Category Archives: Italian Soundtracks

Prepare for the Halloween season, with Factmag’s list of the 100 greatest Horror soundtracks

Posted by Palmer Eldritch on

If capitalism and it’s necessary corollary, consumerism (or maybe, vice versa), can keep pushing the Xmas season further out, I say we do the same for Halloween. Halloween: it’s not just a night anymore. Star the holiday season off right and check out Factmag for a diverse list of scary scores to get you in the mood. While, as with any such list, you can gripe about omissions, inclusions (actually, I have no complaint with any inclusion here), placement, etc, it’s still a great list that covers a wide berth. As someone who watches alotta Horror, and has a particular fondness for the soundtracks, the Factmag list kept surprising me with some truly obscure. and fantastic, selections, and has prompted me to check out some more modern sounds in the field (not that I haven’t been enjoying many of the new composers/bands that have been arising, already).

Horror soundtracks are currently enjoying an unprecedented level of interest, with numerous labels (Waxwork, Death Waltz, One Way Static, and others) currently releasing these soundtracks, some reissued, but many legitimately pressed for the first time. Not only that, you have a whole new crew of musicians and composers/producers dedicated to playing these vintage sounds. Artists and bands like Umberto, Brian Reitzell, Zombi, Nightcrawler and Crypt Vapor are introducing this genre to a whole new legion of fans. It’s also tremendously gratifying to see that originators like Goblin, Fabio Frizzi and now John Carpenter (his first live performance EVER is at ATP in Iceland, 2016!!!) performing for excited fans of a wide age range.

Without further ado, here’s Factmag’s list

The 100 greatest horror soundtracks


And interviews with the heads of the three labels mentioned above
http://www.horrornewsnetwork.net/articles/62-horror-movies/8076-the-revenge-of-the-vinyl-horror-soundtrack
A favorite, from a composer who I absolutely love, that I was pleasantly surprised to see included, proving the broad scope of sounds that fall into this category.

Goblin – Suspiria (live 1977. Discoring)

Posted by Palmer Eldritch on

When I saw Goblin two years ago, I managed to get my Cinevox original of Suspiria signed, at the pre-show meet and greet. As I approached in the line, the guys started talking among themselves and snickering. Hmmm. What’s up with that? They thought I looked exactly like their original bass player, Fabio Pignattelli. I’m cool with that.

Also, this footage is one of the greatest things that I’ve ever seen.

Quentin Tarantino Lists His Top 20 Spaghetti Westerns

Posted by Palmer Eldritch on

Tarantino has an encyclopedic knowledge of genre film, so his opinions on such are always meritorious. I’ve seen half of the films on this list, and have loved them all. Time to check out the rest and dig up my copy of this http://books.google.com/books/about/Spaghetti_Westerns.html?id=z9Tjh55dlDUC

More, More, Morricone Pt IV: Ennio and Il Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza

Posted by Palmer Eldritch on

Ennio was a member of the composers collective known as Il Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, from the mid-sixties to it’s dissolution in the early eighties.

This is a hugely sought after record attributed to The Feedback when, in fact, it is Il Grupo in a particularly funky mood