12 February 2026 – The Tivoli, Brisbane – words by Lucas Bell – pictures by Tam Schilling
I’ve said this for years, but I feel one of the most underrated bands in metal right now are Italy’s gothic metal juggernauts, Lacuna Coil. The band have had a steady quality of albums since 2002, and are a band ten albums deep into a 30 year career. And there are not a lot of bands that I can say have had an eight album run like Lacuna Coil have. Most tap out at three, but these guys are just on another level. And after their appearance at Good Things 2022, the band are on their first headline tour of Australia in 10 years, celebrating their latest record, Sleepless Empire.
Kicking the night off right though, was Melbourne’s Future Static, and I have to say, of all the bands Lacuna Coil could have slotted into this position, I’m so glad it was them. Tonight was the third time I’ve caught them live, after the Electric Callboy and Atreyu support slots, and they get better every time. The majority of the set featured songs from the band’s 2023 debut record, Liminality, which is an amazing record. But we also got teases of what’s to come for the next era of the band, with ‘There’s Nowhere Else to Go’, and the live debut of the yet to be released ‘State of Mind’, which is a banger of a track I cannot wait to be released.
Future Static – Tivoli – photos by Tam Schilling
Lead vocalist Amariah Cook spoke a few times about how cool it is to be on this tour with Lacuna Coil, and the crowd sounds like they loved them too. They got heads banging to ‘Iliad’, and some more theatrical elements to the performance for the track ‘Will I?’, where Cook and drummer Jackson Trudel play solo on stage until the chorus, before bassist Kira Neil joined them for the chorus, and the guitarists Ryan and Jack walked on for the second verse onwards. After a quick merch plug, they closed on the track Roach Queen, which has been a closer at all shows I’ve been at, and is such a sick track. I just wished they ripped out the ‘Gasolina’ cover. It’s so good. But the set was a strong eleven song set, showing just how good this crew is.
After AC/DC’s ‘For Those About to Rock’ played through the speakers, drummer Richard Meiz, guitarist Daniele Salomone, and bassist Marco Coti Zelati walked out on stage to amp Brisbane up for the start of the set. As they ripped a little intro tune for the start of the show, vocalists Andrea Ferro and Cristina Scabbia walked onto stage to a monster applause, as they launched straight into a double header of ‘Black Anima’ tracks, with ‘Layers of Time’ and ‘Reckless’. I know ‘Black Anima’ is a beloved record for the fanbase, but this is a record I’ve had a lot of time getting into. But after hearing ‘Layers of Time’ and ‘Reckless’ live, I might have to give it a revisit.
Lacuna Coil – Tivoli – photos by Tam Schilling
Scabbia spoke on how cool it is to be back in Australia, as the last time they were here, it was for Good Things 2022. She spoke about the band’s latest album, Sleepless Empire, which celebrates its first anniversary two days after this show, and how the record featured some of their friends. They teased the next song to be the one they did with Randy Blythe from Lamb of God, as ‘Hosting the Shadow’ kicked in. The energy continued on into ‘Kill the Light’, as Scabbia and Ferro encouraged the crowd to sing along to the track.
After ‘Die & Rise’, we got my favourite part of the night, which was the track, ‘Spellbound’. Despite this being a single, and getting a lot of exposure, I feel this song is one of the most underrated songs in the band’s catalogue. There is beauty in the quietness of Ferro’s verses, to then have Scabbia come in with the powerful chorus. Just a brilliant track, and even better live. Scabbia spoke about how the vibes in the room were amazing, and that while some days are good, some days can be really hard with the same, repetitive shit happening. But it’s cool to have a community like the metal community, where every time we get into a room to enjoy music, it feels like family. And how important it is to have that kind of family, in the mean times, as ‘In the Mean Time’ started up. Very good use of wordplay and I dug it.
Lacuna Coil – Tivoli – photos by Tam Schilling
After ‘Intoxicated’, we got the first of two reimagined tracks, off the band’s 2022 re-record of the band’s 2002 record, Comalies. The rerecording of these tracks was to ‘deconstruct and transport them in 2022’, and the songs have a whole new vibe now. Where the original version of ‘Heaven’s a Lie’ feels higher, ‘Heaven’s a Lie XX’ brings the track down a touch with a heavier chorus and the track feels a tad slower. Which as an idea, I love the thought of. Live it was cool to hear the track performed this way too, as it fits the style the band is currently sitting in.
They then blitzed through the rest of the set, with ‘In Nomine Patris’, ‘Gravity’, and ‘Oxygen’ from Sleepless Empire, with ‘Blood, Tears, Dust’ in the middle there to split the tracks up a little, and then ‘Nothing Stands in Our Way’ from ‘Broken Crown Halo’ to close out the main set. After a game of adult peekaboo, the Sleepless Empire heavy four song encore started off with ‘The Siege’, and ‘I Wish You Were Dead’, before we got ‘Swamped XX’ from the Comalies rerecording, and then ‘Never Dawn’ to close off the set.
Lacuna Coil – Tivoli – photos by Tam Schilling
As a big fan of the band’s 2006 record Karmacode, I was a little sad we didn’t get tracks off that record for the 20th anniversary, which is fast approaching. But understanding that eight of the eighteen tracks were for the new record, balancing ten tracks across nine other records is a difficult feat. I just hope Lacuna Coil are saving Karmacode for an anniversary tour, because I would pay insane money to experience that record live.
