It’s a strange feeling measuring time in relation to bands but standing inside a heaving and sweaty Magnet House watching Lacuna Coil close out their Australian tour, I couldn’t help but drift back almost twenty years — to a similarly packed room at the House of Blues in Las Vegas in 2009 on their Spellbound Tour. That night, they detonated the place with the final song Our Truth, a moment of pure, unrelenting catharsis. It felt definitive. It felt like their song. And yet tonight proved something far more interesting: Lacuna Coil is a band that refuses to be defined by any single moment, no matter how iconic. Not playing their most played song tonight was an unmistakable statement of intent and a realisation that so few bands these days stand by their newest material. Lacuna Coil is that rare beast – not only is their latest album one of the very best, the band knows it and by the end of the night we did too.
What we got in Perth was not a nostalgia run. Not even close.
From the opening pulse of “Layers of Time,” it was clear this set was built for the present — and very much the future. The material leaned heavily and reassuringly on their latest record, Sleepless Empire, which made up nearly half the set. That’s a bold move anywhere in the world, but especially here — where it’s been a decade since their last visit and fans have effectively missed watching five albums’ worth of evolution live on stage. But if there was any concern about whether the Perth crowd would go with them, it evaporated instantly. We weren’t passive listeners — we were all in.
At the centre of it all, as always, were Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro — one of metal’s most distinctive dual-vocal assaults. Scabbia has always been and remains utterly magnetic: commanding your attention without ever feeling distant, with a power and grace that doesn’t sacrifice warmth. Ten years ago, the band played the Amplifier Bar, the smaller venue behind this one. This time they packed a room many times that size. Ten years ago, there was that moment when, like in every Lacuna Coil show, Cristina locks in with the audience and really connects — tonight on that bigger stage it happened earlier and felt deeper than ever. You got the sense she didn’t want it to end, and neither did we. Ferro, meanwhile, looks on knowingly, bringing grit and menace, it’s the perfect counterweight, driving the heavier edge of tracks like “Hosting the Shadow” and set closer “Never Dawn” Which were exemplary tonight.
Musically, the band were razor sharp and utterly impressive. “Reckless,” “Kill the Light,” and “Gravity” hit with real weight, while older cuts like “Heaven’s a Lie” and “Swamped” reminded everyone just how deep the catalogue runs — even if we only got a glimpse of it this time. That’s the trade-off, of course. When a band evolves this much, something has to give and I’m so glad they chose to signal the future rather than rely on the shadows of the past.
And that’s where the setlist becomes the real talking point.
Whilst it delivered in intensity and passion, it also left you wondering what might have been. With so much time passed since their last Australian run, there’s an entire era of Lacuna Coil that’s barely been experienced live down here. Albums like Dark Adrenaline, Broken Crown Halo, Delirium, and Black Anima you could certainly argue deserved a little more breathing room. We got “Blood, Tears, Dust” flying the flag for Delirium, and just a couple of cuts apiece from the last three records — but it still felt like we were only scratching the surface. Logistically you can see why – 2026 saw some of the bands first shows Downunder and we got what I assume the rest of the world will soon get to hear. It felt like meeting an old friend you haven’t heard from for years and them telling you the best news about the present but only giving the accented highlights that happened between the tow points in time.
That said, what they did choose to play from those missing years worked beautifully. The flow was masterful, the pacing spot on, the between song banter minimal but well measured and wringing with love and emotion especially when talking about the Metal scene. “Die & Rise” and “Spellbound” injected that familiar surge of energy mid-set, while “Nothing Stands in Our Way” felt like a statement — not just a song, but a future classic surely? The encore only reinforced that, with “The Siege,” “I Wish You Were Dead,” and “Never Dawn” landing with serious weight, while “Swamped” gave longtime fans a moment to cherish.
And yet… no “Our Truth.”
It’s almost unthinkable, really. A band leaving arguably their most recognisable song off the setlist — especially on a long-awaited return tour — is the kind of move that would sink most acts. But Lacuna Coil aren’t most acts. They’ve built a career on constant evolution, on refusing to stand still, on eschewing the obvious and easy, and on trusting their audience to come with them rather than standing still.
And tonight, that trust paid off.
Even without that defining anthem, this didn’t feel like a show lacking anything. It felt like a band completely in control of who they are right now — confident enough to showcase their new material, brave enough to sidestep the easy and obvious, and skilled enough to pull it off completely.
Not many bands can pull that off.
Lacuna Coil can, and Perth was well and truly rocked.
