It's a sunny October afternoon, five days before Lacuna Coil is scheduled to play in Murray, and lead vocalist, Cristina Scabbia is calling IN. Scabbia's Italian-accented voice is bright, cheerful and nearly as pretty as the weather outside, which is ironic considering that the Italian native provides the vocals for a band that is often placed into the metal or goth genres.

"I don't care what other people think, I just wanted to have a good time. I like to be really comfortable on stage and I am usually somewhere between aggressive and funny," states Scabbia, who glides right into the phone interview with an air of assertiveness.

The six members that make up Lacuna Coil formed over 12 years ago in Milan, Italy. Influenced by the metal/rock scene that was becoming increasingly popular in the United States, Lacuna Coil decided to bring their rendition of what was happening in the U.S. to Italy.

"We never released an album in Italian because we started singing in English. The music that we listened to was in English so that is just how we started," explains Scabbia, who admits that even after years of recording and gaining a worldwide fan base, the band still prefers to write and sing in English and have only done a few songs in Italian.

Since their formation, the members of Lacuna Coil have become a world-wide phenomenon, touring with bands such as Judas Priest, Slayer and Ozzy, and even performing on the main stage of the Ozzfest, which resulted in Scabbia serving as the first woman to ever grace the main stage at Ozzfest.

"It made me feel cool to know that I was the first woman to play on the Ozzfest main stage, but I never really put much thought into being a woman on stage, because as an artist, that's just what I do. But, being the first woman means that things have changed and I am glad that I had that chance," says Scabbia.

Having graced the cover of a variety of magazines and played sold-out arenas across the nation and overseas, Lacuna Coil continues to make a splash within the world of music by celebrating the release of their fifth studio album, "Shallow Life," which debuted in April of this year.

"We formed 12 years ago, so, obviously, everything has changed," says Scabbia, "this album is more of a rock album. The lyrics are more in-your-face, and the music is more catchy, but in a positive way."

Scabbia explains that Lacuna Coil spent a lot more time playing in their practice room in order to capture their live sound, something that according to Scabbia, the band had not done before.

With the release of their new album comes the months of touring that Lacuna Coil has gotten so used to doing over the years. The band is currently a part of the HardDrive Tour and will be touring within the United States until November, after which they will then head overseas to tour in Europe. Though they are constantly on the road, Scabbia says that Lacuna Coil couldn't be happier.

"All of us are the original members of the band and it's great that after so many years we are still so close. Coming from Italy, the rock metal scene is not the same as the U.S., for example. So, this is phenomenal and really rare. Sometimes we sit down and look at each other and can't believe that we've come so far," explains Scabbia, with a sound of grateful disbelief in her voice.

Listening to the enthusiasm emanate from Scabbia's voice, it becomes evident that Salt Lake fans do not want to miss their chance to rock out with the members of Lacuna Coil. Though the band has based their sound on United States influences, one can be sure that their metal rock show will be sprinkled with elements of their own Italian flavor, and that is sure to provide for one hell of a show.