On Tuesday October 17th, 2006, Lacuna Coil arrived at the Corporation in Sheffield. This sold-out gig attracted a huge audience, with support act PoisonBlack (mis-billed as PitchBlack on the Corporation website) adding more excitement to the mix.

After a quick meal of pork sandwich and ale at the Devonshire Cat, it was time to join the queue. Despite the doors opening at 7pm, a queue of perhaps a hundred people had formed up the side of the building. By 7:30pm, we were a little bored, having made it all the way to the R of the 12" high letters on the side of the Corporation spelling out the name of the club.

As we approached the N, it became evident that the delay was caused by bag searches. After a quick shuffle through my rather uninteresting lunch bag, the bouncer waved me through without incident. We were in.

First impressions were that the place seemed oddly empty. Sure, there were a couple of hundred people still standing outside when we entered, and the support act hadn't taken the stage despite it being nearly 7:45pm, but after the standing outside it did make you wonder where the people ahead in the queue had disappeared to.

Rather than worrying about that, we got on with the task in hand; beer. The now staple Newcastle Brown Ale was ordered, although it was noted that 2 pint glasses (albeit made of plastic) were available for draught beers. That would limit us to Carlsberg and Carling, though, so the standard single pint plastic cups were used instead.

After all this waffling and wandering, it was finally time for the support act, PoisonBlack, to start their set. They're not a band I've ever particularly heard, but lead singer Ville Laihiala's previous band, Sentenced, is one I know of. Having listened to all available downloadable material from the band's website the previous night, we had some clue as to what we should expect, and we weren't disappointed. After a juddery start with a few people in the room, the riffs got stronger and the band got into gear. They even played the only song of their's that I recognise, Rush, which was nice.

After PoisonBlack finished their set, the stage was cleared and preparations were made. Lots of guys with little lights on their heads busied around the stage and generally checked everything out. The crowd was visibly excited and the tension was palpable, with little bursts of cheering breaking out whenever a new stage hand entered the stage in case it was a band member.

Eventually the stirring in the crowd mustered to become an all out cheer as the band members entered the stage, one of whom (Marco Coti Zelati, I believe) was wearing a mask resembling the cover of Karmacode. As two figures in white shirts entered from stage right, the crowd erupted as Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro took to the stage, sporting the same outfits as seen at the Download festival earlier in the year.

Immediately Cristina began Our Truth, the third track from Karmacode, and the whole room lifted. A mixed selection of songs followed, ranging from tracks straight from Karmacode, right back to Unleashed Memories. Banter between songs was kept to a minimum, instead keeping the momentum of the rhythm up between songs and through out. The crowd were lapping it up, remaining still, reverent to the music, then following the band into a full array of jumping, headbanging and moshing at the front.

After an hour or so of continuous sound, the stage went quiet. Cristina and Andrea had disappeared, and the band silenty filed off stage. The sound was still ringing in my ears, but I could hear muttering, small sections of the crowd uncertainly chanting for an encore, then silence. The stagehands appeared once or twice, tidying the stage or moving instruments, and in the crowd a murmur started to spread. What was going on?

A small group at the front started a fresh chant, demanding an encore. The chant spread, filling first the front of the crowd, and spreading back to fill the large room of the Corporation. As the clapping increased in volume, and tempo, a familiar site appeared; the guitarists were back on stage!

The cheers only got louder as Cristina and Andrea returned to the stage. "We thought we'd give you an early night," joked Cristina, "you must all be tired!" WIth their energy renewed, the crowd threw themselves into the encore, actively singing along to Heaven's A Lie and Enjoy The Silence. The mood of the room was even more excited than it had been before. It truly was an exceptional way to end a fantastic gig, and the way the encore was handled was pure, perfected showmanship. By far the best gig of the year, and it'll be hard to top.

More pictures at Craig's Simply Spiffing Photo Galleries.