch Nails, Megadeth and Type O Negative. Were any of these bands ones that you also looked up to for inspiration when Lacuna Coil was first starting out?
Oh, yeah. When we played with Type O Negative, for us, it was just like Heaven. We love their music and just found out they’re amazing people. They’re kind of our American family. Every time we go to New York they come visit us, and we do the same when they play in our hometown.