Concert Reviews

Lacuna Coil: Concert Photos and Review

by Brooks Robinson

Updated April 14, 2026

Lacuna Coil – House of Blues San Diego – April 11, 2026

Lacuna Coil played a rousing show in the 1500-capacity House of Blues San Diego on Saturday night. The House of Blues is located in the Gaslamp Quarter in downtown San Diego, and has a main standing room only floor, surrounded from above by a balcony on three sides. The venue features excellent sight lines and superb sound in a space large enough to draw top-name talent but intimate enough to feel like you’re close to the artist even when you’re in the back.

When I first arrived in the photo pit at the House of Blues San Diego, 30 minutes before the opening band Vowws went on stage, I struck up a conversation with two guys up against the rail wearing Lacuna Coil shirts. I asked them what time they’d arrived to ensure they’d get a good spot on the barricade. They said that they’d been waiting on the sidewalk since 2:00 pm for the doors to open at 6:30 pm, and they weren’t the first ones to arrive. This is typical of Lacuna Coil fans – they are extremely loyal, and willing to do anything to see their band up close.

Lacuna Coil

Italian gothic metal band Lacuna Coil was formed in 1994, and was the first female fronted band to play Ozzfest in 2004. The twin vocal attack brought by Cristina Scabbia’s soaring and at times operatic melodies mixed with Andrea Ferro’s aggressive delivery is an interplay that perhaps shouldn’t work on paper, but blends seamlessly on stage. Their breakthrough came in 2002 with the Camalies album, featuring the song “Heaven’s a Lie”, which helped launch them into the mainstream.

The majority of Saturday’s concert featured songs from 2025’s album Sleepless Empire, including “Oxygen”, “Gravity”, and “Hosting the Shadow”, among five others. Cristina and Andrea spent much of the night at the front of the stage, closest to the fans – making eye contact and singing directly to them. There is an obvious bond between Lacuna Coil and their supporters – and the band made a tangible effort to reinforce that connection on Saturday.

Lacuna Coil is:

Andrea Ferro – Vocals
Marco Coti Zelati – Bass
Cristina Scabbia – Vocals
Richard Meiz – Drums
Daniele Salomone – Guitar

Setlist:

Layers of Time
Reckless
Hosting the Shadow
Kill the Light
Die & Rise
Spellbound
Heaven's a Lie XX
Scarecrow
Blood, Tears, Dust
Gravity
Oxygen
In Nomine Patris
Nothing Stands in Our Way

Encore:

The Siege
I Wish You Were Dead
Swamped XX
Never Dawn

Escape the Fate

Escape the Fate is a solid band with great songs, attitude, and on-stage presence. They are talented musicians, and worked really hard on Saturday to convert anyone in the audience that wasn’t already on board. Since moving on after Ronnie Radke’s dismissal in 2008, they have continued to make great music and supported it with a blistering touring schedule year after year.

Vocalist Craig Mabbitt paced from side to side at the front of the stage during much of the show, giving fans everywhere on the floor a visual, while Matti Hoffman on guitar struck rock-star poses and ripped it. Robert Ortiz looked super-cool behind the kit with mirrored sunglasses and beat the drums to a pulp, while Erik Jensen stepped away from his previous bass duties to play guitar and sing. The new song “Déjà Vu” was met with excitement, and their set was filled with songs from their entire catalogue. This is a fun band to see, and they work hard to ensure a great show.

Escape the Fate is:

Craig Mabbitt - Vocals
Robert Ortiz – Drums
Erik Jensen – Guitar
Matti Hoffman – Guitar

Vowws

I didn’t know Vowws before the show, and was immediately struck by the lack of light on stage. As a photographer, I depend on light – concert lighting can be tricky at times, but on this night, there was simply none. After a while, white light flickered on via strobe-style lighting behind the two artists, creating a nanosecond of backlight, but still no light on their faces. Eventually, there were short pulses of light during the three songs photographers were allowed in the pit, but pressing the shutter at the exact moment as the flash, all while hoping the camera would have time to focus, proved elusive. Only the last song of their set provided any actual illumination that resembled typical concert lighting, but by then, I was at the back of the room.

Artsy lighting aside, the Australian death-pop duo was really well received by the San Diego audience. They had a very different performance style than the other two bands – both Rizz on keyboards and Matt on guitar stayed in their respective spots, and didn’t stray far into the darkness. The music was multi-layered and more ethereal than straight-up in-your-face metal, but people were digging it, and they proved to be a good fit for the night’s event.

Vowws is: @vowwsband

Matt James Campbell – Guitar/Vocals
Rizz – Keyboards/Vocals

Brooks Robinson Photographer & Writer

Brooks Robinson is an LA-based concert photographer, and 30+ year freelance camera operator for film, television, and music videos. He has photographed some of the largest film/TV projects in history, and hundreds of music videos in MTV's heyday.

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