LACUNA COIL SLEEPLESS EMPIRE TOUR with ESCAPE THE FATE and VOWWS at THE PHOENIX VAN BUREN

Apr 15
5 min read

I was very disappointed when I saw that LACUNA COIL was not playing my hometown Vegas on this new SLEEPLESS EMPIRE tour, so I immediately started looking for a city nearby, and decided to head to Phoenix and check out the Van Buren, a nationally historic venue that for the last ten years has hosted an array of music and performances. For this show ESCAPE THE FATE and VOWWS joined the lineup, for a truly metal experience.

Australian death-pop duo VOWWS was first on stage, dark moody and a bit unlike the other two bands on this tour. Matt James Campbell on Guitar/Vocals & Rizz on Keyboards/Vocals comprise the band, and they started the set with "The Season" and had the audience enraptured in the goth pop industrial sound.

With "Hurt You" and "Casualty", VOWWS gave the fans a good taste of the most recent album I'll fill your house with an army (co-produced by Billy Howerdel (A Perfect Circle) and features guest appearances from Josh Freese (Foo Fighters, A Perfect Circle) and James ‘Munky’ Shaffer (KORN). Chino Morino, Gary Newman and Chelsea Wolfe have also lent their vocals on the bands' tunes, and they have toured extensively in the last decade plus with these legends and more. Keep up on what this talented duo is up to HERE and music HERE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmRve9gO5_o

Escape the Fate is Vegas based and has been around since 2004, and has gone through numerous lineup changes with drummer Robert Ortiz as the sole remaining original member, although vocalist Craig Mabbitt has been in the band for nearly two decades as well. But this is a tenured solid lineup that is out on the road, with Mabbitt, Ortiz, and guitarists Erik Jensen and Matti Hoffman in tow.

ETF took control of the Van Buren with "Ungrateful", and changed up the tone from esoteric and goth to metalcore mosh, with a set that show quite a few new tunes,,, "Deja Vu", "Idol Potential", "Paranoia", "Last Goodbye", all new to the fans in the room, and the energy was off the charts.

A cake was brought out onstage about mid set to celebrate Mabbitt's birthday - Arizona is home to Mabbitt and they fans really gave him a serenade to remember. The drummer Robert jokingly told the crowd “this is the third time we have sung happy birthday to him” - I guess they have been celebrating a good bit!

Then back to business, ETF closed their set with "The Aftermath" and “One For the Money”, Mabbitt telling the crowd to split down the middle, and on his command they brought the Wall of Death to the Van Buren. Mabbitt yelled "Arizona you make us proud” before calling it a night. A great set and a lot of new songs - could a new record be coming? Keep up with any news HERE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIpohNtuXZw

You could feel the electricity in the air as the lights went down for LACUNA COIL. I can not express enough how much I LOVE THIS BAND, they have a perfect match in the amazing pure soaring voice of Cristina Scabbia and the gruff voice of Andrea Ferro - together they are magical. Lacuna Coil is Andrea Ferro and Cristina Scabbia on vocals, Richard Meiz on drums, bassist Maro Coti Zelati, and new guitarist, Daniele Salomone, and are touring in support of their 2025 album Sleepless Empire (Century Media Records). From the moment the band hit the stage it was very apparent that Phoenix has a huge love affair with Cristina, as they screamed and shouted every time she performed her parts during the show. She is the queen of this band and they let her know it.

The band kicked off the set with “Layers In Time", a perfect song to highlight what the crowd was in for from this goth metal group. The first half of the set gave us more retro LC and featured d the song that launched them on their way to world wide popularity with “Heavens A Lie”, while the second half was heavy with the Sleepless tracks, including “Scarecrow” which made it's live debut at this show, to a roar of approval from the crowd.

I was beyond excited when they played my personal favorite, ‘Blood, Tears, Dust", a song that made me a fan for life and showcases everything that is amazing about this band. I don't know if Cristina and Andrea can ever top that vocal performance for me - Cristina's operatic sound gives me chills every time I hear it.

Lacuna Coil closed out the main set with “Nothing Stands In Our Way”, before a quick break and a lengthy encore that included “SwampedXX” and finally "Never Down" before ending the night.

Cristina thanked the crowd for the incredible energy they brought to the show, and thanked all the opening bands as well, and said the tour has been all about positive energy and that they really feel at home in Phoenix. What a great night and a great tour - and it continues through the rest of April in the US, before hitting Europe for the summer months. You can keep up with everything Lacuna Coil HERE