The country of Italy has made some noteworthy contributions to humanity throughout the ages. The creations of Galileo Galilei, Leonardo da Vinci and Michaelangelo certainly rank in the grand scheme of things, but what would this millennium be without the contributions of Lacuna Coil?

Taking the L.A. stage for the last show of their first North American tour with Moonspell dressed in what could easily be mistaken as debuts from Giorgio Armani’s Fall/Winter Collection, the Italian sextet opened with “To Live Is To Hide” from 2001’s Unleashed Memories and continued to treat the sold-out crowd to “When A Dead Man Walks,” “Honeymoon Suite,” “Senzafine,” “Hyperfast,” and "Halflife."

Speaking with fans outside the venue in spite of the rain, Cristina Scabbia and her bandmates repeatedly expressed their gratitude for the phenomenal reception they received in the cities they played. Showing amazing resiliency in the face of transportation problems that resulted in the cancellation of their two Canadian shows, the Italian natives made it very clear that those temporary set-backs never hindered their desire to return to North America to tour again (and keep an eye out for a future Metal Maniacs feature documenting the tour from Lacuna Coil and Moonspell's perspective).

With a day off after the L.A. show, the band had the opportunity to stop by the new CM offices in Hawthorne, California and inaugurated the lobby with an Italian mosh pit slamming to System Of A Down’s Toxicity (a feat that was astoundingly duplicated while traveling in a passenger van through Hollywood...).

A tremendous thank you goes to everyone who participated in the Red Rose Campaign. You'll be happy to know that Cristina tied the ribbons of every bouquet she received onto her luggage. And yes, she did return to Italy with that black cowboy hat she promised to buy...